Ferndale is a medium-sized coastal city (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of Washington. With a population of 15,992 people and six associated neighborhoods, Ferndale is the 72nd largest community in Washington.

Housing costs in Ferndale 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 Washington.

One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 11.18% 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.

Ferndale 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. Such areas are often places that visitors and locals go for waterfront activities or taking in the scenery.

In terms of college education, Ferndale is substantially better educated than the typical community in the nation, which has 21.84% of the adults holding a bachelor's degree or graduate degree: 32.81% of adults in Ferndale have a college degree.

The per capita income in Ferndale in 2022 was $37,688, which is middle income relative to Washington, and upper middle income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $150,752 for a family of four. However, Ferndale contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

Ferndale is a very ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Ferndale home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Ferndale residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Ferndale also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 15.91% of the city’s residents. Important ancestries of people in Ferndale include German, Irish, English, Russian, and Norwegian.

The most common language spoken in Ferndale is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Langs. of India.