San Pablo 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 31,389 people and nine associated neighborhoods, San Pablo is the 245th largest community in California.

Housing costs in San Pablo 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.

San Pablo 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.

One downside of living in San Pablo is that it can take a long time to commute to work. In San Pablo, the average commute to work is 33.66 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.

Like elsewhere in America, most people in San Pablo use a private automobile to get to work. But notably, a substantial number of San Pablo‘s citizens do make use of public transit in their daily commute, primarily riding the bus. This helps more people get to work with less air pollution, and require fewer highways to get them there.

The percentage of adults in San Pablo with college degrees is slightly lower than the national average of 21.84% for all communities. 15.74% of adults in San Pablo have a bachelor's degree or advanced degree.

The per capita income in San Pablo in 2018 was $27,043, which is lower middle income relative to California and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $108,172 for a family of four. However, San Pablo contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

San Pablo is an extremely ethnically-diverse city. The people who call San Pablo 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 San Pablo, accounting for 56.52% of the city’s residents (people of Hispanic or Latino origin can be of any race). The greatest number of San Pablo residents report their race to be Asian, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in San Pablo include English, Irish, German, European, and Italian.

Foreign born people are also an important part of San Pablo's cultural character, accounting for 39.48% of the city’s population.

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