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Data on this report is based on areas within the legal city boundary, outlined in black on the map. Any additional neighborhoods shown on the map are associated with the city by name and are included for reference only.

Orinda, CA
Real Estate & Demographic Data






Orinda profile


Living in Orinda



Orinda is a medium-sized city located in the state of California. With a population of 19,355 people and four constituent neighborhoods, Orinda is the 324th largest community in California.

Orinda home prices are not only among the most expensive in California, but Orinda real estate also consistently ranks among the most expensive in America.

Of important note, Orinda is also a city of artists. Orinda has more artists, designers and people working in media than 90% of the communities in America. This concentration of artists helps shape Orinda’s character.

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

A relatively large number of people in Orinda telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 25.46% 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.

In addition, Orinda is home to many people who could be described as "urban sophisticates". Urban sophisticates are people who are both educated and wealthy, and thus tend to be older, richer, and more established than young professionals. "Urban sophisticates" is not just about being educated and well-off financially: it is a point of view and state of mind, one that you might call 'urbaneness'. But such people can and do regularly live in small towns, suburbs and rural areas, as well as in big cities. They read, support the arts and high-end shops, and love travel.

Because of many things, Orinda is a great place for families with children to consider. First of all, many other families with children live here, making Orinda a place where both parents and children are more likely to develop social ties with other families, as well as find family-oriented services and community. The city’s good public school district and large population of college-educated adults provide an environment conducive to academic values. With regard to real estate, Orinda has a high rate of owner-occupied single family homes, which tends to reflect stability in the local community. Finally, Orinda’s overall crime rate is lower than average for the country.

One downside of living in Orinda, however, is that residents on average have to contend with a long commute, spending on average 35.56 minutes every day commuting to work. However, local public transit is widely used. For those who would prefer to avoid driving entirely and leave their car at home, it may be an option to use the transit instead.

Despite being a small city, Orinda has a lot of people using the subway to get to and from work every day. Most of these people on the subway are using it to get to good jobs in other cities.

If knowledge is power, Orinda is a pretty powerful place. 87.01% of the adults in Orinda have earned a 4-year college degree, masters degree, MD, law degree, or even PhD. Compare that to the national average of 21.84% for all cities and towns.

The per capita income in Orinda in 2018 was $128,328, which is wealthy relative to California and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $513,312 for a family of four.

Orinda is a very ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Orinda home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Orinda residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Important ancestries of people in Orinda include German, Irish, English, Italian, and European.

Orinda also has a high percentage of its population that was born in another country: 17.51%.

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