Arcata is a small town where college students really create the town feel and character. So many small towns have lost population over the last 20-30 years that having the local college presence in the Arcata area, with all of the energy of the students filling area dorms and apartments each fall, really helps Arcata maintain a good economy.
Arcata, while not large, also appears to be attractive to some younger, educated professionals, who help shape the character of the city.
One of the benefits of Arcata is that there is very little traffic. The average commute to work is 19.07 minutes, which is substantially less than the national average. Not only does this mean that the drive to work is less aggravating, but noise and pollution levels are lower as a result.
The citizens of Arcata are among the most well-educated in the nation: 45.18% of adults in Arcata 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 Arcata in 2022 was $27,651, which is lower middle income relative to California and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $110,604 for a family of four. However, Arcata contains both very wealthy and poor people as well. Arcata also has one of the higher rates of people living in poverty in the nation, with 34.48% of its population below the federal poverty line.
Arcata is a very ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Arcata home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Arcata residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Arcata also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 15.99% of the city’s residents. Important ancestries of people in Arcata include German, Irish, English, Italian, and Portuguese.
The most common language spoken in Arcata is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Vietnamese.
