Homes, condos and land for sale and rent in Monterey, CA

 
The City of Monterey in Monterey County is located on the southern edge of Monterey Bay, in the Northern Portion of California’s Central Coast. It stands at an elevation of 26 feet (8 m) above sea level, on a land area of 8.466 sq mi (21.93 km2). The 2010 census recorded a population of 27,810.
Monterey was the capital of Alta California under both Spain and Mexico. It was the only port of entry for taxable goods in California. In 1846 the U.S. flag was raised over the Customs House, and California became part of the United States after the ensuing Mexican–American War.
The city had California’s first theater, public building, public library, publicly funded school, printing press, and newspaper. The city and surrounding area have attracted artists since the late 19th century and many celebrated painters and writers have lived there. Until the 1950s, there was an abundant fishery.
Among Monterey’s notable present-day attractions are the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Cannery Row, Fisherman’s Wharf and the annual Monterey Jazz Festival.
Colton Hall, built in 1849 by Walter Colton, was originally both a public school and government meeting place. It hosted California’s first constitutional convention in 1849, which composed the documents necessary to apply to the United States for statehood. Today it houses a museum, while adjacent buildings serve as the seat of local government. The Monterey post office opened in 1849. Monterey was incorporated in 1889.
Monterey had long been famous for the abundant fishery in Monterey Bay. That changed in the 1950s when the local fishery business collapsed due to overfishing. A few of the old fishermen’s cabins from the early 20th century have been preserved as they originally stood along Cannery Row.
The city has a noteworthy history as a center for California painters in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Such painters as Arthur Frank Mathews, Armin Hansen, Xavier Martinez, Rowena Meeks Abdy and Percy Gray lived or visited to pursue painting in the style of either En plein air or Tonalism.
In addition to painters, many noted authors have also lived in and around the Monterey area, including John Steinbeck, Robinson Jeffers, Robert A. Heinlein, Henry Miller, Ed Ricketts, and Robert Louis Stevenson.
More recently, Monterey has been recognized for its significant involvement in post-secondary learning of languages other than English and its major role in delivering translation and interpretation services around the world. In November 1995, California Governor Pete Wilson proclaimed Monterey as “The Language Capital of the World”.
The climate of Monterey is regulated by its proximity to the Pacific Ocean resulting in a cool-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification: Csb). Monterey’s average high temperature ranges from around 14 °C (57 °F) in winter to 21 °C (70 °F) during the summer months. Average annual precipitation is around 19.5 inches (500 mm), with most rainfall occurring between October and April, with little to no precipitation falling during the summer months. There is an average of 70 days with measurable precipitation annually. Summers in Monterey are often cool and foggy. The cold surface waters cause even summer nights to be unusually cool for the latitude, opposite to on the U.S. east coast where coastal summer days and nights are much warmer. The extreme moderation is further underlined by that Monterey is on a similar latitude in California as Death Valley – the hottest area in the world.
During winter, snow occasionally falls in the higher elevations of the Santa Lucia Mountains and Gabilan Mountains that overlook Monterey, but snow in Monterey itself is extremely rare. A few unusual events in January 1962, February 1976, and December 1997 brought a light coating of snow to Monterey. In March 2006, a total of 3.2 inches (81 mm) fell in Monterey, including 2.2 inches (56 mm) on March 10, 2006. The snowfall on January 21, 1962, of 1.5 inches (38 mm), is remembered for delaying the Bing Crosby golf tournament in nearby Pebble Beach.
The record lowest temperature was 20 °F (−7 °C) on December 22, 1990. Annually, there are an average of 2.9 days with 90 °F (32 °C)+ highs, and an average of 2 days with lows reaching the freezing mark or lower.
The wettest year on record was 1998 with 41.01 inches (1,042 mm) of precipitation. The driest year was 1953 with 8.95 inches (227 mm). The most precipitation in one month was 14.26 inches (362 mm) in February 1998. The record maximum 24-hour precipitation was 3.85 inches (98 mm) on December 23, 1995.
The 2010 United States Census reported that Monterey had a population of 27,810. The population density was 2,364.0 people per square mile (912.7/km²). The racial makeup of Monterey was 21,788 (78.3%) White, 777 (2.8%) African American, 149 (0.5%) Native American, 2,204 (7.9%) Asian, 91 (0.3%) Pacific Islander, 1,382 (5.0%) from other races, and 1,419 (5.1%) from two or more races. There were 3,817 people of (13.7%) Hispanic or Latino origin, of any race.
The Census reported that 25,307 people (91.0% of the population) lived in households, 2,210 (7.9%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 293 (1.1%) were institutionalized.
There were 12,184 households, out of which 2,475 (20.3%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 4,690 (38.5%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 902 (7.4%) had a female householder with no husband present, 371 (3.0%) had a male householder with no wife present. 4,778 households (39.2%) were made up of individuals and 1,432 (11.8%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.08. There were 5,963 families (48.9% of all households); the average family size was 2.81.
The population was spread out with 4,266 people (15.3%) under the age of 18, 3,841 people (13.8%) aged 18 to 24, 8,474 people (30.5%) aged 25 to 44, 6,932 people (24.9%) aged 45 to 64, and 4,297 people (15.5%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36.9 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.6 males.
There were 13,584 housing units at an average density of 1,154.7 per square mile (445.8/km²), of which 4,360 (35.8%) were owner-occupied, and 7,824 (64.2%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.0%; the rental vacancy rate was 6.5%. 9,458 people (34.0% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 15,849 people (57.0%) lived in rental housing units.
There are several institutions of higher education in the area: the Defense Language Institute, located on the Presidio of Monterey, California; the Naval Postgraduate School, on the site of a former resort hotel; the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey (a graduate school of Middlebury College); and Monterey Peninsula College, part of the California Community Colleges system. The federal institutions (the Defense Language Institute (DLI) and the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS)) are important employers in and strongly associated with the city.

California State University, Monterey Bay and the Monterey College of Law are located at the site of the former Fort Ord in neighboring Seaside. CSU Monterey Bay has developed several programs in marine and watershed sciences.
The Monterey Peninsula Unified School District operates a high school, a middle school and three elementary schools. Private schools include Santa Catalina School (girls, co-ed elementary and middle school) and Trinity Christian High School

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