Oakland is a large coastal city (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of California. With a population of 443,554 people and 116 associated neighborhoods, Oakland is the eighth largest community in California. Oakland has an unusually large stock of pre-World War II architecture, making it one of the older and more historic cities. Housing costs in Oakland 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.Oakland is neither predominantly blue-collar nor white-collar, instead having a mixed workforce of both blue-collar and white-collar jobs. Overall, Oakland is a city of professionals, managers, and sales and office workers. There are especially a lot of people living in Oakland who work in management occupations (14.43%), office and administrative support (8.39%), and sales jobs (8.09%). Also of interest is that Oakland has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US. Of important note, Oakland is also a city of artists. Oakland has more artists, designers and people working in media than 90% of the communities in America. This concentration of artists helps shape Oakland’s character. Telecommuters are a relatively large percentage of the workforce: 23.43% 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. Oakland 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. In Oakland, however, the average commute to work is quite long. On average, people spend 31.26 minutes each day getting to work, which is significantly higher than the national average. One bright side is that local public transit is widely used, so it may be an option to avoid the headache of driving in the heavy traffic by leaving the car at home and taking transit. In addition, the city is also quite pedestrian-friendly, because many neighborhoods are very dense and have amenities close enough together that people find it feasible to get around on foot. Oakland is a big city, and with that comes lots of benefits. One benefit is that most big cities have public transit, but Oakland really shines when it comes to the extensiveness and use of its public transit system. More than most large American cities, Oakland citizens use public transit daily to get to and from work. And while there are transportation options, most people in Oakland ride the subway. Whereas in some cities one is destined to sit in traffic every morning to get to work and every evening to get home, in Oakland a lot leave their cars at home (if they even choose to own one), and hop a ride on the subway.Oakland is one of the most well-educated cities in the nation. 47.87% of adults in Oakland have at least a bachelor's degree. Compare that to the average community in America, which has just 21.84% with a bachelor's degree or higher. The per capita income in Oakland in 2022 was $58,987, which is upper middle income relative to California, and wealthy relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $235,948 for a family of four. However, Oakland contains both very wealthy and poor people as well. Oakland is an extremely ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Oakland 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 Oakland, accounting for 28.88% of the city’s residents (people of Hispanic or Latino origin can be of any race). The greatest number of Oakland residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in Oakland include German, Irish, English, Italian, and European. In addition, Oakland has a lot of people living here who were born outside of the US (27.07%). The most common language spoken in Oakland is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Chinese.
