Explore Monterey | Aromas

Aromas is a town on the border of San Benito county and Monterey county. Aromas was formerly known as SandCut because of the tunnel built by the Southern Pacific railroad in the 1870s. According to local folk lore the name Aromas refered to the odor of the sulphur water in this sleepy town. Another possible origin of the name Aromas is that it was derived from the Juan M. Ausar ranch "Las Aromitas y Agua Caliente" in 1835.

Aromas is a census-designated place (CDP) that straddles the border of two counties, with Monterey County to the west and San Benito County to the east. The population was 2,797 at the 2000 census and was almost equally distributed between the two counties at 1,427 in Monterey County and 1,370 in San Benito County. Aromas is the only CDP in California that is divided between two or more counties.

The latitude of Aromas is 36.888N. The longitude is -121.641W. It is in the Pacific Standard time zone. Elevation is 131 feet. The population, at the time of the 2000 census, was 2,797.