Set the geographic scope before you assess the phone system
Salinas city is recorded in Monterey County. If your firm serves clients beyond the city, define that broader service area separately rather than treating Salinas’ population as a proxy for your entire market. The Census estimate is useful for identifying the municipality being discussed, not for predicting calls, cases or revenue. Your decision should begin with the calls your firm actually receives and the calls that currently reach voicemail, a busy signal or no answer.
Recommended approach
Map the phone numbers, offices and service areas that should use the answering path. Then review a representative period of call records by time, disposition and urgency. Keep Salinas city, Monterey County and any other service locations as separate fields in your internal review.
