Gonzales is a city in Monterey County,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, United States. Gonzales is located southeast of Salinas, at an elevation of . 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 The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) is an American philanthropic organization. It is the largest one focused solely on health. Based in Princeton, New Jersey, the foundation focuses on access to health care, public health, health equity, ...

in 2019.

History

Gonzales was founded by Dr. Mariano Gonzalez and his brother Alfredo Gonzales on land that was originally

Rancho Rincon de la Puente del Monte Rancho or Ranchos may refer to: Settlements and communities *Rancho, Aruba, former fishing village and neighbourhood of Oranjestad *Ranchos of California, 19th century land grants in Alta California ** List of California Ranchos * Ranchos, Buenos ...

. The rancho was given to their father, Teodoro Gonzalez, in 1836 while he was serving as ''

alcalde ''Alcalde'' (; ) is the traditional Spanish municipal magistrate, who had both judicial and Administration (government), administrative functions. An ''alcalde'' was, in the absence of a corregidor (position), corregidor, the presiding officer o ...

'' of Monterey. The brothers laid out the 50-block town on approximately in 1874 in a grid of northeast to southwest and northwest to southeast streets. In 1872, they granted a right-of-way through town to Southern Pacific Railroad, which subsequently built a depot for freight and passengers. The dominant commerce at the time was grain raising and cattle ranching. The Gonzalez brothers are also credited with constructing one of the first

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering of plants) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has bee ...

systems in the

Salinas Valley The Salinas Valley (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Valle de Salinas'') is one of the major valleys and most productive Agriculture, agricultural regions in California. It is located west of the San Joaquin Valley and south of San Francisco Bay and ...

. They built a dam and head gate on the nearby Salinas River and miles of canals throughout the area. In the early 1900s, Gonzales became a predominantly

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

dairy community when John B. Meyenberg brought his original milk processing procedures to the region. His Alpine Milk Company, later known as the Meyenberg Milk Products Company, opened its first plant in Gonzales in 1906. At one time, there were 7,000 cows within five miles of town being milked. Prior to being nicknamed the "Wine Capital of Monterey County", Gonzales was known as "The Heart of the Salad Bowl" (due to its central location in the agricultural valley). Before that it was nicknamed "Little Switzerland" (due to the similarities of the valley landscape to Switzerland as well as the predominantly Swiss community at the time). Dairy farming gave way to orchards and row crops in the 1920s and prospered due to the rich soil and advancements in irrigation, machinery and transportation facilities. These improvements to agriculture technology turned the Salinas Valley into the nation's premier agricultural center. Today, there is only one dairy farm left near town. The first school house was built in 1874. The first church, the Gonzales Baptist Church, was built in 1884 and still holds weekly worship services today. St. Theodore Catholic Church, named for Teodoro Gonzales, was built in 1883. The town was officially incorporated January 10, 1947.

Geography

Gonzales is located in northern Monterey County at , in the

U.S. Route 101 U.S. Route 101, or U.S. Highway 101 (US 101), is a major north–south highway that traverses the states of California, Oregon, and Washington on the West Coast of the United States. It is part of the United States Numbered Highway Syst ...

passes through the northeast side of the city, with access from three exits. US 101 leads northwest to Salinas, the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

, and southeast to Soledad. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, Gonzales has a total area of , of which , or 1.95%, are water.

Demographics

2020

The 2020 United States census reported that Gonzales had a population of 8,647. The population density was . The racial makeup of Gonzales was 16.1%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.6%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 5.6% Native American, 2.0% Asian, 0.1%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 53.7% from other races, and 21.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 91.9% of the population. The census reported that 99.6% of the population lived in households, 0.4% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and no one was institutionalized. There were 2,042 households, out of which 61.6% included children under the age of 18, 59.4% were married-couple households, 7.1% were

cohabiting Cohabitation is an arrangement where people who are not legally married live together as a couple. They are often involved in a romantic or sexually intimate relationship on a long-term or permanent basis. Such arrangements have become incr ...

couple households, 21.8% had a female householder with no partner present, and 11.7% had a male householder with no partner present. 8.3% of households were one person, and 3.6% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 4.22. There were 1,796

families Family (from ) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictability, structure, and safety as ...

(88.0% of all households). The age distribution was 30.7% under the age of 18, 12.0% aged 18 to 24, 27.9% aged 25 to 44, 20.8% aged 45 to 64, and 8.6% who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 29.8years. For every 100 females, there were 102.5 males. There were 2,088 housing units at an average density of , of which 2,042 (97.8%) were occupied. Of these, 54.6% were owner-occupied, and 45.4% were occupied by renters. In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that 30.2% of the population were foreign-born. Of all people aged 5 or older, 30.8% spoke only English at home, 68.7% spoke

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

, 0.4% spoke other

Indo-European languages The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the northern Indian subcontinent, most of Europe, and the Iranian plateau with additional native branches found in regions such as Sri Lanka, the Maldives, parts of Central Asia (e. ...

, and 0.2% spoke Asian or Pacific Islander languages. Of those aged 25 or older, 62.3% were high school graduates and 9.2% had a bachelor's degree. The median household income in 2023 was $76,060, and the

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

was $25,358. About 6.8% of families and 8.0% of the population were below the poverty line.

2010

At the 2010 census Gonzales had a population of 8,187. The population density was . The racial makeup of Gonzales was 3,464 (42.3%) White, 81 (1.0%) African American, 124 (1.5%) Native American, 190 (2.3%) Asian, 14 (0.2%) Pacific Islander, 3,958 (48.3%) from other races, 356 (4.3%) from two or more races and 7,276 (88.9%) Hispanic or Latino of any race. The census reported that 8,181 people (99.9% of the population) lived in households, 6 (0.1%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and no one was institutionalized. There were 1,906 households, 1,252 (65.7%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 1,256 (65.9%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 309 (16.2%) had a female householder with no husband present, 139 (7.3%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 120 (6.3%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 11 (0.6%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 155 households (8.1%) were one person and 66 (3.5%) had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 4.29. There were 1,704 families (89.4% of households); the average family size was 4.45. The age distribution was 2,856 people (34.9%) under the age of 18, 957 people (11.7%) aged 18 to 24, 2,355 people (28.8%) aged 25 to 44, 1,529 people (18.7%) aged 45 to 64, and 490 people (6.0%) who were 65 or older. The median age was 27.0 years. For every 100 females, there were 104.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 104.4 males. There were 1,989 housing units at an average density of 1,015.2 per square mile, of the occupied units 1,019 (53.5%) were owner-occupied and 887 (46.5%) were rented. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.7%; the rental vacancy rate was 2.1%. 4,186 people (51.1% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 3,995 people (48.8%) lived in rental housing units.

Media

Local radio stations include KHIP-FM - 104.3 and KKMC-AM - 880. Television service for the community comes from the Monterey-Salinas-Santa Cruz designated market area (DMA). Local newspapers include the ''Salinas Californian,'' the '' Monterey County Herald'' and the ''Gonzales Tribune'', first published in 1890, and at one time the paper with the largest circulation in Monterey County.

Wine-growing area

Gonzales is an important wine cultivation area. Wineries located in Gonzales include Constellation Brands, Robert Talbott, Pisoni Vineyards, Boekenoogen Winery, McIntyre Vineyards, Mer Soleil, and Salinas Valley Vineyards.

Academics, courses, graduation requirements

Gonzales High School offers a variety of courses, including several ROP/CTE fine arts, agriculture, and tech classes. GHS also has several dual-enrollment and honors programs for language arts, mathematics, social sciences, and laboratory sciences. All courses offered to students are CSU/UC approved.

Water tower

The white golf ball-shaped tank of the water tower at Gonzales is supported by three tubular green legs and reaches about high.

Climate

This region experiences dry summers with very hot days and cool nights, and moderately humid winter with mild to cool days and freezing nights. There is no average monthly temperatures above 71.6 °F. According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, Gonzales has a hot-summer

mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

, abbreviated "Csa" on climate maps. Summer daytime temperatures average around , but nights are cool to cold year-round.

Economy

Largest employers

According to the City of Gonzales, the largest employers in the city are:

Notable people

* John Blume, the "Father of Earthquake Engineering"; born in Gonzales * Honoré Escolle, French businessman; purchased a ranch two miles southwest of Gonzales

Schools

Gonzales Unified School District: * La Gloria Elementary (K-5) * Fairview Middle School (6-8) * Gonzales High School (9-12) * Somavia Continuation School

References

External links

* {{authority control Cities in Monterey County, California Incorporated cities and towns in California Salinas Valley