The City of Monterey is located on Monterey Bay along the Pacific coast in central California. As of 2005, the city population was 30,641. The city is noted for its rich history of resident artists beginning in the late 1800s and its historically famed fishery.

Monterey is home to the Naval Postgraduate School the Defense Language Institute, former Fort Ord; Fleet Numerical Oceanography Center, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, the Monterey American Viticultural Area; Cannery Row, Fisherman's Wharf and a Marine Mammal Center field station located in the area.