Arcata is a medium-sized city located in the state of California. With a population of 18,555 people and six associated neighborhoods, Arcata is the 332nd largest community in California.

Housing costs in Arcata are among some of the highest in the nation, although real estate prices here don't compare to real estate prices in the most expensive communities in California.

One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 13.45% of the workforce. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce this is high compared to the rest of the county. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.

Arcata is a small town with a large college student population. Because of this, there is a real youthful, hip vibe to the place, and much of the life in the town is centered on the college. This has helped Arcata to buck the trend of other small towns that have suffered declining populations over the past 20 to 30 years. Spending by students, and faculty and staff jobs, are a big part of the local economy.

Arcata, while not large, also appears to be attractive to some younger, educated professionals, who help shape the character of the city.

One of the benefits of Arcata is that there is very little traffic. The average commute to work is 19.07 minutes, which is substantially less than the national average. Not only does this mean that the drive to work is less aggravating, but noise and pollution levels are lower as a result.

The education level of Arcata ranks among the highest in the nation. Of the 25-and-older adult population in Arcata, 45.18% have at least a bachelor's degree. The typical US community has just 21.84% of its adults holding a bachelor's degree or graduate degree.

The per capita income in Arcata in 2022 was $27,651, which is lower middle income relative to California and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $110,604 for a family of four. However, Arcata contains both very wealthy and poor people as well. Arcata also has one of the higher rates of people living in poverty in the nation, with 34.48% of its population below the federal poverty line.

Arcata is a very ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Arcata home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Arcata residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Arcata also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 15.99% of the city’s residents. Important ancestries of people in Arcata include German, Irish, English, Italian, and Portuguese.

The most common language spoken in Arcata is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Vietnamese.