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Overview of Monterey County
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Monterey County was one of the original 27 counties created on February 18, 1850 by the California legislature. It is situated on the California coastline almost at its midpoint, 106 miles south of San Francisco and approximately 241 miles north of Los Angeles. The County encompasses 3,322 square miles (or 2,127,359 acres), with almost 100 miles of coastline — the largest amount of coastline in California. The County has an estimated population of 421,400 as of January 2004. Monterey County is bounded by Santa Cruz County to the north, San Benito County to the east, San Luis Obispo County to the south, while on the west lies the Pacific Ocean.
The Salinas Valley is the geographical center of the County, running almost the entire length of the County, and is one of the nation's major vegetable-producing areas. The 170-mile long Salinas River, the third longest in California, winds quietly through the valley. The river and its aquifer serve as a water supply for agriculture and other industries as well as municipalities. In 1999, agriculture was a $2.5 billion dollar industry — the largest economic force in Monterey County.
Along with agriculture, tourism is the other economic base for the County due to popularity of the coastal areas with vacationers. The Monterey Peninsula and other coastal areas of the County have long been a recreational destination for vacationers and tourists. Mild weather and spectacular scenery have drawn people to the area for many years. Monterey, the capital of California under Spain, Mexico and the early American regime, draws visitors with its historical monuments, Fisherman's Wharf, the Monterey Bay Aquarium and Cannery Row. The unique environmental resources of Monterey County continue to encourage the expansion of visitor serving industries and investment. Monterey County accounted for just over 2% of statewide travel spending, generating $1.5 billion and over 18,400 jobs in the County.
The military maintains a presence in Monterey County with the Naval Postgraduate School, the Presidio of Monterey (home of the Defense Language Institute), the Presidio of Monterey Annex at Ft. Ord, and the U.S. Army Reserve Training Center at Fort Hunter-Liggett.
An expanding and increasingly vital part of the County's economic picture includes small business development. Almost 70% of the businesses in Monterey County employ fewer than ten workers.
Monterey County has two major urban areas, Salinas and the Monterey Peninsula. Salinas, the County's government center and largest city, is located in the northern part of the valley. Salinas has become a regional trade center for California's central counties, serving as the industrial, commercial and residential hub of the Salinas Valley.
The closure of Ford Ord in 1994, and the subsequent land transfers to local cities, means that additional land that is centrally located to the major population and commercial centers is now available for residential, commercial and light industrial development.
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