Salinas, California
27 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1910 and the latest in 1983. It stands in the Salinas census division. It lies in ZIP code area 93901. It stands on Alisal Creek. The Survey maps it on the Salinas quadrangle. 163,542 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 52 feet above sea level.
Then and now
1910 to 1983The same ground, surveyed 73 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.


Compare 1910 against another survey:
On record in Salinas
Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.
On the National Register 11 records
Samuel M. Black Houselisted 1984
Peter J. Bontadelli Houselisted 1980
Jose Eusebio Boronda Adobelisted 1973
Krough Houselisted 1982
Monterey County Court Houselisted 2009
Monterey County Jaillisted 2004
Sheriff William Joseph Nesbitt Houselisted 1982
Rancho Las Palmaslisted 1978
Republic Cafelisted 2011
B. V. Sargent Houselisted 1980
John Steinbeck Houselisted 2000
Population over time
3 figuresSalinas grew from 599 to 163,542 between 1870 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1870 | 599 | |
| 2010 | 150,441 | |
| 2020 | 163,542 | +13,101 (+9%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
12 surveys from 27 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1910 USGS Salinas quadrangle1:31680
- 1912 USGS Salinas quadrangle1:62500, 6 printings
- 1940 USGS Salinas quadrangle1:62500
- 1947 USGS Salinas quadrangle1:24000, 7 printings
- 1947 USGS Salinas quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1948 USGS Santa Cruz quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1955 USGS Santa Cruz quadrangle1:250000
- 1957 USGS Santa Cruz quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS Santa Cruz quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1965 USGS Santa Cruz quadrangle1:250000
- 1974 USGS Monterey quadrangle1:250000
- 1983 USGS Monterey quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
126 since 1993Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 126 fires within 5 miles of Salinas between 1993 and 2020, burning about 397 acres in total. None started naturally. 11 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 85 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 12 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 11 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 9 |
| Debris and open burning | 5 |
| Smoking | 3 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 September 2004 | Misuse of fire by a minor | under an acre | San Benito-Monterey Unit | CABEU004147 |
| 5 September 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | San Benito-Monterey Unit | not named |
| 4 September 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6.0 acres | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | not named |
| 30 September 2018 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | not named |
| 25 September 2019 | Misuse of fire by a minor | under an acre | San Benito-Monterey Unit | not named |
| 21 September 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | not named |
| 2 September 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | San Benito-Monterey Unit | OLD STAGE #3 |
| 19 September 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 13 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 13 workings within 5 miles of Salinas: 5 producers, 4 past producers, 2 prospects, 2 occurrences. 5 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Clay, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Stone. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| De Ameral-Carmel Valley | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Sillacci | Stone | Producer | ||
| Sillacci Lower Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken, Limestone, General | Past Producer | ||
| Spreckels Sugar Co | Limestone, General | Prospect | Sedimentary | |
| Unnamed Mine | Stone | Past Producer | ||
| Heins Lake | Clay | Occurrence | ||
| Salinas Brickyard | Clay | Prospect | Sedimentary | |
| Salinas Brickyard | Clay | Past Producer | ||
| Bardin Estate | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Occurrence | ||
| Foothill Road Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer |
Storms near this place
12 since 1996Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Salinas in 12 storm reports between 1996 and 2025: 6 flood, 2 hail, 2 debris flow, 1 flash flood. The reports record 1 injury. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 2021 | Debris Flow | Salinas | 1 hurt | Mudslide from the River Fire burn scar. Crews worked to rescue residents and their animals (at least 50 large animals were in need of rescue). People were blocked into their homes with mild to moderate damage reported at at least 20 homes (exact amount unknown) with one homeowner injured and taken to the hospital https://www.ksbw.com/article/animals-being-rescued-people-trapped-in-their-homes-from-mudslide-near-river-fire-burn-scar/35337056 - https://abc7news.com/weather/homes-damaged-several-rescued-after-mudslide-in-monterey-co/10073282/ . |
| October 2025 | Funnel Cloud | Salinas | $10 | Multiple videos on social media showed a funnel cloud over Salinas. Location Approximate. |
| January 2017 | Hail | Salinas | $10 | Hail covered ground. |
| January 2017 | Hail | Salinas | $10 | Time and location is approximate. |
| March 2024 | Flash Flood | Salinas | - | Broadcast TV meteorologist reported 1 inch of rain in 25 minutes with picture showing filled rain gauge via social media. |
| March 2023 | Flood | Salinas | - | Roadway flooding was reported at the intersection of Blanco Road and Davis Road in Salinas. |
| January 2021 | Flood | Salinas | - | Roadway flooding at US-101 N and Main St. Flooding is causing vehicles to hydroplane. |
| January 2021 | Debris Flow | Salinas | - | Mud flowing onto the road near 645 River Rd. |
| December 2019 | Flood | Salinas | - | Hwy 101 northbound lanes standing water. |
| November 2019 | Flood | Salinas | - | Standing water in number 2 lane at SR-183 and E Market St. |
| February 2017 | Flood | Salinas | - | Roll-over accident. No injuries. North Davis NE of West Market Street in Salinas. Driver hit water and went off the road. |
| December 1996 | Flood | Salinas | - | no account filed |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boronda | 1.8 miles | 27 | |
| Spreckels Junction | 1.9 miles | 27 | |
| Alisal | 2.0 miles | 27 | |
| Springtown | 2.3 miles | 27 | |
| Santa Rita | 3.2 miles | 27 | |
| Old Hilltown | 3.3 miles | 27 | |
| Spreckels | 3.9 miles | 28 | |
| Bolsa Knolls | 4.0 miles | 27 |
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikipedia article on Salinas | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q488125 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 277589. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.











