Salinas is the county seat and largest municipality of Monterey County in the U.S. state of California. The most current estimate from the California Department of Finance, places the 2006 population at 148,350, showing a slight decrease since 2000 which is largely attributed to the city's high cost of living. As of 2005, the city has been identified as the least affordable municipality in the U.S. The largely suburban city is located at the mouth of the Salinas Valley roughly eight miles from the Pacific Ocean and enjoys a mild climate. Salinas is known for being an agricultural center as well as being the hometown of famed writer and Nobel prize laureate John Steinbeck.