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Data on this report is based on areas within the legal city boundary, outlined in black on the map. Any additional neighborhoods shown on the map are associated with the city by name and are included for reference only.

Novato, CA
Real Estate & Demographic Data






Novato profile


Living in Novato



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 52,184 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.

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

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.

A relatively large number of people in Novato telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 17.09% 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.

One of the nice things about Novato 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.

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 education level of Novato ranks among the highest in the nation. Of the 25-and-older adult population in Novato, 48.41% have at least a bachelor's degree. The typical US community has just 21.84% of its adults holding a bachelor's degree or graduate degree.

The per capita income in Novato in 2018 was $62,407, which is wealthy relative to California and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $249,628 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 22.29% of the city’s residents. Important ancestries of people in Novato include English, Irish, German, Italian, and Scottish.

Novato also has a high percentage of its population that was born in another country: 21.16%.

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