Del Monte Forest, California

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,^[5] down from 4,514 at the 2010 census. The census area includes the separate well-known community of Pebble Beach.

Del Monte Forest
Census-designated place
Location in Monterey County and the state of California
Del Monte Forest Location in the United States
Coordinates: 36°35′11″N 121°56′51″W
Country	United States
State	California
County	Monterey
Government
• State senator	John Laird (D)[1]
• Assemblymember	Robert Rivas (D)[1]
• U. S. rep.	Jimmy Panetta (D)[2]
Area [3]
• Total	10.64 sq mi (27.55 km2)
• Land	8.03 sq mi (20.79 km2)
• Water	2.61 sq mi (6.77 km2)  24.54%
Elevation [4]	207 ft (63 m)
Population  (2020)[5]
• Total	4,204
• Density	523.80/sq mi (202.23/km2)
Time zone	UTC-8 (PST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-7 (PDT)
ZIP code	93953 (Pebble Beach)
Area code	831
FIPS code	06-18590
GNIS feature ID	1867013

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.

Geography and ecology

Del Monte Forest is located in northwestern Monterey County at 36°35'11" North, 121°56'51" West.^[4] It occupies the western half of the Monterey Peninsula and is bordered to the east by the city of Monterey and to the north by the city of Pacific Grove. The city of Carmel-by-the-Sea is to the south. Pebble Beach is in the southern part of the CDP.

According to the United States Census Bureau, Del Monte Forest has a total area of 10.6 square miles (27 km²), of which 8.0 square miles (21 km²) are land and 2.6 square miles (6.7 km²) are water. The total area is 24.55% water.^[3]

The community is a habitat for a number of limited range and endangered species.

History

The Del Monte Forest was originally part of the resort complex of the Hotel Del Monte in Monterey. The resort hotel was built by Charles Crocker, one of California's Big Four railroad barons, through Southern Pacific Railroad's property division, the Pacific Improvement Company (PIC).^[6] The hotel first opened on June 10, 1880.^[6] Samuel Finley Brown Morse formed the Del Monte Properties Company on February 27, 1919, and acquired the extensive holdings of the PIC, which included the Del Monte Forest, the Del Monte Lodge (since renamed the Lodge at Pebble Beach) and the Hotel Del Monte.^[7] The actual hotel building and surrounding grounds were acquired by the United States Navy after World War II to be the Navy's new location of the Naval Postgraduate School.

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
2000	4,532		—
2010	4,514		−0.4%
2020	4,204		−6.9%
U.S. Decennial Census[8]

The 2020 United States census reported that Del Monte Forest had a population of 4,204. The population density was 523.8 inhabitants per square mile (202.2/km²). The racial makeup of Del Monte Forest was 79.0% White, 0.9% African American, 0.1% Native American, 10.1% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 1.3% from other races, and 8.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.7% of the population.^[9]

The census reported that 91.0% of the population lived in households, 7.6% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 1.5% were institutionalized.^[9]

There were 1,749 households, out of which 15.3% included children under the age of 18, 60.8% were married-couple households, 3.5% were cohabiting couple households, 23.7% had a female householder with no partner present, and 11.9% had a male householder with no partner present. 23.8% of households were one person, and 16.9% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.19.^[9] There were 1,245 families (71.2% of all households).^[10]

The age distribution was 15.6% under the age of 18, 6.1% aged 18 to 24, 10.9% aged 25 to 44, 25.8% aged 45 to 64, and 41.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 60.0 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.4 males.^[9]

There were 2,801 housing units at an average density of 349.0 units per square mile (134.7 units/km²), of which 1,749 (62.4%) were occupied. Of these, 84.0% were owner-occupied, and 16.0% were occupied by renters.^[9]

In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that the median household income was $154,730, and the per capita income was $128,746. About 3.9% of families and 5.5% of the population were below the poverty line.^[11]

Government

At the county level, Del Monte Forest is represented on the Monterey County Board of Supervisors by Supervisor Dave Potter.^[12]

In the California State Legislature, Del Monte Forest is in the 17th senatorial district, represented by Democrat John Laird, and in the 29th Assembly district, represented by Democrat Robert Rivas.^[1]

In the United States House of Representatives, Del Monte Forest is in California's 19th congressional district, represented by Democrat Jimmy Panetta.^[2]

Education

Portions of the CDP are in the Carmel Unified School District, Monterey Peninsula Unified School District, and Pacific Grove Unified School District.^[13]

The respective high school of the first district is Carmel High School.

Environmental features

The Monterey Pine forest is habitat to numerous rare and endangered species including Hickman's potentilla and Yadon's piperia, both of which are federally protected species.^[14]

See also

• Cypress forest