Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Gonzales grades C− overall, 515th of 841 graded towns in California, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. It is more walkable than 77% of U.S. towns. On the other side, FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 92% of U.S. communities, with drought at the top. Gonzales’ July high is 78°F, against 89°F in California’s towns and 85°F across U.S. towns. Gonzales's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 96% of U.S. towns. Gonzales has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Asilomar Conference Grounds Warnecke Historic District and Community Church of Gonzales.
Where Gonzales beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Gonzales is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 233 in 1880, 8,647 in 2020. The archive holds 4 old photos and papers going back to 1991 and 4 maps from 1910 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Gonzales, and how to reach them.
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 Gonzales.
Gonzales fares better on crime within California than nationally and has cooler summers than nearly all U.S. towns, but it has lost a quarter or more of its jobs in ten years.
Since 1995, 9 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Gonzales.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its public schools are run by the Gonzales Unified school district. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Gonzales High, with 751 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| La Gloria ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 784 | C− |
| Gonzales HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 751 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
Gonzales beats the California average on 2 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 19. 34% of adults say their health is fair or poor in Gonzales.
| Gonzales | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 22% | 19% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 35% | 16% | 14% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 9% | 8.1% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 68% | 72% | 79% |
| What stands out | Gonzales | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 3.8% | 6.4% |
| Fewer adults with arthritis | 17.8% | 20.8% |
| More uninsured adults | 25.1% | 10.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
| Gonzales | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 9% | 4.2% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.7 miles per square mile | 1.0 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Centennial Park | 0.2 mi | 6 |
| 2. Meyer Park | — | 3 |
| 3. Central Park | 0.2 mi | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
July afternoons average 78.2°, cooler than in 95% of U.S. towns; January nights average 39.2°.
Gonzales has mild winters and pleasant summers, with very little rain. Gonzales’ January low is 39°F. Snow is almost unheard of.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The typical Gonzales home is worth about $630,000, up 2.9% in a year, 17% below the California typical home. 55% of Gonzales households own their home.
| Gonzales | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 55% | 64% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,524 a month | $1,898 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Jobs based here fell from 3,018 in 2013 to 1,971.
Most working residents leave Gonzales for work: only 8% work in town. Since 2013, Gonzales has lost 1,047 jobs, to 1,971 in 2023. The top destinations are Salinas (23%), San Jose (7%) and Soledad (5%).
| Gonzales | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 6.4% | 10% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $78,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 27 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
At 17.4 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 82% of California’s graded towns.
The property crime rate in Gonzales is 3.9 per 1,000 residents.
| Gonzales | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.9 per 1,000 residents | 13.4 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.1 per 1,000 residents | 2.9 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Gonzales. Close and well known come first.
11 mi National ParkPinnacles National Park343K visitors a year
27 mi Zoo & aquariumMonterey Bay Aquarium
26 mi MuseumMonterey Museum of Art
30 mi Scenic drive17-Mile Drive
24 mi MuseumMission San Juan Bautista29 mi Canyon & gorgeMonterey CanyonPinnacles National Park: Brocken Inaglory, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Monterey 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 · Mission San Juan Bautista: MARELBU, CC BY 3.0
None within 15 miles of Gonzales; the nearest are
About 6 of every 100 Gonzales residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across California.
2 places in Gonzales on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in California, United States
Gonzales is a city in Monterey County, California, United States. Gonzales is located 16 miles (26 km) southeast of Salinas, at an elevation of 135 feet (41 m). The population was 8,647 at the 2020 census, up from 8,187 at the 2010 census. Gonzales is a member of the Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments. Gonzales won the Culture of Health Prize from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in 2019.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Gonzales grades C− overall, better than 18% of U.S. towns and #515 of 841 in California. It grades C− for health, B− for safety and C+ for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. That is 6.5 years of the area's median household income ($97,230 across the Salinas, CA metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
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