Fresno County vs Monterey County
Two neighbouring counties in California, compared on population, size, income and housing. They share 50 mi of border.
Fresno County
California
Monterey County
California
Both outlines are drawn at true relative size. Fresno County spans about 223.2 km at its widest.
Side by side
| Measure | Fresno County | Difference | Monterey County |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 1,035,456 | +138.7% | 433,729 |
| Change since 2020 | 2.6% | +4.1 pp | -1.5% |
| Land area | 5,959 sq mi | +81.6% | 3,282 sq mi |
| Population density | 174 per sq mi | +31.8% | 132 per sq mi |
| Median household income | $74,201 | -23.7% | $97,230 |
| Median home value | $388,800 | -50.2% | $781,000 |
| Median age | 33.5 | -5.6% | 35.5 |
| Households | 324,702 | +145.1% | 132,489 |
| Housing units | 344,894 | +137.1% | 145,469 |
Sources: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026; US Census Bureau, Gazetteer Files, 2025 Gazetteer Files, released 10 September 2025; US Census Bureau, American Community Survey, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates, released 29 January 2026; US Census Bureau, County Adjacency File, 2025 County Adjacency File, released 15 September 2025. The difference column is computed here: the first county's figure against the second, expressed as a percentage of the second. The change-since-2020 row is the exception: two growth rates differ in percentage points (pp), not percent. Retrieved 30 August 2026.
What the numbers say
- Fresno County holds about 2.4 times the population of Monterey County: 1,035,456 against 433,729.
- Fresno County covers more ground, at 5,959 square miles against 3,282.
- Fresno County is the more crowded of the two, at 174 people per square mile against 132.
- Median household income is higher in Monterey County, by 23,029 dollars a year.
- Since 2020, Fresno County has grown by 2.6% and Monterey County has shrunk by 1.5%.
- They share 50 mi of common border, which the Census Bureau publishes in its county adjacency file and which almost no other county reference presents.
Full pages
Want a different pair? Compare any two of the 3,144 US counties.
Rebuilt from source data 30 August 2026. How these figures are produced.