Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A regional job hub with 2,555 jobs. With 3,613 residents, it is a town in California.
The everyday basics are strong; the price of a home is the catch. Its strongest is health (A): it is healthier than 94% of U.S. towns. Del Monte Forest grades B+ overall and ranks 93rd of 841 in California. That leaves it better than 68% of U.S. towns. Add walkability to its strengths: it is more walkable than 85% of U.S. towns. What holds it back is cost of living: the typical home is worth about $3.0 million, 30.9 years of the Salinas metro’s $97K median household income. 47% of residents are 65 or older here, against 16% in California’s towns and 18% across U.S. towns. Only 25 of California’s 1,064 towns score higher on hazard risk.
Figures: health, CDC PLACES · home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · FEMA National Risk Index.
Where Del Monte Forest beats most towns.
Where Del Monte Forest’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Del Monte Forest is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 5,069 in 1990, 4,204 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1900 and 5 maps from 1913 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Explore the history →Del Monte Forest is unincorporated, so Monterey County and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Del Monte Forest.
Del Monte Forest carries less natural-hazard risk than nearly all of California (mostly earthquakes), is a second-home town and draws workers from Seaside and beyond.
At 30.9 years of the Salinas metro’s $97K median household income, the typical home (about $3M) costs more against local pay than in 99% of California towns; that ratio is one input to that grade. Its typical home is the priciest on its borders; Carmel-by-the-Sea is next at $2.43M.
Homes sold in Del Monte Forest spent a median 39 days on the market. Typical home values rose 6.5% in the year to September 2026. The median rent for Del Monte Forest comes to $3,501 a month.
| Del Monte Forest | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $3,501 a month | $1,895 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 87% | 64% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Walkers can cover 40 miles of trail in 8 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, at 1,637 acres. Del Monte Forest’s density of trails is 3.7 miles per square mile.
| Del Monte Forest | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 3.7 miles per square mile | 1.0 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.4% | 4.3% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Rip Van Winkle Open Space | 2.6 mi | 51 |
| 2. SFB Morse Botanical Reserve | 1.8 mi | 64 |
| 3. Bird Rock Park | 0.4 mi | 7 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Against the 3,341 U.S. towns with household incomes like Del Monte Forest’s, it is healthier than 79%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
In Del Monte Forest, 16% of adults get no exercise outside work. Among 847 California towns, just 7 have a higher share of adults who had a checkup this year than Del Monte Forest. CDC measures, 32 in all: Del Monte Forest beats California on 20 and trails on 6.
| Del Monte Forest | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 17% | 17% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 35% | 36% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 36% | 33% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 82% | 72% | 79% |
| What stands out | Del Monte Forest | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 5.2% | 17.9% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 3.1% | 10.6% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 14.5% | 6.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
2,555 jobs are based in Del Monte Forest, 2.3 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. 30.8% of workers work from home, against 17.2% across California.
Del Monte Forest: 31% of workers work from home. Commuting out is the norm here: nearly a tenth of working residents work locally. The typical household income in the town is $143,000. The top destinations are Monterey (17%), Pacific Grove (6%) and Salinas (5%).
| Del Monte Forest | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 31% | 14% | 11% |
| Median household income | $143,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 6.1% | 10% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 24 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
January nights average 44°, milder than in 96% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 65.5°.
For Del Monte Forest, the January low is 44°F. Del Monte Forest has warm winters and cool summers, with very little rain. Snow is a rarity.
| Del Monte Forest | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 66°F | 89°F | 85°F |
| January low | 44°F | 40°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk lower than 96% of California towns, with expected losses of about $1,001 per resident a year; that rating is what its B for hazard risk is built on.
FEMA puts 56% of the town’s expected hazard losses down to earthquakes, and 42% to inland flooding. Del Monte Forest’s FEMA risk score stands at 38 of 100. Flood insurance has paid out on 3 claims in the town since 2022.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Del Monte Forest. Close and well known come first.
3 mi Zoo & aquariumMonterey Bay Aquarium
3 mi MuseumMonterey Museum of Art
in town Scenic drive17-Mile Drive
39 mi National ParkPinnacles National Park343K visitors a year15 mi Canyon & gorgeMonterey Canyon
27 mi Theme parkSanta Cruz Beach BoardwalkMonterey Bay Aquarium: Meij.kobayashi, Public domain · Monterey Museum of Art: Sgerbic, CC BY-SA 4.0 · 17-Mile Drive: Humanoid one, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Pinnacles National Park: Brocken Inaglory, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk: Josta Photo, CC BY 2.0
4 within 15 miles of the center of Del Monte Forest
About 6 of every 100 Del Monte Forest residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across California.
2.4% of the town is conserved land, across 8 parks and preserves.
Census-designated place in California, United States
Del Monte Forest (Del Monte, Spanish for "of the mountain") is a census-designated place (CDP) in Monterey County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the CDP had a total population of 4,204, down from 4,514 at the 2010 census. The census area includes the separate well-known community of Pebble Beach. The Del Monte Forest is a habitat area of the same location, which originally occupied considerably more area prior to urban development of the 20th century. The forest is dominated by Monterey pine, but also contains other important tree species and a variety of rare and endangered plant species.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Del Monte Forest.
| Town | CA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Del Monte Forest | #93 | B+ | D− | — | B+ | A |
| Pacific Grove | #62 | A− | D− | B | A | A |
| Monterey | #352 | C | D− | C− | B− | A |
| Carmel-by-the-Sea | #33 | A− | D− | — | A | A |
Del Monte Forest and Carmel-by-the-Sea report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Del Monte Forest with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Del Monte Forest grades B+ overall, better than 68% of U.S. towns and #93 of 841 in California. It grades A for health and B+ for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D−.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D−.
