Oakland is a large coastal city (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of California. With a population of 436,504 people and 116 associated neighborhoods, Oakland is the eighth largest community in California. Oakland has an unusually large stock of pre-World War II architecture, making it one of the older and more historic cities.

Housing costs in Oakland 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 Oakland has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.

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

Telecommuters are a relatively large percentage of the workforce: 20.30% 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.

Oakland is one of the most attractive larger cities for people who are young, single, educated, and upwardly-mobile career starters. This makes it a good place to live for young singles in their 20s and 30s and who have undergraduate or graduate degrees and are starting their professional careers. Although Oakland is a large city, this demographic is significant enough that young professionals will find many others like themselves here, with really good opportunities for friendships, recreation, romance, and more.

One of the nice things about Oakland 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 Oakland is that it can take a long time to commute to work. In Oakland, the average commute to work is 32.07 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. In addition, it is also a pedestrian-friendly city. Many of Oakland’s neighborhoods are dense enough and have amenities close enough together that people find it feasible to get around on foot.

Oakland, like many big cities in America, has a public transportation system, but the citizens of Oakland are lucky because theirs is one of the most extensive and widely used. Many commuters choose to leave their cars at home and instead use the subway to get to and from work. In fact, for some people it is feasible to forgo car ownership entirely, avoiding the cost and headache of driving in heavy traffic. The benefits include reduced air pollution and load on the road network.

The citizens of Oakland are among the most well-educated in the nation: 48.41% of adults in Oakland have a bachelor's degree or even advanced degree, whereas the average US city has 21.84% holding at least a bachelor's degree.

The per capita income in Oakland in 2022 was $56,628, which is upper middle income relative to California, and wealthy relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $226,512 for a family of four. However, Oakland contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

Oakland is an extremely ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Oakland home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Oakland residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Oakland also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 26.62% of the city’s residents. Important ancestries of people in Oakland include German, Irish, English, Italian, and European.

Foreign born people are also an important part of Oakland's cultural character, accounting for 26.29% of the city’s population.

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