Italian Population in Monterey County, CA by City : 2025 Ranking & Insights

The Italian population in Monterey County, CA is reported at 15,213 residents, according to recent U.S. Census estimates. Several cities in Monterey County - including Monterey, Salinas, Seaside, and others - contribute to the Italian population, but the total county figure of 15,213 indicates additional presence beyond municipal borders. The sections below explores how Italian residents are distributed in California and the U.S.

Top 5 cities with the largest Italian population in Monterey County

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  • 1
    Monterey
    Italian population in Monterey is 3,387
    11.38% of Monterey population is Italian
  • 2
    Salinas
    Italian population in Salinas is 2,579
    1.59% of Salinas population is Italian
  • 3
    Seaside
    Italian population in Seaside is 1,388
    4.34% of Seaside population is Italian
  • 4
    Marina
    Italian population in Marina is 910
    4.08% of Marina population is Italian
  • 5
    Pacific Grove
    Italian population in Pacific Grove is 883
    5.89% of Pacific Grove population is Italian

Overview of Italian population in Monterey County

  • Population Count and Percentage: American Community Survey data shows Monterey County contains 15,213 Italian residents (3.5% of 435,834 total county population), ranking the jurisdiction at the 92nd percentile nationally among counties and 56th percentile within California for Italian demographic concentrations across both absolute and proportional measures.
  • Comparison to State and National Averages: Census Bureau's ACS records show Monterey County's Italian population of 3.5% aligns with California's state average while remaining below the national average of 4.9%, placing both the county and state below typical U.S. demographic concentration levels.
  • Share of Total State Population: Official American Community Survey show Monterey County's 15,213 Italian residents constitute 1.1% of California's total Italian population of 1.3 million.
  • Population Density per Square Mile: U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey data documents Monterey County contains 4.6 Italian Americans per square mile, below California's average of 8.6 per square mile, while maintaining moderate community presence relative to state demographic concentration standards.
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11 Cities in Monterey County Ranked by Italian Population

View Methodology
ACS data [1] show Italian populations distributed across multiple cities in the county, led by Monterey, Salinas, Seaside, and Marina. The table below provides additional context, including total population, population density, and demographic distributions, based on current ACS data for 11 incorporated cities included in this analysis*.
cities in Monterey County, CA ranked by Italian population count
Rank by Italian Population
City
Italian Population
% of Total City Population
% of Total Monterey County Italian Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 Monterey 3,387 11.38% 22.26%
2 Salinas 2,579 1.59% 16.95%
3 Seaside 1,388 4.34% 9.12%
4 Marina 910 4.08% 5.98%
5 Pacific Grove 883 5.89% 5.80%
6 Soledad 249 1.02% 1.64%
7 Del Rey Oaks 212 13.62% 1.39%
8 142 1.05% 0.93%
9 105 3.30% 0.69%
10 50 0.59% 0.33%
11 0 - -
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Methodology

This ranking list is based on data from the American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates, conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. The ACS is one of the most reliable sources for understanding population trends across different locations, and it provides estimates for various racial and ethnic groups at city, county, state and all geography levels down to the Census block group.
This list ranks city in Monterey County, CA by their Italian population, using the most recent ACS data available.

How the Census defines Italian population

The U.S. Census Bureau allows people to self-identify their ancestry, meaning individuals can write upto ancestries when responding to the survey. In this ranking, we include everyone who identifies as having Italian ancestry, whether alone or in combination with another ancestry.
Here are a few important things to know about how ancestry is reported:
  • Some people identify as Italian alone, while others identify as Italian along with another race (such as Italian and German).
  • We’ve used the “Italian alone or in any combination” category unless noted otherwise, which gives a broader picture of the Italian population in each area.

How We Ranked the Data

This ranking is based on the total number of people who identified as Italian alone or in combination in city. To provide additional context, we’ve also included two key percentages:
  1. % of Total City Population – This shows what percentage of the total state population identifies as Italian .
  2. % of Total Monterey County Italian Population – This tells us how much of the entire U.S. Italian population lives in that state.
To keep things simple, all population numbers have been rounded to the nearest whole number, and percentages are rounded to one decimal place. Because of rounding, some percentages may not add up to exactly 100%.

Things to Keep in Mind

Like all survey-based data, ACS estimates come with some limitations. Here are a few things to be aware of:
  • In places with very small Italian populations, the numbers may not be reported at all due to privacy protections or sampling variability in the survey.
  • Since the ACS is based on a sample, the numbers are estimates, not exact counts. That means they may slightly differ from other sources like the decennial U.S. Census.
  • City that don’t have any reported Italian population are not included in the ranking but are listed separately below for reference.
This ranking is meant to provide a clear, data-driven look at where Italian populations are most concentrated while keeping the numbers easy to understand.

Sources

  1. 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates.
  2. 2023.