Welcome to the City of Gonzales California!  

Gonzales is a quaint rural city located in the heart of the Salinas Valley with a rich agricultural history.  Today, several of our companies have achieved acclaimed success and their products can be found both nationally and worldwide.  Our city's leadership actively supports economic development and to prove it has developed a set of economic development incentives to assist with your business development needs. 

Gonzales has the high quality of life that one can expect from a small town.  The city is dedicated to building not only business, but community, wellness and family.  From affordable housing to tree-shaded parks and open spaces, Gonzales is a great place to raise a family. 

Expand or Locate Your Business in Gonzales

For your organization, expanding the existing business, or locating to a new home-base is an important decision; one that depends on finding the perfect location and finding the right combination of demographics and economic data. Gonzales offers a competitive advantage for employers seeking to expand or relocate. Gonzales features a young, hardworking, bilingual workforce that is technically skilled, but hasn’t been tapped to its fullest potential, with many talented professionals living within the community or within a 30-minute commute distance.

Gonzales is located within a comfortable driving distance of several major California cities, and enjoys multiple transportation options. The City’s location makes receiving or moving products from here to anywhere, easy and quick. For a transportation map, click here.

Labor costs in various industries, are often 40% less than they are across California, and are roughly 50% less than those same cost are in the Bay Area.
Gonzales offers an affordable marketplace and a perfect combination of economic assets and business advantages all provided in a quaint rural setting. If your clients are looking for a California location to expand an existing business, locate a new business or relocate, Gonzales is a perfect choice.

Gonzales is surrounded by prime agricultural land in the heart of the 90-mile long Salinas Valley between the Santa Lucia Range and the Gabilan Mountains.  The city is located 18 miles south of Salinas, 111 miles north of San Luis Obispo and 30 miles southeast of the Monterey Peninsula.

Since 1947, Gonzales has been a council-manager form of government with a full time city manager hired by the City Council.  The Gonzales City Council is comprised of five members, elected in staggered terms with a Mayoral election conducted every two years.

The City of Gonzales provides full services, including a proactive community policing program; fire protection and emergency response; planning and building services; economic development; public recreation; and general city administration and management.  The city operates modern sewer and water systems and maintains streets and storm drainage facilities.

The city's finances have weathered the economic downturn better than many and you'll find security in knowing that our community can continue to invest in what makes us great.  The city carries very little debt, and has set aside conservative reserves.

If your business is growing, expanding or locating in the City of Gonzales, you might want to look at the resources the city makes available to help your company achieve the highest degree of economic success.  The city offers several resources, incentive and financing programs to assist qualifying businesses.

City’s Economic Development Incentive Programs

In an effort to stimulate the local economy, create and retain local jobs and assist the business community, the City of Gonzales offers several Economic Development Incentive Programs including:

  • Development Impact Fee Deferral Program
  • Financing of Development Impact Fees (SCIP Program)
  • Economic Development Incentives/Inducements
  • Small Business Loan/Business Development
  • Customized and Coordinated Project Processing
  • Gonzales Grows Green (G3) Economic Sustainability Program Consulting Services

Click here to learn more about each of the programs bulleted above.

How do I's

MBEP Data Insights

Logo for Monterey Bay Economic Partnership - red box with M3 in it

Thinking about locating your business in Gonzales? Looking for more data to help you with your decision? Check out the Data Insights on Monterey Bay Economic Partnership's website, of which the City of Gonzales is a founding partner. 

Success Story: Ramsay Highlander

Ramsay Highlander harvester machine working in field

Ramsay Highlander is a manufacturer of specialized harvesting aids for the vegetable growing industry.  Ramsay stands at the forefront of labor-assisting harvest technologies and has introduced numerous innovative designs at agricultural expositions. Cited by numerous trade journals and publications, and listed as one of "America's Fastest Growing Companies" by Inc. 5,000, Ramsay Highlander is widely known for a nationwide and international client base.

Contact: Frank McConachy
45 Gonzales River Road, Gonzales, CA
(831) 675-3453.

Ramsay Highlander logo/wordmard