Gonzales is located 16 miles (26 km) southeast of Salinas,[7] at an elevation of 135 feet (41 m).

Gonzales won the Culture of Health Prize from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in 2019.

The brothers laid out the 50-block town on approximately 15,000 acres (6,100 ha) in 1874 in a grid of northeast to southwest and northwest to southeast streets.

In 1872, they granted a 100 feet (30 m) right-of-way through town to Southern Pacific Railroad, which subsequently built a depot for freight and passengers.

The Gonzalez brothers are also credited with constructing one of the first irrigation systems in the Salinas Valley.

They built a dam and head gate on the nearby Salinas River and miles of canals throughout the area.

In the early 1900s, Gonzales became a predominantly Swiss dairy community when John B. Meyenberg brought his original milk processing procedures to the region.

[citation needed] Prior to being nicknamed the "Wine Capital of Monterey County", Gonzales was known as "The Heart of the Salad Bowl" (due to its central location in the agricultural valley).

[10] Dairy farming gave way to orchards and row crops in the 1920s and prospered due to the rich soil and advancements in irrigation, machinery and transportation facilities.

Television service for the community comes from the Monterey-Salinas-Santa Cruz designated market area (DMA).

Local newspapers include the Salinas Californian, the Monterey County Herald and the Gonzales Tribune, first published in 1890, and at one time the paper with the largest circulation in Monterey County.

[15] Gonzales High School offers a variety of courses, including several ROP/CTE fine arts, agriculture, and tech classes.

The white golf ball-shaped tank of the water tower at Gonzales is supported by three tubular green legs and reaches about 125 ft (38 m) high.

Summer daytime temperatures average around 35 °C (95 °F), but nights are cool to cold year-round.