Orinda is a medium-sized city located in the state of California. With a population of 19,355 people and four associated neighborhoods, Orinda is the 324th largest community in California.

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

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

And if you like science, one thing you'll find is that Orinda has lots of scientists living in town - whether they be life scientists, physical scientists (like astronomers), or social scientists (like geographers!). So, if you're scientific-minded, you might like it here too.

Also of interest is that Orinda 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: 29.61% 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.

In addition, Orinda is home to many people who could be described as "urban sophisticates". Urban sophisticates are people who are both educated and wealthy, and thus tend to be older, richer, and more established than young professionals. "Urban sophisticates" is not just about being educated and well-off financially: it is a point of view and state of mind, one that you might call 'urbaneness'. But such people can and do regularly live in small towns, suburbs and rural areas, as well as in big cities. They read, support the arts and high-end shops, and love travel.

Because of many things, Orinda is a great place for families with children to consider. First of all, many other families with children live here, making Orinda a place where both parents and children are more likely to develop social ties with other families, as well as find family-oriented services and community. The city’s good public school district and large population of college-educated adults provide an environment conducive to academic values. With regard to real estate, Orinda has a high rate of owner-occupied single family homes, which tends to reflect stability in the local community. Finally, Orinda’s overall crime rate is lower than average for the country.

One downside of living in Orinda is that it can take a long time to commute to work. In Orinda, the average commute to work is 35.45 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.

Even though Orinda is a smaller city, it has many people who hop on public transportation – mostly the subway for their daily commute to work. Typically, these people are commuting to good jobs in the surrounding cities.

If knowledge is power, Orinda is a pretty powerful place. 86.31% of the adults in Orinda have earned a 4-year college degree, masters degree, MD, law degree, or even PhD. Compare that to the national average of 21.84% for all cities and towns.

The per capita income in Orinda in 2022 was $141,683, which is wealthy relative to California and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $566,732 for a family of four.

Orinda is a very ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Orinda home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Orinda residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Important ancestries of people in Orinda include German, Irish, English, Italian, and Scottish.

In addition, Orinda has a lot of people living here who were born outside of the US (18.30%).

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