McKinleyville is a medium-sized coastal town (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of California. With a population of 16,262 people and four associated neighborhoods, McKinleyville is the 348th largest community in California.

Housing costs in McKinleyville 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.

Telecommuters are a relatively large percentage of the workforce: 7.73% 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.

McKinleyville 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.

The population of McKinleyville is very well educated relative to most cities and towns in the nation, where the average community has 21.84% of its adult population holding a 4-year degree or higher: 35.18% of adults in McKinleyville have a bachelor's degree or even advanced degree.

The per capita income in McKinleyville in 2022 was $36,144, 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 $144,576 for a family of four. However, McKinleyville contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

McKinleyville is a very ethnically-diverse town. The people who call McKinleyville home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of McKinleyville residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. McKinleyville also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 10.55% of the town’s residents. Important ancestries of people in McKinleyville include German, Irish, English, Italian, and Scottish.

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