Berkeley is a larger medium-sized coastal city (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of California. With a population of 118,950 people and 36 associated neighborhoods, Berkeley is the 51st largest community in California. Berkeley has an unusually large stock of pre-World War II architecture, making it one of the older and more historic cities. Berkeley home prices are not only among the most expensive in California, but Berkeley real estate also consistently ranks among the most expensive in America.Berkeley is a decidedly white-collar city, with fully 93.31% of the workforce employed in white-collar jobs, well above the national average. Overall, Berkeley is a city of professionals, managers, and sales and office workers. There are especially a lot of people living in Berkeley who work in management occupations (13.56%), teaching (12.87%), and office and administrative support (8.60%). Also of interest is that Berkeley has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US. Of important note, Berkeley is also a city of artists. Berkeley has more artists, designers and people working in media than 90% of the communities in America. This concentration of artists helps shape Berkeley’s character. And if you like science, one thing you'll find is that Berkeley has lots of scientists living in town - whether they be life scientists, physical scientists (like astronomers), or social scientists (like geographers!). So, if you're scientific-minded, you might like it here too. Telecommuters are a relatively large percentage of the workforce: 28.14% of people work from home. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce it is high relative to the nation. 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. Berkeley is a nice balance between life in a moderately big city and the interesting diversions and culture that come from having a big college student population. The thousands of students who arrive on campus every fall will find that Berkeley has plenty of amenities and opportunities for them, while residents of Berkeley enjoy the lectures, music, art, and economic trickle-down that colleges typically provide. "Town and Gown" complement each other in Berkeley. Berkeley is also nautical, which means that parts of it are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and bays. Quite often, nautical areas such as these attract visitors and locals who come to enjoy the scenery and various waterfront activities. Like elsewhere in America, most people in Berkeley use a private automobile to get to work. But notably, a substantial number of Berkeley‘s citizens do make use of public transit in their daily commute, primarily riding the subway. This helps more people get to work with less air pollution, and require fewer highways to get them there.If knowledge is power, Berkeley is a pretty powerful place. 73.75% of the adults in Berkeley have earned a 4-year college degree, masters degree, MD, law degree, or even PhD. Compare that to the national average of 21.84% for all cities and towns. The per capita income in Berkeley in 2022 was $63,310, which is wealthy relative to California and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $253,240 for a family of four. However, Berkeley contains both very wealthy and poor people as well. Berkeley is an extremely ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Berkeley home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Berkeley residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Berkeley also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 12.07% of the city’s residents. Important ancestries of people in Berkeley include English, German, Irish, Italian, and European. Foreign born people are also an important part of Berkeley's cultural character, accounting for 21.49% of the city’s population. The most common language spoken in Berkeley is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Chinese.
