Novato is a larger medium-sized coastal city (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of California. With a population of 51,722 people and 14 associated neighborhoods, Novato is the 172nd largest community in California.

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

Also of interest is that Novato has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.

Telecommuters are a relatively large percentage of the workforce: 17.67% 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.

Novato 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. Such areas are often places that visitors and locals go for waterfront activities or taking in the scenery.

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

The citizens of Novato are among the most well-educated in the nation: 47.45% of adults in Novato 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 Novato in 2022 was $64,439, which is wealthy relative to California and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $257,756 for a family of four. However, Novato contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

Novato is an extremely ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Novato home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Novato residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Novato also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 27.05% of the city’s residents. Important ancestries of people in Novato include Irish, English, German, Italian, and Scottish.

Foreign born people are also an important part of Novato's cultural character, accounting for 22.86% of the city’s population.

The most common language spoken in Novato is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and German/Yiddish.