Census ACS · #124 MSA
Salinas Metro Area
The Salinas, Ca Metropolitan Statistical Area has 435,834 residents. The median household income is $94,486 and the median home value is $723,100.
435,834
Population
133
People / sq mi
$94,486
Median Income
$723,100
Median Home Value
The Salinas CBSA covers 3,282 sq mi of land at 132.8 people per square mile.
Race & Ethnicity
| White | 36.5% |
| Black or African American | 2.2% |
| Asian | 0.0% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.5% |
Economy & Income
$94,486
Median Household Income
$39,523
Per Capita Income
9.2%
Poverty Rate
3.0%
Unemployment
Cost of Living
The Salinas metro's price level is 109.0 on the BEA Regional Price Parity index (US average = 100), meaning prices are 9.0% higher the US average. The local median income of $94,486 has the buying power of $86,651 in average-priced US metros.
109.0
Price Level (US = 100)
$86,651
COL-Adjusted Median Income
$94,486
Nominal Median Income
Housing
$723,100
Median Home Value
$1,995
Median Rent
52.3%
Homeownership
Education
73.3%
High School+
27.9%
Bachelor's+
Commute
1.3%
Drive Alone
9.1%
Work From Home
25.4 min
Avg Commute
13.5%
Foreign Born
Salinas spans this state
Nearby metros
Largest cities in California
Largest counties in California
Part of California
Other metros
Metro areas in California
Metro rankings
Frequently Asked Questions
The Salinas, Ca Metropolitan Statistical Area has a population of 435,834 according to Census ACS 5-Year estimates, making it the #124 largest CBSA in the US.
The median household income in the Salinas metro area is $94,486, with a per capita income of $39,523.
The Salinas, Ca CBSA spans the state of California.
More from California
Data for the Salinas, Ca CBSA (41500) from the American Community Survey 5-Year estimates. Core-Based Statistical Areas combine cities, suburbs, and surrounding counties tied together by commuting patterns.
The this entity record above pulls directly from the U.S. Census Bureau ACS and decennial files. What follows is the per-entity context — how this entity sits in the broader U.S. population demographics distribution and which underlying factors drive the headline numbers.
Every number on this page links back to the U.S. Census Bureau ACS and decennial files; the methodology page describes the inputs, refresh cadence, and known limitations of the underlying data product.
Practical use of this page is in combination with the comparison and ranking pages elsewhere on the site, which surface the same data for this entity’s peers within U.S. states, metros, cities, and ZIPs. A single-entity reading without peer context can be misleading when an entity is an outlier on one axis but typical on another.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS, 2026.