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Soledad, California

Soledad is a small city of about 26,000 people in Monterey County, California. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 6.2 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, San Jose, is about 66 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
26,357
down 1.3% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$595,900
Monterey County prices up 10% since 2022
Household income
$96,862
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Salinas area
109
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
19 miles
King City, CA
To San Jose
66 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 9% above the U.S. average in the Salinas metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 6.2 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood63 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 2.4 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 11.3 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town9 public schools: 6 elementary, 1 middle, 1 high school and 1 other.
  • A hospital close bySouthern Monterey County Memorial Hospital in King City, about 19 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big citySan Jose is about 66 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Soledad meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$595,900U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 10%Monterey County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,698 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$96,862U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
58%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$3,798 a yearCalifornia: $5,124
Homes built before 1940
1%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
16%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
109U.S. average = 100 (the Salinas metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 10% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Salinas metro area, not Soledad alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate
26,3572020: 26,708
Median age
35.8 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
6%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
24%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
6%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
6%U.S.: 6%
College students
9%share of all residents

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Farming, forestry and mining (26%); schools, health care and social services (23%); government (9%)
Unemployment rate
3%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
30 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
4%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
17%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Southern Monterey County Memorial Hospital, King City, CA, about 19 miles away. It's a critical access hospital (a small rural hospital with 25 or fewer beds). Medicare hasn't given it a star rating.

Nearest general hospital: Salinas Valley Health Medical Center, Salinas, CA, about 24 miles away. Medicare gives it 4 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

9 public schools in Soledad, run by Soledad Unified and Mission Union Elementary.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on California's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
65%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
95%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
34°F
July average high
96°F
Days 90°F or hotter
102 a year
Nights at or below freezing
67 a year
Rain and melted snow
11.8 inches a year
Snow
0 inches a year
Elevation
254 feet

Weather stations: Pinnacles Nm (8 miles away) and King City (19 miles away, rain and snow). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Southern Monterey County Memorial Hospital, Salinas, San Jose.

Monterey County is in a metro area of 250,000 to 1 million people (USDA rural-urban code 2, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

1 place on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Mission Nuestra Senora de la Soledad Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Pinnacles National Park5 miles

Read about Soledad's history on Wikipedia.

Know Soledad?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • Chualar, CA (unincorporated)812 people, 14 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.