2025 Compare Cities Economy:
Petaluma, CA vs Monterey, CA

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Highlights
- Household income in Monterey, is 15% less than it is in Petaluma and is 19% above the National Average.
- Petaluma unemployment rate is 5.0%.
- Monterey unemployment rate is 3.8%.
 Petaluma, CAMonterey, CAUnited States
 Unemployment Rate  Unlock3.8%6.0%
 Recent Job Growth  Unlock1.8%1.6%
 Future Job Growth35.6%  Unlock33.5%
 Sales Taxes8.1%  Unlock6.2%
 Income Taxes  Unlock8.0%4.6%
 Income per Cap.$50,664  Unlock$37,638
 Household Income  Unlock$85,365$69,021
 Family Median Income$124,213  Unlock$85,028
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 Est. Households By Income
 Petaluma, CAMonterey, CAUnited States
 Income Less Than 15K  Unlock5.2%9.4%
 Income between 15K and 20K2.3%  Unlock3.8%
 Income between 20K and 30K  Unlock7.0%8.1%
 Income between 30K and 40K4.9%  Unlock8.0%
 Income between 40K and 50K  Unlock5.9%7.6%
 Income between 50K and 60K4.3%  Unlock7.2%
 Income between 60K and 75K  Unlock11.4%9.6%
 Income between 75K and 100K15.0%  Unlock12.8%
 Income between 100K and 150K  Unlock18.0%16.3%
 Income between 150K and 200K13.0%  Unlock7.8%
 Income greater than 200K  Unlock13.7%9.5%
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 Population By Occupation
 Petaluma, CAMonterey, CAUnited States
 Management, business, finance19.5%  Unlock16.4%
 Engineering, computers, science  Unlock9.7%6.5%
 Community, social services2.2%  Unlock1.8%
 Legal  Unlock1.5%1.2%
 Education, library6.3%  Unlock6.2%
 Arts, design, media, sports, entertainment  Unlock4.5%2.0%
 Healthcare practitioners and technology5.8%  Unlock6.2%
 Healthcare support  Unlock2.6%3.3%
 Firefighters, law enforcement3.5%  Unlock2.1%
 Food preparation, serving  Unlock7.9%5.4%
 Building maintenance3.6%  Unlock3.6%
 Personal care  Unlock3.3%2.6%
 Sales, office, administrative support19.8%  Unlock20.9%
 Farming, fishing, forestry  Unlock1.1%0.6%
 Construction, extraction, maintenance/repair6.8%  Unlock8.1%
 Production, transportation, material moving  Unlock5.1%13.1%
Reviews for Petaluma    16 Reviews

I agree with the low star reviews. Been here for 25 years, raised a family and seen everything turn to the left and worse. Weather is glorious, love the old Victorians  More

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We’ve lived here for 3 years and we love it. It has taken some time to grow on us. We moved from SF where we had lived over 15 years, we were not used to one year leases  More

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I’ve lived here a couple of years (after living in others parts of the Bay Area for 15+ years) and I love it! Great neighborhoods, friendly folks, good schools with  More

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Reviews for Monterey    21 Reviews

Over 8 years ago

The Monterey city area is an excellent place to live and one of the few California locales where it's relatively safe to raise a family. If I could no longer live here I  More

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I grew up on the Monterey Peninsula and had to leave to climb out of poverty. The median income is $35,000 and outside of the military, the jobs are mostly service  More

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My husband and I are just crazy about Monterey. I wonder if we take housing expenses (mortgage or rent) out of the picture, is Monterey still a very expensive city to  More

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