City of Salinas, California - Community Profile

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Our Community

Location

Nestled eight miles inland from Monterey, 101 miles south of San Francisco and 325 miles north of Los Angeles sits the Salinas Valley. Located in the heart of this valley is The City of Salinas. The City of Salinas grows more produce than any other county in the U.S. thus earning it the nickname, "The Salad Bowl of the World." To give you an idea of how much produce we grow for the country here in Salinas, take a look at these numbers: 80 percent of the nations lettuce, 50 percent of its cauliflower and mushrooms, 25 percent of its celery, 60 percent of its broccoli and 90 percent of its artichokes. So even people on the east coast eat produce grown right here in Salinas.

(Source: Monterey County Farm Bureau
and Monterey County Agricultural Commissioner)

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Population

Salinas' population as of 1997 was 123,300.

(Source: State Department of Finance)

Population projection in 2000 for Salinas is 138,271.

(Source: AMBAG)

Population Make-up as of the 1990 federal census:

the median age of the Salinas population was 27.8, with 50 percent being female.

There were 34,061 households with an average of 3.35 persons per household.

The 1990 total population of Salinas was 108,777, with 55,084 (51 percent)

identified as being of Hispanic origin, all races.

Racial breakdown for the other residents, not of Hispanic origin, was:

white, 42,152 (39 percent);

black, 2,857 (3 percent);

Asian and Pacific Islander, 7,759 (7 percent),

and Native American, 661.

Listed as "other," which meant they did not choose to identify with any of the

choices on the census form or did not understand the question, were 264.

(Source: AMBAG: 1990 census)

Education Level as of the 1990 federal census:

62 percent of the city's residents 25 years old and over (67,444)

were high school graduates,

26 percent had completed from one to three years of college,

and 12 percent had earned a bachelor's or postgraduate degree.

(Source: AMBAG: 1990 census)

Median Household Income:

The median household income for Salinas is $36,278.

(Source: AMBAG: 1990 census)

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Climate

The Salinas Valley is comprised of some 640,000 acres, is 10-20 miles wide and 150 miles long. In the summer the average temperatures are in the 70's dipping into the 50's at night. The average temperature is 68 degrees. During the winter the temperatures are generally in the 60's dropping to the mid 30's at night. It rarely snows here except in the surrounding hills, but great winter sports are nearby in the Sierra Mountains. Salinas has an average annual rainfall of 14.14 inches which takes place mainly in the winter and in early spring.

(Source Salinas Chamber of Commerce)

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