Hercules is a medium-sized coastal city (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of California. With a population of 25,920 people and six associated neighborhoods, Hercules is the 280th largest community in California.

Housing costs in Hercules 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.

Also of interest is that Hercules has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.

Telecommuters are a relatively large percentage of the workforce: 15.26% 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.

One of the nice things about Hercules is that it is nautical, which means that parts of it are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and bays. Because of this, visitors and locals will often go to these areas to take in the scenery or to enjoy waterfront activities.

One downside of living in Hercules is that it can take a long time to commute to work. In Hercules, the average commute to work is 38.33 minutes, which is quite a bit higher than the national average. On the other hand, local public transit is widely used in the city, so leaving the car at home and taking transit is often a viable alternative.

Although the majority of commuting trips in the city are by private automobile, Hercules is somewhat unusual for a city of its size for having a substantial number of people who use public transportation. For a lot of people, the bus helps to get to and from their jobs every morning, which benefits everyone in the Hercules area by reducing both traffic and air pollution.

Hercules is one of the most well-educated cities in the nation. 45.31% of adults in Hercules 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 Hercules in 2018 was $52,818, which is upper middle income relative to California, and wealthy relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $211,272 for a family of four.

Hercules is an extremely ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Hercules home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Hercules residents report their race to be Asian, followed by Black or African-American. Hercules also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 15.74% of the city’s residents. Important ancestries of people in Hercules include Irish, Nigerian, German, Italian, and Other Arab.

Foreign born people are also an important part of Hercules's cultural character, accounting for 32.31% of the city’s population.

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