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.

One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 11.28% of the workforce. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce this is high compared to the rest of the county. 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. Such areas are often places that visitors and locals go for waterfront activities or taking in the scenery.

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.

The education level of Hayward citizens is substantially higher than the typical US community, as 31.48% of adults in Hayward have at least a bachelor's 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.

Foreign born people are also an important part of Hayward's cultural character, accounting for 40.37% of the city’s population.

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