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Elevation

Elevation of El Monte

286ft

above sea level · 87 m

El Monte is a city in California with 105,075 people, the 69th most populous in the state. Of the 249 US cities with 100,000 to 250,000 people, it’s the 109th lowest.

By the All Map Tools Team

Elevation profile

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Place facts

Coordinates
34.07° N · 118.03° W
In degrees, minutes and seconds: 34° 4′ 7″ N · 118° 1′ 39″ W
UTM coordinates
11S · 405,181 E · 3,770,241 N
Zone 11 · NAD83, the official US datum
County
Los Angeles County
Where the city’s reference point falls
State
California
CA · capital: Sacramento
Time zone
Pacific Time
UTC−8 · UTC−7 in summer (daylight saving time)
Population (2025)
105,075 people
9.56 sq mi of land · 10,991 people/sq mi
Elevation model
USGS 3DEP, 1 m grid
Lidar from June 2024: the ground height at the city’s reference point.

Population

El Monte had 105,075 residents on July 1, 2025, according to Census Bureau estimates, 4.0% fewer than in April 2020, when it had 109,485. Its 9.56 sq mi of land work out to 10,991 people/sq mi; the state average is 253 people/sq mi.

It’s the 69th most populous of the 1,617 places the Census counts in California (cities, towns and CDPs), after Los Angeles (3,869,089), and holds 0.3% of the state’s population.

It lies entirely within Los Angeles County. Its reference point in the USGS gazetteer is 0.4 mi from the geographic center the Census gives for the city.

Compared with US cities of 100,000 to 250,000

El Monte sits at 286 ft (87 m) above sea level. Of the 249 US cities with 100,000 to 250,000 people, the highest is Lakewood (5,520 ft) and the lowest is Fort Lauderdale (3 ft). The average is 862 ft: El Monte is 576 ft below it.

The state capital, Sacramento, is 367 mi away in a straight line and 259 ft lower than El Monte.

The nearest city with more than 250,000 people is Los Angeles, 12 mi away in a straight line and 2 ft lower.

Of the 75 cities in California with a page, El Monte is the 31st highest: the highest is Hesperia (3,178 ft) and the lowest is Stockton (12 ft).

The highest point in California is Mount Whitney, at 14,494 ft according to the USGS: 14,208 ft above El Monte, 174 mi away in a straight line.

  1. 139 Gresham 319 ft
  2. 140 Columbia 299 ft
  3. 141 El Monte 286 ft
  4. 142 Jackson 279 ft
  5. 143 Waterbury 271 ft

Each color band is 500 m (1,640 ft), the same colors as the map. See the full list

Nearest cities with a page

Tools for this place

Step-by-step guide How to find the elevation of any place

Frequently asked questions

What people most often ask about the elevation of El Monte.

What is the elevation of El Monte?

El Monte is 286 feet (87 m) above sea level. That’s the ground height from the USGS 3DEP elevation model at the city’s reference point in the official gazetteer (GNIS). The city doesn’t have a single elevation: it rises and falls from one neighborhood to another.

What are the coordinates of El Monte?

Latitude 34.06862 and longitude -118.02757, in decimal degrees (34° 4′ 7″ N · 118° 1′ 39″ W). In UTM, zone 11: 405,181 E and 3,770,241 N, on NAD83.

How does El Monte rank among the highest US cities of its size?

It’s the 109th lowest of the 249 US cities with 100,000 to 250,000 people. The highest is Lakewood (5,520 ft) and the lowest is Fort Lauderdale (3 ft).

What county is El Monte in?

Los Angeles County, California.

Which is higher, El Monte or Sacramento?

El Monte. El Monte sits at 286 ft and Sacramento at 27 ft: a difference of 259 ft, 367 mi apart in a straight line.

How is elevation measured?

Elevation is the height above mean sea level. In the US the official reference is the NAVD88 vertical datum. Summits are surveyed on the ground, with leveling and precise GPS. The USGS 3DEP is an elevation model of the whole country, largely from 1-meter lidar: it gives the ground height at every point. That’s why it can differ by a few feet from the official figure of a sharp summit.

Sources

  • USGS 3DEP (EPQS service) The elevation: the ground height at the reference point. Public domain.
  • USGS GNIS (official gazetteer) The city’s reference point (“Populated Place”). Public domain.
  • U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 estimates Population, land area (2025 Gazetteer) and counties. Public domain.
  • TIGERweb (U.S. Census Bureau) Which county and city the point falls in. Public domain.
  • timezone-boundary-builder The point’s time zone (ODbL, © OpenStreetMap contributors).
  • Terrain Tiles, OpenStreetMap and OpenFreeMap The relief shading and the base map (ODbL).

Methodology and sources · Spotted a mistake? Let us know