Mill Valley is a somewhat small coastal city (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of California. With a population of 14,006 people and six associated neighborhoods, Mill Valley is the 362nd largest community in California.

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

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

Also of interest is that Mill Valley 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 Mill Valley telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 28.41% 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, Mill Valley 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, Mill Valley is a very good place for families to consider. With an enviable combination of good schools, low crime, college-educated neighbors who tend to support education because of their own experiences, and a high rate of home ownership in predominantly single-family properties, Mill Valley really has some of the features that families look for when choosing a good community to raise children. Is Mill Valley perfect? Of course not, and if you like frenetic nightlife, it will be far from your cup of tea. But overall this is a solid community, with many things to recommend it as a family-friendly place to live.

One of the nice things about Mill Valley 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.

Even though Mill Valley is a smaller city, it has many people who hop on public transportation – mostly the bus for their daily commute to work. Typically, these people are commuting to good jobs in the surrounding cities.

Do you like to read, write and learn? If you move to Mill Valley, you'll likely find that many of your neighbors like to as well. Mill Valley is one of the more educated communities in America, with a full 75.90% of its adults having a college degree or even advanced degree, compared to a national average across all communities of 21.84%.

The per capita income in Mill Valley in 2022 was $120,154, which is wealthy relative to California and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $480,616 for a family of four.

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

Foreign born people are also an important part of Mill Valley's cultural character, accounting for 16.61% of the city’s population.

The most common language spoken in Mill Valley is English. Other important languages spoken here include Polish and French.