- 2/15/2025 2:00:47 PM
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Salinas, California
Salinas, which translates to "Salt Marsh or Salt Flats" in Spanish, is the county capital of Monterey County and a city in the state of California. Salinas is the most populated city in Monterey County, according to the 2020 Census, with a population of 163,542. Salinas is a city that may be found 10 miles (16 km) southeast of the mouth of the Salinas River and just south of the San Francisco Bay Area at the eastern edge of the Monterey Bay Area. The city's climate is more impacted by the ocean than the interior because it is situated at the mouth of the Salinas Valley, roughly eight miles (13 km) from the Pacific Ocean.
The principal commercial, governmental, and industrial hub of the area is Salinas. The floral industry, grape vineyards, and vegetable growers all benefit greatly from the maritime climate. Salinas' extensive and thriving agriculture sector has earned it the moniker "Salad Bowl of the World."
John Steinbeck (1902–1968), a Nobel Prize–winning author, was born and raised there. Many of his works take place in the Salinas Valley and Monterey. With a Hispanic population of 79.6%, Salinas has the highest percentage of Hispanic Americans of any city in California and ranks eighth nationwide. The city is home to a sizeable Asian-American community, including a significant and long-standing Filipino community. In the past, the city was home to the second-largest Chinatown in the country, after San Francisco.
Geography
The city has a total area of 23.2 square miles (60 km2), 99.84% of which is land and 0.16% of which is water, according to the United States Census Bureau.
A large portion of the city used to be made up of undulating hills divided by woodland rivers and dotted with marsh land before extensive agricultural and urban expansion. The majority of the city's current land is level, but some gently sloping hills and wooded gulches with creeks may still be found in the north-eastern neighborhoods of Creekbridge and Williams Ranch as well as the Laurel Heights area of East Salinas. In Natividad Creek Park and the nearby Upper Carr Lake, the natural ecosystems that accompanied the region's geography and environment have been reconstructed.
The city is around eight miles from the Pacific Ocean and is situated about 18 meters (59 feet) above sea level. The Salinas Valley is bordered to the east and west by the Gabilan and Santa Lucia mountain ranges, respectively. The Salinas Valley and mountain ranges are roughly 90 miles (145 km) south-east of Salinas in the direction of King City.
The Monterey Bay's core is where the Salinas River drains into the Pacific Ocean after flowing the entire length of the Salinas Valley. Because of the river's enormous subsurface aquifer, which flows mostly underground during the summer, agriculture can be irrigated in a region with minimal annual rainfall.
Climate
While the towns to the north and south of Salinas have hotter summers as mountains obstruct the ocean air, Salinas has pleasant and moderate temperatures because to the "natural air conditioner" that transports ocean air and fog from the Monterey Bay to Salinas. Since Salinas' weather is more similar to that of California's Central Coast than it is to that of its interior valleys, it has a warm Mediterranean climate (Köppen Csb), with average daily highs ranging from 62.4 °F (16.9 °C) in December to 74.7 °F (23.7 °C) in September. On September 2, 2017, the temperature reached a record high of 107 °F (42 °C). The coldest days on record were January 12, 1963, and January 13, 2007, with lows of 22 °F (6 °C). There are about 7.1 days per year with lows below freezing and 5.8 days per year with highs of 90 °F (32 °C) or more.
The coldest measured daytime high in Salinas between 1958 and 2018 was 42 °F (6 °C) on December 21–22, 1990. On September 2, 2017, the station experienced its warmest night, with a temperature of 67 °F (19 °C).
It is believed that the offshore marine layer produces winds that blow smog further inland, which is why Salinas ranked in the top ten American cities for cleanest air in 2015.
The marine layer, or heavy morning fog that forms in the summer due to the temperature differential between the ocean and the air, is typically blown by an onshore wind produced by the bright, high-pressure areas of the Salinas Valley that reach north and south from Salinas and the Bay.
The city receives 390.7 millimeters (about 1.28 ft), or around 15.38 inches, of rainfall on average each year. Since records at the current station started in 1959, July 1997 to June 1998 saw the wettest "rain year" on record with 34.63 inches (879.6 mm) of precipitation, and July 1971 to June 1972 saw the driest conditions with 7.29 inches (185.2 mm). The month of February 1998 saw 11.10 inches (282 mm) of precipitation, which was a record. The maximum 24-hour precipitation record was set on January 23, 2000, at 2.96 inches (75 mm). Snowfall occurs occasionally on the mountain peaks of the Gabilan and Santa Lucia Mountain ranges, although it is exceedingly uncommon in the city proper, happening only about once every 5 to 15 years on average. Salinas experienced one inch of snowfall on February 26, 2011.
Economy
Taylor Farms, Tanimura & Antle, Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital, Natividad Hospital, Mann Packing, Hilltown Packing, Newstar Fresh Foods, Matsui Nursery, and Monterey County are some of the major employers in Salinas.
The rising AgTech Capital of the country and a powerhouse for agricultural technology, Salinas is well renowned for its AgTech sector. It is ideally situated for creating high-tech agricultural advances because of its proximity to Silicon Valley and the abundance of agricultural jobs.
Population
California's Monterey County is home to the city of Salinas. It serves as Monterey County's county seat as well. It is the 162nd largest city in the United States and the 33rd largest city in California, with a projected population of 161,585 in 2023.Salinas' population has declined by -1.11% from the most recent census, which showed that there were 163,397 people living there in 2020, and is presently falling at a pace of -0.37% annually. Over 23 miles long, Salinas has a density of 6,897 inhabitants per square mile.
Salinas has a poverty rate of 19.04% and a $77,528 average household income. The median monthly cost of rent in recent years has been, and the median value of a home is. In Salinas, the median age is 31, with 30.2 years for men and 32 years for women.
The city of Salinas, which serves as the county seat of Monterey County, is situated outside the Greater Bay Area, 10 miles to the east-southeast of the Salinas River's mouth.