Patterson is a medium-sized city located in the state of California. With a population of 23,833 people and five associated neighborhoods, Patterson is the 295th largest community in California. Much of the housing stock in Patterson was built relatively recently. The construction of new real estate can often be taken as an indication that the local Patterson economy is robust, and that jobs or other amenities are attracting an influx of new residents. This seems to be the case in Patterson, where the median household income is $86,031.00.

Housing costs in Patterson 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: 8.83% 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.

One downside of living in Patterson is that it can take a long time to commute to work. In Patterson, the average commute to work is 37.78 minutes, which is quite a bit higher than the national average.

The percentage of adults in Patterson with college degrees is slightly lower than the national average of 21.84% for all communities. 14.94% of adults in Patterson have a bachelor's degree or advanced degree.

The per capita income in Patterson in 2022 was $29,091, which is lower middle income relative to California and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $116,364 for a family of four. However, Patterson contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

Patterson is an extremely ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Patterson home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. People of Hispanic or Latino origin are the most prevalent group in Patterson, accounting for 68.19% of the city’s residents (people of Hispanic or Latino origin can be of any race). The greatest number of Patterson residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in Patterson include German, Irish, Italian, English, and Portuguese.

Foreign born people are also an important part of Patterson's cultural character, accounting for 24.82% of the city’s population.

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