Hayward is a relatively large coastal city (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of California. With a population of 156,754 people and 39 associated neighborhoods, Hayward is the 34th largest community in California.

Housing costs in Hayward 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 Hayward 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 Hayward telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 11.28% 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.

Hayward 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 Hayward is that it can take a long time to commute to work. In Hayward, the average commute to work is 34.33 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.

For the size of the city, public transportation in Hayward is quite heavily used. Mostly, people who use it for their daily commute are taking the subway. For Hayward, the benefits are reduced air pollution and congestion on the highways.

In terms of college education, Hayward is substantially better educated than the typical community in the nation, which has 21.84% of the adults holding a bachelor's degree or graduate degree: 31.48% of adults in Hayward have a college degree.

The per capita income in Hayward in 2022 was $42,311, which is middle income relative to California, and upper middle income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $169,244 for a family of four. However, Hayward contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

Hayward is an extremely ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Hayward 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 Hayward, accounting for 39.66% of the city’s residents (people of Hispanic or Latino origin can be of any race). The greatest number of Hayward residents report their race to be Asian, followed by White. Important ancestries of people in Hayward include German, Irish, English, Italian, and Portuguese.

Hayward also has a high percentage of its population that was born in another country: 40.37%.

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