Demographics of Salinas city, California

Salinas city, California had 159,134 people on July 1, 2025, by the Census Bureau’s estimate: −4,256 since July 2020. Age, income, poverty, housing and origin below come from the survey, averaged over 2020–2024, each with its margin of error.

Salinas city, in four figures

159,134
Population: July 1, 2025, Vintage 2025 estimate. The survey’s 2020–⁠2024 figure is 161,761 ±59.; −2.6%
Change since July 2020: −4,256 people.; 32.4 ±0.5
Median age: ACS 2020–⁠2024.; $91,908 ±$2,961
Median household income: ACS 2020–⁠2024, in 2024 dollars.

Population, year by year

July 1 estimates from the Census Bureau’s Vintage 2025. The Bureau publishes no births, deaths or migration for a place, so the change is the difference between one July estimate and the next.

Salinas city, California's population shrank 2.6% from July 2020 to July 2025, against +3.1% nationally

The July 1 estimate of Salinas city, California's resident population and the nation's, each year of the Census Bureau's Vintage 2025, as a share of its July 2020 level (= 100).

Source: The Census Bureau

About this chart

The figures

Salinas city, California's population shrank 2.6% from July 2020 to July 2025, against +3.1% nationally. The July 1 estimate of Salinas city, California's resident population and the nation's, each year of the Census Bureau's Vintage 2025, as a share of its July 2020 level (= 100).
July 1	Population	Index	United States
2020	163,390	100.0	100.0
2021	162,695	99.6	100.2
2022	161,022	98.6	100.7
2023	160,002	97.9	101.6
2024	159,794	97.8	102.5
2025	159,134	97.4	103.1

Population of Salinas city, California on July 1 of each year, Vintage 2025
July 1	Population	Change
2020	163,390	—
2021	162,695	−695
2022	161,022	−1,673
2023	160,002	−1,020
2024	159,794	−208
2025	159,134	−660

Age, 2020–2024

The median age is 32.4 ±0.5: for men 32.1 ±0.6 and for women 32.7 ±0.7. Shares are of everyone the survey counts, in the Bureau’s sex-by-age table (B01001).

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People in Salinas city by age, ACS 2020–2024
Age	People	Share	California	United States
Under 5	12,799 ±755	7.9% ±0.5	5.5% ±<0.1	5.6% ±<0.1
5 to 17	34,752 ±1,270	21.5% ±0.8	16.5% ±<0.1	16.3% ±<0.1
18 to 24	16,721 ±897	10.3% ±0.6	9.1% ±<0.1	9.1% ±<0.1
25 to 44	45,659 ±1,401	28.2% ±0.9	28.7% ±<0.1	26.9% ±<0.1
45 to 64	34,730 ±1,302	21.5% ±0.8	24.6% ±<0.1	24.8% ±<0.1
65 and over	17,100 ±940	10.6% ±0.6	15.7% ±<0.1	17.2% ±<0.1

Income and poverty, 2020–2024

Median household income is $91,908 ±$2,961, and income per person $29,650 ±$1,085, in 2024 dollars. The median is $99,122 ±$310 in California and $80,734 ±$166 in the United States.

Households by income

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Households in Salinas city by income, ACS 2020–2024
Household income	Households	Share	California	United States
Under $25,000	4,839 ±548	11.1% ±1.2	12.5% ±0.1	14.6% ±<0.1
$25,000 to $49,999	6,424 ±694	14.7% ±1.6	13.3% ±0.1	16.7% ±<0.1
$50,000 to $74,999	6,362 ±642	14.6% ±1.5	13.0% ±0.1	15.5% ±<0.1
$75,000 to $99,999	6,503 ±686	14.9% ±1.6	11.6% ±0.1	12.6% ±<0.1
$100,000 to $149,999	9,827 ±795	22.5% ±1.8	17.8% ±0.1	17.5% ±<0.1
$150,000 to $199,999	4,743 ±593	10.9% ±1.3	11.3% ±0.1	9.6% ±<0.1
$200,000 or more	4,922 ±595	11.3% ±1.4	20.5% ±0.1	13.4% ±0.1

Poverty by age

The poverty rate is the share of people whose family income is below the federal threshold for their family’s size, of everyone for whom the Bureau determines it (B17020).

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Poverty rate in Salinas city by age, ACS 2020–2024
Age	Below poverty	Rate	California	United States
All ages	21,817 ±2,243	13.6% ±1.4	12.0% ±0.1	12.5% ±0.1
Under 18	8,319 ±994	17.7% ±2.0	15.0% ±0.1	16.1% ±0.1
18 to 59	9,972 ±1,086	11.2% ±1.2	11.0% ±0.1	11.6% ±0.1
60 and over	3,526 ±510	14.5% ±2.0	11.5% ±0.1	11.0% ±<0.1

Housing, 2020–2024

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Housing in Salinas city, ACS 2020–2024
Measure	Salinas city	California	United States
Housing units	45,249 ±787	14,644,735 ±1,665	143,775,355 ±10,234
Occupied	96.4% ±2.4	92.5% ±0.1	89.9% ±0.1
Vacant	3.6% ±0.8	7.5% ±0.1	10.1% ±0.1
Owner occupied	47.0% ±1.6	55.9% ±0.3	65.2% ±0.3
Renter occupied	53.0% ±1.5	44.1% ±0.2	34.8% ±0.1
Median home value	$654,100 ±$11,147	$734,700 ±$1,307	$332,700 ±$236
Median gross rent	$1,991 ±$47	$2,036 ±$5	$1,413 ±$2
Median year built	1976 ±1	1976 ±1	1980 ±1

Occupied and vacant are shares of all housing units; owner and renter occupied are shares of occupied units. Value and rent are medians in 2024 dollars.

Origin and place of birth, 2020–2024

Hispanic or Latino origin is not a race in the Census Bureau’s tables. Here the people of Hispanic origin, of any race, are one row, and everyone else is counted by race alone (B03002), so the rows add to the whole.

Hispanic origin and race

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People in Salinas city by Hispanic origin and race, ACS 2020–2024
Origin	People	Share	California	United States
Hispanic or Latino	130,828 ±1,545	80.9% ±1.0	40.2% ±<0.1	19.3% ±<0.1
White alone, not Hispanic	17,821 ±1,240	11.0% ±0.8	33.8% ±<0.1	57.4% ±<0.1
Black alone, not Hispanic	1,696 ±489	1.0% ±0.3	5.2% ±<0.1	11.9% ±<0.1
Asian alone, not Hispanic	8,669 ±938	5.4% ±0.6	15.3% ±<0.1	5.9% ±<0.1
American Indian and Alaska Native alone, not Hispanic	33 to 301	< 0.1% to 0.2%	0.3% ±<0.1	0.5% ±<0.1
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone, not Hispanic	19 to 151	< 0.1% to 0.1%	0.3% ±<0.1	0.2% ±<0.1
Some other race alone, not Hispanic	155 to 513	0.1% to 0.3%	0.6% ±<0.1	0.6% ±<0.1
Two or more races, not Hispanic	2,161 ±426	1.3% ±0.3	4.4% ±<0.1	4.3% ±<0.1

A range (the estimate less and plus its margin) where the Bureau's estimate is too uncertain to state as one number: a coefficient of variation over 30%.

Place of birth and citizenship

“Born a citizen outside the states” counts people born in Puerto Rico, the island areas, or abroad to American parents. Naturalized citizens and those who are not citizens together make up the people born abroad (B05002).

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People in Salinas city by place of birth and citizenship, ACS 2020–2024
Born	People	Share	California	United States
Born in the state	90,258 ±2,113	55.8% ±1.3	56.5% ±0.1	57.3% ±<0.1
Born in another state	8,999 ±754	5.6% ±0.5	15.0% ±0.1	26.9% ±<0.1
Born a citizen outside the states	1,882 ±468	1.2% ±0.3	1.5% ±<0.1	1.7% ±<0.1
Born abroad	60,622 ±2,030	37.5% ±1.3	27.0% ±0.1	14.1% ±<0.1
Naturalized citizens	15,526 ±1,037	9.6% ±0.6	14.7% ±0.1	7.4% ±<0.1
Not citizens	45,096 ±2,232	27.9% ±1.4	12.3% ±0.1	6.8% ±<0.1

Salinas city among the places of California

32nd of 661 places of 5,000 or more by the survey’s 2020–2024 count. Every one is listed on the California page.

Places of California near Salinas city in population, ACS 2020–2024
Place	ACS 2020–⁠2024
Rancho Cucamonga city	175,411 ±81
Oceanside city	172,242 ±131
Garden Grove city	170,964 ±82
Lancaster city	169,169 ±59
Palmdale city	164,634 ±69
Salinas city	161,761 ±59
Corona city	159,670 ±80
Hayward city	158,801 ±67
Roseville city	155,955 ±100
Sunnyvale city	154,236 ±68
Escondido city	149,668 ±57

Elsewhere on the site

Reported crime in Salinas city, California

Rankings this appears in

No. 114 Places by Hispanic or Latino share
No. 188 Places by foreign-born share

Sources

Census Bureau population estimates — incorporated places and New England towns — U.S. Census Bureau · U.S. Government work · retrieved September 25, 2026
American Community Survey 5-year estimates — table-based Summary File · U.S. Government work

Compiled automatically from Census Bureau population estimates — incorporated places and New England towns and American Community Survey 5-year estimates — table-based Summary File by a checked SQL query · Editor: Kian O'Connor · How this site is built

Data retrieved September 25, 2026