Greenfield, California

Area Profile

20,232 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Greenfield, in Monterey County.

40out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 3% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 16 sources
Opportunity3,952nd of 4,199 cities measured30
Schools4,155th of 4,162 cities measured2
GrowthTop 22% of 4,224 cities measured65
Housing affordability3,230th of 4,218 cities measured52
ClimateTop 8% of 4,225 cities measured89
Physical resilience3,876th of 4,226 cities measured12
Access4,083rd of 4,226 cities measured49
Economic stability2,700th of 4,226 cities measured50
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable cities measured: unemployment is 5.7% and the Opportunity signal places Greenfield in the bottom 6%. The unemployment rate is published for Monterey County, CA, which contains Greenfield, rather than for Greenfield alone.

In the public schools here, 17% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 23.1 students for every teacher.

Rent takes 28% of renter income here, below the 30% threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, and the median home is 5.6 times what its owners earn.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
20,232
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$84,740
Top 29% nationally
Density
6,805/sq mi
3 sq mi of land
Median age
28.8
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
California
Metro area
Nearest major airport
SJC
81 mi · Mineta San Jose Intl
Median home value
$531,400
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Monterey County, CA, which contains Greenfield, is 5.7% — higher than in all but 10% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment across Monterey County, CA, which contains Greenfield, fell 1.8% over the past year, to 215,002 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsMonterey County, CA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$101,41982nd percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftMonterey County, CA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$76,52358th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$6,9652024 ACS 5-Year$84,740Top 29%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,9392024 ACS 5-Year$21,654Bottom 12%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year11.4%Bottom 47%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±2.1 min2024 ACS 5-Year26.3 minTop 48%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year8.4%Bottom 17%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year71.8%33rd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentMonterey County, CA’s figureJuly 2026215,002Top 31%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Monterey County, CA’s figureJuly 2026−1.5%Bottom 31%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Monterey County, CA’s figureJuly 2026−1.8%Bottom 26%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceMonterey County, CA’s figureJuly 2026227,94369th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year75.4%Bottom 40%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageSalinas, CA Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$65,160Bottom 31%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageSalinas, CA Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$47,380Bottom 19%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year1.4%87th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Monterey County, CA’s figureJuly 2026−0.4%Top 34%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateMonterey County, CA’s figureJuly 20265.7%Bottom 10%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year3.6%29th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202485k69k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $84,740 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — Salinas, CA

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse26,830$36,700
Home Health and Personal Care Aides6,740$34,320
Fast Food and Counter Workers4,180$43,260
Retail Salespersons4,110$37,970
Cashiers4,020$37,080
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand3,890$39,110

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes city-level labor data only for places of 25,000 or more. This is the figure for Monterey County, CA, which contains this city.

17% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 31% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 23.1 students for every full-time teacher across 6 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
6
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
23.1
across all schools here
Math proficiency
17.4%
Bottom 2% in California
Reading proficiency
31.4%
Bottom 2% in California
All 6 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Greenfield HighSouth Monterey County Joint Union High1,27425.012%40%
Vista Verde MiddleGreenfield Union Elementary72721.417%31%
Oak Avenue ElementaryGreenfield Union Elementary69323.123%25%
Mary Chapa AcademyGreenfield Union Elementary68622.920%29%
Cesar Chavez ElementaryGreenfield Union Elementary64222.122%30%
Arroyo Seco AcademyGreenfield Union Elementary57122.815%25%

81.3% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against California’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 13% above the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 113.2, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Salinas, CA Metro Area is up 28% over five years, and up 3.2% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $3,514 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.66% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $2,684, some 56% above the $1,724 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $2,684 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $107,400 a year, about 127% of the median household income here of $84,740.

The typical renter household here spends 28% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,724 a month.

A median home at $531,400 costs 5.6 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $95,595, well above the historic benchmark, at a level conventionally described as seriously unaffordable.

Cost of living
113.2

Prices here run about 13% above the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Salinas, CA Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
27.7%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
5.6×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$2,684
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,724
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$531,400
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Greenfield’s median household income of $84,740, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe Salinas, CA Metro Area’s figure2023113.2Bottom 6%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Salinas, CA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+3.2%50th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Salinas, CA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+28.4%13th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Salinas, CA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+80.7%28th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±12024 ACS 5-Year5.6Bottom 6%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±6%2024 ACS 5-Year54.5%13th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±2742024 ACS 5-Year4,63488th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$2,232Bottom 13%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$3,623Bottom 9%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$2,684Bottom 12%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$1342024 ACS 5-Year$1,724Bottom 14%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$36,1602024 ACS 5-Year$531,40090th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$3902024 ACS 5-Year$3,51479th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$19,4682024 ACS 5-Year$95,595Top 31%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.09%2024 ACS 5-Year0.66%25th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year27.7%Top 47%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±472024 ACS 5-Year4180th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.9%61st percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year3.6%30th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±1192024 ACS 5-Year20878th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

65/ 100
Top 22% of 4,224 published city profiles
The most recent move in permitting was upward, in a series running from 2020 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has grown 11% since 2020, reaching 21,042 in 2024.

Permitting has turned upward after moving the other way the year before: 47 units authorized in 2025, up 88% on the prior year.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 61 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show Monterey County, which contains Greenfield, lost about 1.3% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $101,419, above the $76,523 of households that moved out.

At 3.0 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
61
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
3.0
Top 44% nationally
Year over year
+144%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202421k19k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been rising for the last 4 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
−1.3%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
41%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$101,419
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$76,523
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Santa Cruz County, CA 1,337 people · 12% of arrivals
  2. Santa Clara County, CA 943 people · 8.3% of arrivals
  3. Los Angeles County, CA 428 people · 3.8% of arrivals
  4. San Diego County, CA 385 people · 3.4% of arrivals
  5. Fresno County, CA 290 people · 2.5% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Santa Clara County, CA 967 people · 6.1% of departures
  2. Santa Cruz County, CA 966 people · 6.1% of departures
  3. San Diego County, CA 488 people · 3.1% of departures
  4. Los Angeles County, CA 471 people · 3.0% of departures
  5. San Benito County, CA 457 people · 2.9% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Monterey County, CA. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

20202021202220232024202513525
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2020 (−24%).

Weather & climate

9 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 71°F and January a low of 42°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 12.6 inches.

Air quality measures a median index of 39, in the Good band, and no day in the year passed 100.

30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station SALINAS MUNICIPAL AP, 31.0 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND2.6"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year552024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals12.6"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals42°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals71°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals91991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year02024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year392024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals13°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
39
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
55
90th percentile index
Days above 100
0
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

12 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are earthquake, inland flooding and drought, with earthquake alone responsible for 45% of it.

DroughtElevated
LandslideModerate
EarthquakeHigh
WildfireElevated
Inland floodingElevated
Heat waveModerate
AvalancheModerate

Low or minimal exposure: lightning, coastal flooding, tsunami, hail, tornado, strong wind, winter weather, cold wave, hurricane, ice storm, volcanic activity.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Violent crime
546
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
773
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

Greenfield's police department reported 546 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, higher than most places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 773.

Monterey County records 3.5 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 4.6 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 20.9 per 100,000 residents in Monterey County.

Homicide
3.5
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
4.6
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
20.9
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
10.0
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by Greenfield’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around Greenfield (Monterey County) rather than Greenfield itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

2 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Mineta San Jose Intl at 81 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year95.0%Top 25%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle81 miBottom 3%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle2Bottom 8%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year4.0%Top 31%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Mineta San Jose IntlSJC81 mi11,000 ft
Fresno Yosemite IntlFAT90 mi9,539 ft
Santa Maria Pub/Capt G Allan Hancock FldSMX108 mi8,004 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
40
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Other cities in Salinas, CA

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
SalinasMonterey County161,76139Salinas vs Greenfield
SeasideMonterey County31,81440Seaside vs Greenfield
MontereyMonterey County29,61343Monterey vs Greenfield
SoledadMonterey County26,36533
MarinaMonterey County22,56347
PrunedaleMonterey County19,72342
Pacific GroveMonterey County14,95146
King CityMonterey County13,60437

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Compare

Put Greenfield side by side with a similar place.

Greenfield vs Lemon GroveGreenfield vs La Presa

Moving to Greenfield from somewhere else?

You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

ZIP codes in Greenfield

1 ZIP area

Every ZIP area in Greenfield with census figures of its own, largest first. The ones linked below diverge enough from the city as a whole to carry a full profile; the rest track Greenfield closely, so their figures are here rather than on a page that would repeat this one. An Area Score is calculated for published profiles only, which is why it is blank on those rows.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
9392721,574$82,500$532,000—