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Salinas, California
City of Salinas
Monterey County Courthouse 2018 Salinas CA (1).jpg
Main Street Salinas City Center 1.jpg
Monterey Co Jail (cropped).jpg
Main Street, Salinas (cropped).jpg
Taylor Building Salinas CA.png
Top: Monterey County Court House; downtown; middle: historic Monterey County Jail building; bottom: Taylor Farms headquarters; downtown.
Official seal of Salinas, California
Seal
Official logo of Salinas, California
Wordmark
Nickname(s): 
"The Salad Bowl of the World"
Motto(s): 
"Rich in Land, Rich in Values."
Location of Salinas, California
Location of Salinas, California
Salinas, California is located in California
Salinas, California
Salinas, California
Location in California
Salinas, California is located in the United States
Salinas, California
Salinas, California
Location in the United States
Country United States
State California
Region Northern California
County Monterey
Incorporated March 4, 1874
Government
 • Type Council-Manager
Area
 • City 23.45 sq mi (60.74 km2)
 • Land 23.42 sq mi (60.66 km2)
 • Water 0.03 sq mi (0.08 km2)  0.16%
Elevation
52 ft (16 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • City 163,542
 • Rank 1st in Monterey County
33rd in California
164th in the United States
 • Density 6,974.1/sq mi (2,692.49/km2)
Time zone UTC−8 (Pacific)
 • Summer (DST) UTC−7 (PDT)
ZIP Codes
93901–93903, 93905–93908, 93912, and 93915
Area code 831
FIPS code 06-64224
GNIS feature IDs 277589, 2411768

Salinas ( Spanish for "Saltworks") is a city in California and the county seat of Monterey County. With a population of 163,542 in the 2020 Census, Salinas is the most populous city in Monterey County. Salinas is an urban area located in the Monterey Bay Area, just south of the San Francisco Bay Area and 10 miles (16 km) southeast of the mouth of the Salinas River. The city is located at the mouth of the Salinas Valley, roughly eight miles from the Pacific Ocean, and it has a climate more influenced by the ocean than the interior.

Salinas serves as the main business, governmental and industrial center of the region. The marine climate is ideal for the floral industry, grape vineyards, and vegetable growers. Salinas is known as the "Salad Bowl of the World" for its large, vibrant agriculture industry.

It was the hometown of writer and Nobel laureate John Steinbeck (1902–68), who set many of his stories in the Salinas Valley and Monterey. Salinas is notable for its high Hispanic proportion, which at 79.6%, is the highest proportion of Hispanic Americans out of any city in California. The city also has a sizable Asian-American population, once boasting the 2nd biggest Chinatown in the nation.

History

Salinas City, First Mayor's House, 1874
First Mayors House circa 1868

The land currently occupied by the city of Salinas is thought to have been settled by Native Americans known as the Esselen prior to 200 AD. Between 200 and 500 AD, they were displaced by the Rumsen group of Ohlone speaking people, who were the inhabitants at contact with the Spanish. Large Spanish land grants for the Catholic Missions and as bonuses to soldiers gave way to Mexican land grants for smaller ranchos where mostly cattle were grazed, and a thriving trade in cattle hide came through the Port of Monterey.

In 1848 California officially became a part of the United States of America, following several years of battles in the Salinas area with John Fremont flying the American flag on the highest peak of the Gabilan Mountains and claiming California for the United States. Before this time, Monterey was the capital of California and had been under military rule after the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo at the end of the Mexican-American war.

In the 1850s a junction of two main stage coach routes was located 18 miles east of Monterey and along the big bend of what is locally referred to as the Alisal Slough. The typically dry run-off features of this area, which may occasionally contain moist soils or marshes, are often referred to in California geographic toponymy as "sloughs," which word is pronounced similarly to the word "slew."

In 1854, six years after becoming a part of the United States, a group of American settlers living in the vicinity of this route-junction opened a post office at the junction, which had been built over the salty marshes of the Alisal Slough, thus calling their town Salinas, meaning "salty marshes" in Spanish. Soon thereafter, in 1856, a traveler's inn called the Halfway House was opened at that junction in Salinas. (The nearby Salinas River, was apparently only later named by an American cartographer, after the nearest town of Salinas in 1858. Previously that river had gone by the name: "Rio de Monterey."). The streets of Salinas were laid out in 1867, and the town was incorporated in 1874.

The conversion of grazing land to crops and the coming of the rail road in 1868 to transport goods and people was a major turning point in the history and economic advancement of Salinas. Dry farming of wheat, barley, and other grains as well as potatoes and mustard seed was common in the 1800s. Chinese labor drained thousands of acres of swampland to become productive farmland, and as much early farm labor was done by Chinese immigrants, Salinas boasted the second largest Chinatown in the state, slightly smaller than San Francisco. Irrigation changed farming in Salinas to mainly row crops of root vegetables, grapes and sugar beets. Many major vegetable producers placed their headquarters in Salinas. The historic prevalence of row crops is documented by aerial photographic interpretation of Earth Metrics, Driven by the profitable agricultural industry, Salinas had the highest per capita income of any city in the United States in 1924.

Salinas Assembly Center, California. Panorama of Salinas Assembly center. Persons of Japanese ance . . . - NARA - 537442
View of barracks at the Salinas Assembly Center.

During World War II, the Salinas Rodeo Grounds was one of the locations used as a temporary detention camp for citizens and immigrant residents of Japanese ancestry, before they were relocated to more permanent and remote facilities. One of seventeen such sites overseen by the Wartime Civilian Control Administration, the Salinas Assembly Center was built after President Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066, authorizing the removal and confinement of Japanese Americans living on the West Coast. The camp opened on April 27, 1942 and held a total of 3,608 people before closing two months later on July 4.

Sargent House historic victorian home Salinas ca
Sargent House Historic Victorian Home on Central Avenue

Following World War II major urban and suburban development converted much farmland to city. The city experienced two particularly strong growth spurts in the 1950s and 1960s, and again in the 1990s and early 2000s. Aerial photographic interpretation indicate such major conversion of cropland to urban uses over the time period 1956 to 1968, while the city annexed the adjacent communities of Alisal and Santa Rita during this time. The Harden Ranch, Creekbridge and Williams Ranch neighborhoods constituting much of the city's North-East were built almost exclusively between 1990 and 2004.

Salinas was also the birthplace of writer and Nobel Prize laureate John Steinbeck. The historic downtown, known as Oldtown Salinas, features much fine Victorian architecture, and is home to the National Steinbeck Center, the Steinbeck House and the John Steinbeck Library.

Major development took place in the 1990s, with the construction of Creekbridge, Williams Ranch, and Harden Ranch.

Ethnology

Thematic map showing percentage of households where Spanish is spoken at home in Salinas, CA
Thematic map showing percentage of households where Spanish, in combination with any other language(s), is spoken at home at least some of the time. The darker the color, the higher the percentage, by Census Tract as of 2014.

Traditionally an Anglophonic European American settlement, Salinas became home to a significant Asian minority who joined European-American immigrants in the agriculture and fishing industries at the turn of the 20th century. Meanwhile, the neighboring and, at the time, unincorporated community of Alisal became a mecca for Hispanic immigrants primarily from Mexico, drawn to opportunities in the area's agricultural industry. When annexed in 1963, Alisal was described as a large Mexican-American enclave, added to a city that was still otherwise majority European-American.

Hispanic immigration peaked from the 1980s through the early 2000s. Mostly European-American neighborhoods in North Salinas, an expansion of the original city built mostly in the 1950s and 60s, became majority Latino by 2010. As Latino immigrants and their descendants became more affluent and established, the proportion of Hispanics increased in the city's more affluent South and North-East. From the time it was first built in the late 1980s, to the 2000 Census, Creekbridge – the city's highest income area, least affected by poverty - remained mostly European-American and minority Latino. By 2010, however, US-born Latinos had become the largest ancestry group in the area. In South Salinas, the city's original area and most European-American section, Hispanics typically constitute over 40% of residents.

Despite its key role in the city's early development and significant Filipino immigration over recent decades, the Asian-American community of Salinas remains small compared to California average. The highest concentration of Asian-Americans is found in Creekbridge, where they constitute roughly 1 in 5 residents.

Along with the great influx of legal immigrants was an influx of undocumented immigrants. By 2011, Salinas had one of the highest concentrations of unauthorized immigrants in the state and nationwide. Of the city's three main zip codes, two had 10%-15% of residents being unauthorized immigrants, and a third over 15%.

The fear many undocumented immigrants have of government authorities has been a great obstacle faced by local law enforcement in crime investigations, community relations, and gathering information needed for effective policing. As a result, Salinas police department policy is to not verify immigration status of individuals coming into contact with city police officers.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 23.2 square miles (60 km2), 99.84% of it land and 0.16% of it water.

Prior to mass agricultural and urban development, much of the city consisted of rolling hills bisected by wooded creeks and interspersed with marsh land. Today, the city is located mostly on leveled ground, with some rolling hills and wooded gulches with creeks remaining in the north-eastern Creekbridge and Williams Ranch neighborhoods, as well as the Laurel Heights section of East Salinas. The natural ecosystems accompanying the area's topography and environment have been recreated in Natividad Creek Park and adjacent Upper Carr Lake.

The city rests about 18 meters (59 feet) above sea level, and it is located roughly eight miles from the Pacific Ocean. The Gabilan and Santa Lucia mountain ranges border the Salinas Valley to the east and to the west, respectively. Both mountain ranges and the Salinas Valley run approximately 90 miles (145 km) south-east from Salinas towards King City.

The Salinas River runs the length of the Salinas Valley and empties into the Pacific Ocean at the center of the Monterey Bay. During the summer months the river flows partially underground and it is this extensive underground aquifer that allows for irrigation of cropland in an area without much annual rainfall.

Climate

Las Palmas Snow
On March 10, 2006, a record breaking storm covered many of the nearby mountain tops in a white blanket of snow. Snow in the city of Salinas is extremely rare.

Salinas has cool and moderate temperatures, due to the “natural air conditioner” that conveys ocean air and fog from the Monterey Bay to Salinas, while towns to the north and south of Salinas experience hotter summers, as mountains block the ocean air. Thus, Salinas weather is closer to that of the Central Coast of California, rather than that of inland valleys, and thus has a mild Mediterranean climate with typical daily highs ranging from around 63 °F (17 °C) in the winter to around 75 °F (24 °C) in the summer. According to the Weather Channel, monthly average temperature highs range from 61 to 75 °F or 16.1 to 23.9 °C. The record highest temperature was 106 °F (41 °C) on September 14, 1971. The record lowest temperature was 18 °F (−8 °C) on December 21, 1937. Annually, there are an average of 5.5 days with 90 °F (32 °C)+ highs, and an average of 11.7 days with lows reaching the freezing mark or lower.

Salinas is in the top ten American cities for cleanest air quality, because the offshore marine layer generates winds that blow smog further inland.

The difference between ocean and air temperature also tends to create heavy morning fog during the summer months, known as the marine layer, driven by an onshore wind created by the local high pressure sunny portions of the Salinas Valley, which extend north and south from Salinas and the Bay.

The average annual rainfall for the city is approximately 13.26 inches or 336.8 millimetres. The wettest “rain year” since records at the present station began in 1959 was from July 1997 to June 1998 with 34.63 inches (879.6 mm) of precipitation, and the driest from July 1971 to June 1972 with 7.29 inches (185.2 mm). The most precipitation in one month was 11.10 inches (282 mm) in February 1998. The record maximum 24-hour precipitation was 2.96 inches (75 mm) on January 23, 2000. Occasionally, there is snowfall on the peaks of the Gabilan and Santa Lucia mountain ranges, but snow in the city itself is extremely rare, occurring about once every 5 to 15 years on average. An inch of snow fell in Salinas on February 26, 2011.

Climate data for Salinas (KSNS)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °F (°C) 85
(29)
86
(30)
89
(32)
100
(38)
99
(37)
103
(39)
100
(38)
102
(39)
106
(41)
105
(41)
94
(34)
82
(28)
106
(41)
Average high °F (°C) 61.1
(16.2)
62.5
(16.9)
63.8
(17.7)
66.4
(19.1)
67.9
(19.9)
70.2
(21.2)
71.5
(21.9)
72.3
(22.4)
74.3
(23.5)
73.0
(22.8)
64.1
(17.8)
61.3
(16.3)
67.5
(19.7)
Average low °F (°C) 41.1
(5.1)
42.9
(6.1)
44.5
(6.9)
46.0
(7.8)
49.7
(9.8)
52.6
(11.4)
54.6
(12.6)
55.3
(12.9)
54.1
(12.3)
50.1
(10.1)
42.6
(5.9)
39.8
(4.3)
47.9
(8.8)
Record low °F (°C) 18
(−8)
25
(−4)
27
(−3)
29
(−2)
34
(1)
39
(4)
42
(6)
42
(6)
36
(2)
28
(−2)
25
(−4)
23
(−5)
18
(−8)
Average precipitation inches (mm) 2.64
(67)
2.40
(61)
2.17
(55)
1.12
(28)
0.32
(8.1)
0.09
(2.3)
0.03
(0.76)
0.05
(1.3)
0.12
(3.0)
0.60
(15)
1.38
(35)
2.35
(60)
13.26
(337)
Average precipitation days 8.1 8.8 7.8 5.2 2.7 1.0 0.2 0.7 0.9 2.7 5.6 8.2 52.0
Source 1: WRCC (temperature 1971–2000, precipitation and extremes 1906–present)
Source 2: Weather Channel

Demographics

2010

Historical population
Census Pop.
1870 599
1880 1,854 209.5%
1890 2,339 26.2%
1900 3,304 41.3%
1910 3,736 13.1%
1920 4,308 15.3%
1930 10,263 138.2%
1940 11,586 12.9%
1950 13,917 20.1%
1960 28,957 108.1%
1970 58,896 103.4%
1980 80,479 36.6%
1990 108,777 35.2%
2000 151,060 38.9%
2010 150,441 −0.4%
2020 163,542 8.7%
U.S. Decennial Census

The 2010 United States Census reported that Salinas had a population of 150,441. The population density was 6,479.8 people per square mile (2,501.9/km2). The racial makeup of Salinas was 68,973 (45.8%) White, down from 90.3% in 1970, 2,993 (2.0%) African American, 1,888 (1.3%) Native American, 9,438 (6.3%) Asian, 478 (0.3%) Pacific Islander, 59,041 (39.2%) from other races, and 7,630 (5.1%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 112,799 persons (75.0%).

The Census reported that 147,976 people (98.4% of the population) lived in households, 658 (0.4%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 1,807 (1.2%) were institutionalized.

There were 40,387 households, out of which 21,435 (53.1%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 21,380 (52.9%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 6,835 (16.9%) had a female householder with no husband present, 3,300 (8.2%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 3,271 (8.1%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 271 (0.7%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 6,895 households (17.1%) were made up of individuals, and 2,587 (6.4%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.66. There were 31,515 families (78.0% of all households); the average family size was 4.05.

The population was spread out, with 47,180 people (31.4%) under the age of 18, 18,049 people (12.0%) aged 18 to 24, 44,978 people (29.9%) aged 25 to 44, 28,976 people (19.3%) aged 45 to 64, and 11,258 people (7.5%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28.8 years. For every 100 females, there were 102.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.8 males.

There were 42,651 housing units at an average density of 1,837.1 per square mile (709.3/km2), of which 18,198 (45.1%) were owner-occupied, and 22,189 (54.9%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.5%; the rental vacancy rate was 4.6%. 65,108 people (43.3% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 82,868 people (55.1%) lived in rental housing units. The majority of residents were living in single-unit detached homes, built between 1950 and 2000, while one third of the housing stock had three or more units per structure.

2000

The 2000 United States Census reported that Salinas had a population of 151,060. The population density was 7,948.4 per square mile (3,068.1/km2). There were 39,659 housing units at an average density of 2,086.8 per square mile (805.5/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 65.2% Hispanic or Latino of any race, 49.1% White, 6.2% Asian American, 3.3% African American, 1.3% Native American, 38.7% from other races, and 5.1% from two or more races. 49.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.6% were married couples living together, 14.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.6% were non-families. 17.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.69 and the average family size was 4.08

Age distribution was 33.0% under the age of 19 or younger, 11.8% from 18 to 24, 33.7% from 25 to 44, 15.5% from 45 to 64, and 7.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females, there were 117.7 males. For every 102 females age 18 and over, there were 117.4 males.

The median household income was $43,728, and the median family income was $44,669. Males had a median income of $35,641 versus $27,013 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,495. About 12.8% of families and 16.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.1% of those under age 18 and 9.4% of those age 65 or over.

Arts and culture

Hat in three stages of landing claes oldemburg
Hat In Three Stages of Landing by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen.

Salinas boasts an emerging arts scene led by the First Fridays Art Walk and the innovative use of non-traditional or business venues to exhibit art and host live local music. The National Steinbeck Center has two galleries with changing exhibits, and the city's newest @Risk Gallery features cutting-edge and visionary exhibitions. The Art Walk, held in the downtown area, features 50 venues.

Live theater companies in Salinas include ARIEL Theatrical located in the Karen Wilson's Children's Theater in Oldtown Salinas, and The Western Stage, based at Hartnell College.

Live local music is available at many restaurants in the downtown area, and during the First Fridays Art Walk. Concerts are held at the historic Fox California Theater, Steinbeck Institute for Arts and Culture and the Salinas Sports Complex, as well as at Hartnell Community College.

Salinas is home to many public murals, including work by John Cerney which can be viewed in the agricultural fields surrounding the city. Claes Oldenburg placed his sculpture, Hat in Three Stages of Landing, in Sherwood Park at the center of the city.

Points of interest

Boronda Adobe History Center

Just outside the official city limits, the restored adobe dwelling constructed in 1844 by José Eusebio Boronda, rests on one of the original Mexican land grants. The Boronda Adobe is a California Historical Landmark and listed in the National Register of Historic Places and holds a museum of early Salinas and California history. Other historic buildings are located here, including the Lagunita School house John Steinbeck wrote about in the Red Pony. The site also holds the official archive of Monterey County, open to researchers by appointment.

California Rodeo Museum Salinas
Authentic Wells Fargo Coach at California Rodeo Salinas Heritage Museum.

California Rodeo Salinas

As host of a PRCA-sanctioned rodeo, Salinas is a major stop on the professional rodeo circuit. The California Rodeo Salinas began in 1911 as a Wild West Show on the site of the old race track ground, now the Salinas Sports Complex. Every third week of July is Big Week, when cowboys and fans come for the traditional rodeo competitions, including bull riding. Rodeo-related events held in Salinas and Monterey include cowboy poetry, wine tasting, a carnival, barbecues and a gala cowboy ball.

River Road Wine Trail

The largest wine-grape producing region in California, the Salinas Valley, is home to over 20 wineries and 14 estate tasting rooms along the River Road, just south of the city limits.

Salinas in popular culture

  • Marilyn Monroe, actress, Twentieth Century Fox starlet, was honored as the Diamond Queen of Salinas on February 20, 1948
  • Salinas is mentioned in various John Steinbeck novels, and it is the setting of his monumental novel East of Eden
  • Salinas is the subject of a song ("Salinas") from British singer-songwriter Laura Marling's third album A Creature I Don't Know

Sister cities

Salinas has established sister city relationships with four cities:

Gallery





Economy

Taylor Building Salinas CA
The headquarters of Taylor Farms in Downtown Salinas, was constructed in 2015.

Major employers in Salinas include Taylor Farms, Tanimura & Antle, Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital, Natividad Medical Center, Mann Packing, Hilltown Packing, Newstar Fresh Foods, Matsui Nursery and Monterey County.

Salinas is known for its AgTech industry, and is known as the emerging AgTech Capital of the nation and a global hub for agricultural technology. Its close proximity to Silicon Valley and large number of agricultural employers give forth to an ideal location for developing high tech agricultural innovations.

Forbes AgTech Summit

Since 2015, Forbes has hosted the yearly Forbes AgTech Summit in Salinas. The event draws agricultural technology entrepreneurs from around the world and includes speakers, group discussions, tours, on site demonstrations.

Education

School districts

Salinas has seven public school districts serving the city core and adjacent unincorporated areas. The largest school district in Salinas is the Salinas Union High School District (grades 7-12) with 13,578 students enrolled in 10 campuses. The Salinas City Elementary School District is the largest elementary school district in Salinas, with 13 schools and 7,954 students. Other districts include Santa Rita Union Elementary School District, Graves Elementary School District, Washington Union School District, Lagunita School District, and Alisal Union School District.

Private Catholic schools in the city include the all-boys Palma School and the all-girls Notre Dame High School.

Higher education

Hartnell College, as well as a satellite campus of California State University, Monterey Bay, are located in Salinas.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Highways and roads

U.S. Route 101 is the major north–south highway in Salinas, linking the city to the rest of the Central Coast region, San Francisco to the north, and Los Angeles to the south. California State Route 68 heads west to Monterey, while California State Route 183 runs northwest to Castroville.

Rail

Amtrak train station Salinas ca
Art Deco-style Amtrak train station in Salinas

Amtrak, the national passenger rail system, serves Salinas. Its Coast Starlight train runs daily in each direction between Seattle, Washington, and Los Angeles, stopping in Salinas.

The Salinas Rail extension aims to provide weekday rail service to Gilroy and San Jose Diridon station by 2024.

Bus

Public transportation via bus is provided by Monterey–Salinas Transit (MST). Public buses take passengers throughout the county, as well as San Jose and Gilroy. Buses to San Jose and Gilroy connect to Caltrain and Amtrak in those cities.

Greyhound operates from the Salinas Amtrak station with service to other California cities and throughout the United States.

Airport

Salinas Municipal Airport is located on the southeastern boundary of the City of Salinas, three miles (5 km) from the city center. It is a general aviation facility occupying 763 acres (3.1 km2), with two runways serving single and twin engine aircraft and helicopters, as well as an increasing number of turbopropeller and turbine-powered business jets.

The airport has an air traffic control tower in operation twelve hours a day, seven days a week. The airport terminal is located on Mortensen Avenue and houses airport office staff as well as professional offices. The city is currently accepting proposals for leasing and operation of the restaurant located within the Terminal. Salinas Airport Commissioners agreed to a proposed project that would bring a 100-room hotel, offices and hangars to a vacant lot in front of the Salinas Municipal Airport terminal. The Salinas Jet Center would include a national chain hotel, 80,000 square feet (7,000 m2) of office space, four large complexes combining more offices with airplane hangars and a 24-hour, full-service aircraft fueling station. The project would also include a taxiway to allow planes to access the new hangars.

The airport has full Instrument Landing System (ILS) and VHF omnidirectional range (VOR) located on the airport. The ILS has a Medium Intensity Approach Lighting System, with Runway Alignment Indicator Lights. The VOR approach has Runway End Identifier Lights. All but the ILS runway, RWY 31, have Visual Approach Slope Indicators (VASIs).

The airport is the site of the California International Airshow, set annually in the late summer or early autumn. The event draws thousands of visitors to Salinas over its three-day run.

Hospitals

Salinas and its surrounding towns are served by Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital and Natividad Medical Center, both located in Salinas. Natividad is one of the University of California, San Francisco's teaching hospitals and is owned and operated by Monterey County. Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital and Healthcare System is a public district hospital run by an elected board of directors.

Natividad Medical Center, through its affiliated Natividad Medical Foundation, offers trained medical interpreters for speakers of several Oaxacan languages (including Triqui, Mixteco, and Zapotec) as well as Spanish.

Monterey County Courthouse 2018 Salinas CA (1)
The Historic and Former Monterey County Courthouse after 2018 renovations

Notable people

SteinbeckHouse
Steinbeck House in downtown Salinas
  • Jose Celaya, American Boxer, Salinas, California
  • Monica Abbott, 2008 Olympic softball pitcher
  • Everett Alvarez Jr., U.S. Navy pilot and prisoner of war
  • Dustin Lance Black, Academy Award-winning screenwriter
  • Ernie Camacho, Major League Baseball pitcher
  • Doug Chandler, Hall of Fame motorcycle racer, Grand Slam winner, World Superbike champion
  • Ramiro Corrales, Major League Soccer defender with San Jose Earthquakes
  • Cordell Crockett, bass guitarist with band Ugly Kid Joe
  • Chris Dalman, National Football League offensive lineman and coach
  • Harold Davis, athlete in National Track and Field Hall of Fame
  • Amy Díaz-Infante, visual artist and educator
  • Evan Dietrich-Smith, Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive lineman, Super Bowl XLV champion (2011 with Green Bay Packers), Salinas High School graduate, class of 2004
  • David Esquer, head coach of the Stanford Cardinal baseball team, graduate of Palma High School
  • David Estrada, UCLA soccer player (midfield, forward), drafted in first round (11th overall) of 2010 MLS SuperDraft by Seattle Sounders FC
  • Verna Felton, actress
  • Michael Gasperson, NFL wide receiver
  • Susan Gerbic, skeptical activist
  • Brandi Glanville, fashion model, television personality in The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills
  • Jackie Greene, singer-songwriter and blues musician
  • Sammy Hagar, singer, former member of Van Halen, now in bands Chickenfoot and Waboritas
  • Alvin and Calvin Harrison, twins, 1996 Olympic track and field athletes
  • Vanessa Hudgens, singer and actress, High School Musical
  • Ernie Irvan, race car driver and winner of the 1991 Daytona 500
  • Joe Kapp, quarterback for University of California, Berkeley in College Football Hall of Fame, 1969 NFL champion
  • Slim Keith, socialite
  • Craig Kilborn, television personality
  • Rick Law, Disney artist and producer
  • Howard H. Leach, businessman and diplomat
  • Sacheen Littlefeather, Apache actress and activist for Native American rights.
  • Xavier Nady, Major League Baseball player, Salinas High School graduate, class of 1997
  • Carl Nicks, offensive linemen, Super Bowl XLIV champion (2010), North Salinas High School graduate
  • Kassim Osgood, National Football League wide receiver, Pro Bowl, North Salinas High School
  • Van Partible, cartoonist, creator of Johnny Bravo
  • Ernie Reyes Sr., American martial artist, actor and fight choreographer
  • Mike Rianda, writer and director of The Mitchells vs. The Machines
  • Monty Roberts, horse tamer and author of The Man Who Listens to Horses
  • Del Rodgers, NFL running back
  • Gary Shipman, artist, comic book illustrator and creator of Pakkins' Land
  • Brendon Small, actor, composer, musician, known as creator of the animated series Home Movies and Metalocalypse
  • Edward Soriano, retired United States Army Lieutenant General
  • Sam Spence, NFL Films composer
  • John Steinbeck, author and Nobel laureate, author of The Grapes of Wrath and Of Mice and Men, among others
  • Rita Taggart, actress
  • Anthony Toney, NFL running back
  • Sean D. Tucker, aerobatic stunt pilot
  • Elliot Vallejo, NFL offensive lineman, Palma High School
  • Cain Velasquez, UFC heavyweight champion, mixed martial arts fighter and former collegiate wrestler

Images for kids

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Salinas (California) para niños

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Salinas, California Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.