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.

Telecommuters are a relatively large percentage of the workforce: 29.61% 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.

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 very good place for families to consider. With an enviable combination of good schools, low crime, college-educated neighbors who tend to support education because of their own experiences, and a high rate of home ownership in predominantly single-family properties, Orinda really has some of the features that families look for when choosing a good community to raise children. Is Orinda perfect? Of course not, and if you like frenetic nightlife, it will be far from your cup of tea. But overall this is a solid community, with many things to recommend it as a family-friendly place to live.

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.

Despite being a small city, Orinda has a lot of people using the subway to get to and from work every day. Most of these people on the subway are using it to get to good jobs in other cities.

Do you have a 4-year college degree or graduate degree? If so, you may feel right at home in Orinda. 86.31% of adults here have a 4-year degree or graduate degree, whereas the national average for all cities and towns is just 21.84%.

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.

Foreign born people are also an important part of Orinda's cultural character, accounting for 18.30% of the city’s population.

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