Quicknation    California Salinas

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Salinas is the county seat of Monterey County, California. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 151,060. The city developed in the 19th century as an Anglo response to the predominantly Italian fishing community Monterey.

Salinas' economy depends much on agriculture. Located in one of California's richest farming regions, Salinas produces a variety of fruits and vegetables, including lettuce, strawberry, watermelons, broccoli, carrots, cabbages, and spinach.

Salinas was also the birthplace of John Steinbeck and is the home of the National Steinbeck Center.

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According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 49.2 km² (19.0 mi²). 49.2 km² (19.0 mi²) of it is land and none of it is covered by water. It has some mountains and rivers through it.

of 2000, there are 151,060 people, 38,298 households, and 30,025 families residing in the city. The population density is 3,068.1mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 51% Hispanic, 45.16% White, 3.27% African American, 1.26% Native American out of which 49.2% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.6% are married couples living together, 14.8% have a female householder with no husband present, and 21.6% are non-families. 17.1% of all households are made up of individuals and 6.5% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 3.66 and the average family size is 4.07.

In the city the population is spread out with 32.0% under the age of 18, 11.8% from 18 to 24, 33.7% from 25 to 44, 15.5% from 45 to 64, and 7.1% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 28 years. For every 100 females there are 113.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 117.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city is $43,720, and the median income for a family is $44,667. Males have a median income of $35,641 versus $27,013 for females. The per capita income for the city is $14,495. 16.7% of the population and 12.8% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 20.1% of those under the age of 18 and 9.4% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

Salinas is known as the "Salad Bowl of the World," and for good reason. Over 80% of the lettuce grown in the United States is grown in the Salinas Valley.

While the median household income in Salinas remians at $44,667, the median home price now lies in excess of $630,000 according to the Monterey County Realtor Associaation. This means that when financed trough a regular 30 year loan @ 5.7% interest with a $100,000 downpayment the mortage payment on an average 1300+ sq ft home would be in excess of $3,000 a month. Assuming a houshold spends 50% off all net income on housing an annual gross income of $95,932 would be required. If the houshold only spends 30% of all net income on mortage payments an annual gross income of $143,899 would be required. Only 8.54% of houshold in Salinas have six-fugure incomes; excluding many from a housing market in which fixer-uppers start in 500,000's.

As of December 2004, the financial state of the local government is poor. This is mostly due to the high number of illegal immigrants working in the agricultural fields, who without verifiable governmental representation and tax allotment drain the city's limited resources that are based solely on the legally-documented residents. Funding levels are so low that Salinas almost became the first city in the United States to completely close down its library system. Donations were raised to keep the libraries open through 2005. In November 2005, voters approved a tax measure to fund several vital services in the city, including libraries, by a 61 percent vote. The measure, known locally as Measure V, will provide some $11 million in funding to take affect in the 2007 fiscal year. The measure will allow the city to start restoring more than $15 million in service cuts including the closure of three recreation centers and the elimination of graffiti abatement and crossing guard money for schools. An independent oversight committee also will be appointed to oversee the money raised by the tax increase, which will be in place for the next 10 years.

Those opposed to closing the libraries alleged that voters did not believe that the entire library system could be shut down, even if they failed to approve ballot funding measures, suggesting that there was not enough time for a proper public awareness campaign prior to the election.

The libraries will remain open with limited hours. The current plan is to keep each of the three libraries open from July through December 2005 for 8-10 hours each week. This plan is based on raised by Rally Salinas! and dedicated to the short-term operations of the libraries.

Many other city programs, such as Graffiti Abatement, have been cut as well. Volunteers have taken to the streets with donated paint supplies from local businesses to fight the constant barrage of gang graffiti.

One of the city's most serious problems are gangs of Mexicans and Mexican Americans in certain Salinas neighborhoods, often shooting at rival gang members. The problem has become a large priority for the Salinas police. Salinas' homicide and violent crime rate were moderately high in the year 2003, with circa 12.6 homicides per 1,000 population (5.7 national average), and 798.4 violent crimes per 1,000 per capita (475.0 national average).

There have been two incidents in the last decade where gang members took violence to the city's main shopping center, Northridge Mall. These incidents involved gunshots fired in the mall itself.