Monterey, CA — Momentum Score, Home Values & Best-For

All states·California·Monterey

Monterey County · Salinas · population 29,015

Shrinking
Monterey, CA
Image: Wikipedia · Monterey, California
OverviewCost of livingMoving guide
View watchlist →
50
Stable
Momentum score · 0–100

Where Monterey stands

Home values down 3.2% in the last year. population shrinking 1.0% per year.

Median home $1,189,607
1-year -3.2%
5-yr CAGR +3.5%
vs 5-yr peak -4.2%
Population -1.0%/yr

Home value trajectory · last 10 years

Zillow ZHVI · monthly
peak 2025-01$1190k$681k$885k$1088k$1291k201620182020202220242026

Lifestyle scores

🚶
Walkability
32/100
Very car-dependent
Estimated from population density. Higher = denser, more amenities within walking distance.
🚉
Public transit
15/100
Transit limited
Curated list of major US transit systems + population-based estimate. Higher = real subway/rail/bus options.
💻
Remote work fit
34/100
Poor remote-work fit
Composite of city size, housing cost, state tax structure, and region's remote-work track record.

Scores are heuristic estimates from population density, state, and known transit/walkable cities. Not based on a paid Walk Score / Transit Score API — see methodology for the formula.

Rent trajectory · last 5 years

Zillow ZORI · monthly
$2,758/mo$1,959$2,446$2,934202220242026

Home value vs rent · indexed to 100

Both rebased at first month of ZORI data (~2015)
Home valueRent119132100120202220242026

Rent vs buy

Price-to-rent ratio: 35.9
Rent

At a 35.9 price-to-rent ratio, renting beats buying in Monterey for most shorter holds. The premium you pay to own would take many years of rent savings to recoup, and that's before maintenance, taxes, and opportunity cost on the down payment.

How the momentum score breaks down

methodology →
Home YoY
34 · w22%
Home 5-yr CAGR
56 · w22%
Distance from peak
65 · w18%
Population growth
30 · w16%
Rent YoY
60 · w12%
Home 10-yr CAGR
61 · w10%
Long thesis

Monterey has held up across the cycle: home values at $1,189,607 with +3.5% 5-year CAGR. The bull case is structural — population, location, employer base — and holds even if next year's print is soft.

Short thesis

Monterey's population is shrinking 1.0% per year. Housing demand has to come from somewhere — if people are leaving, the buyer pool is shrinking faster than the inventory. That eventually shows up in price.

About Monterey

Monterey is a city in Monterey County, California, with an estimated population of 29,015. It anchors the Salinas metro area. The population has contracted 1.0% per year on average since 2020. The median home value in Monterey is $1,189,607 as of 2026-04, down 3.2% over the last 12 months. Over the last five years, home values have averaged +3.5% annual growth (-4.2% from the 5-year peak). Rents in Monterey average $2,758 per month, roughly flat year-over-year (+2.2%). The composite momentum score is 50 of 100 (Stable). Conditions are neither hot nor cold, so the local fit matters more than market timing.

▲ Bull case

○The data is the data: Monterey has at least 5 years of Zillow tracking, full Census identification, and is included in the 1-criteria momentum score on this page.

▼ Bear case

●Net out-migration: population shrinking 1.0% per year — services, schools, and tax base will follow.
●Expensive AND not growing: median home $1,189,607 with only -3.2% YoY. You’re paying premium pricing for a flat trend.
●Cooling: -3.2% over the trailing year — momentum has stalled.

About Monterey (Wikipedia)

Monterey is a city on the southern edge of Monterey Bay, on the Central Coast of California. Located in Monterey County, the city occupies a land area of 8.645 sq mi (22.39 km2) and recorded a population of 30,218 in the 2020 census.

Source: Wikipedia · this summary is contributed and licensed under CC-BY-SA.

Playbook

Buyer

Lifestyle fit matters more than market timing in a Stable market. Take your time on the home and neighborhood; the macro trend isn't urgent. Negotiate normally.

Seller

Price competitively from day one or risk a 60+ day listing. Staging, photography, and presentation matter more in Stable markets than in Hot ones.

Investor

Stable cap rates, no big appreciation story to lean on. Underwrite this as a pure cash-flow play — the math has to work on rent alone.

Local safety & alerts

No active National Weather Service alerts for Monterey County right now.

NWS active alerts (CA)California Emergency ManagementHow to prepare (NWS)

Public-safety links are official .gov sources, not curated by us. Monterey County routes NWS alerts; check the state EM portal for non-weather emergencies.

Neighborhoods of Monterey

13 tracked · ranked by median home value
1Alta Mesa$2,556,966+4.9%
2Deer Flats$1,796,436+0.1%
3Del Monte Beach$1,386,863-3.1%
4Monterey Vista$1,280,439-3.9%
5Fisherman Flats$1,271,560-0.5%
6Skyline Forest$1,199,764+1.5%
7Old Town$1,193,136-3.6%
8Oak Grove$1,171,971+2.4%
9New Monterey$1,126,327-6.0%
10Del Monte Grove Laguna Grande$907,293+2.1%
11Casanovsa Oak Knoll$884,248-1.0%
12Villa Del Monte$797,241-0.9%
13Glenwood$501,107-4.3%

Cities like Monterey

Seaside, CA51 · StableSantee, CA53 · StableSignal Hill, CA49 · StableSierra Madre, CA55 · Stable

Run the numbers for Monterey

ToolCan I afford Monterey?Income → city shortlistToolROI on a Monterey rentalCap rate, cash-on-cash, DSCRToolCompare Monterey to anywhereSide-by-side up to 3 citiesToolMonterey cost-of-livingEquivalent income elsewhere

Sources: Zillow ZHVI (home values), Zillow ZORI (rents), US Census ACS + place population. Updated when source agencies publish revisions.

Climate & natural-disaster risk

Winter (Jan)
60° / 41°
avg high / low
Summer (Jul)
82° / 60°
avg high / low
Sunny days/yr
258
~71% of year
Annual precip
22″ rain
8″ snow
Disaster risk (1=very low, 5=very high)
Hurricane
Very low
Tornado
Very low
Wildfire
Very high
Earthquake
Very high
Flood
Moderate

State-level averages from NOAA Climate Normals (1991-2020) and FEMA National Risk Index. City-level conditions can vary significantly within a state.

Current weather

Loading current conditions…

7-day forecast on weather.gov →

Find rentals & listings

Open current Monterey listings on the major real-estate sites.

Links open the live search on the destination site — results are always current.

Local news & community

Updated 2026-05-21 from Google News + Reddit RSS. Headlines link to original sources.

Local sports teams

Major professional teams the Salinas area cheers for. Detailed stats, schedules, and player pages on intherafters.com.

Local economy & environment

Humidity
65%
Moderate climate
Median household income
$91,500
California state median
Top industries (state-level)
TechEntertainmentAgriculture

Humidity is annual average relative humidity (NOAA). Income is Census ACS 5-year estimate. Industries are largest employment sectors statewide (BLS); the local mix in a given city may vary.

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