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.

A relatively large number of people in Arcata telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 13.45% of the workforce works from home. While this may seem like a small number, as a fraction of the total workforce it ranks among the highest in the country. 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 place where college students are a big part of the character and culture of the town. Small towns have often struggled with declining populations over the past few decades, but the presence of such a large college student population has helped Arcata to fight this trend. Not only does the college population add spending and jobs to local economy, but it also contributes a very tangible, youthful energy to the town.

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 citizens of Arcata are among the most well-educated in the nation: 45.18% of adults in Arcata have a bachelor's degree or even advanced degree, whereas the average US city has 21.84% holding at least a bachelor's degree.

The per capita income in Arcata in 2018 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.