Petaluma 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 58,652 people and 15 associated neighborhoods, Petaluma is the 157th largest community in California.

Housing costs in Petaluma 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 Petaluma 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 Petaluma telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 15.49% 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.

Petaluma 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. Quite often, nautical areas such as these attract visitors and locals who come to enjoy the scenery and various waterfront activities.

One downside of living in Petaluma is that it can take a long time to commute to work. In Petaluma, the average commute to work is 30.29 minutes, which is quite a bit higher than the national average.

The citizens of Petaluma are among the most well-educated in the nation: 42.96% of adults in Petaluma have a bachelor's degree or even advanced degree, whereas the average US city has 21.84% holding at least a bachelor's degree.

The per capita income in Petaluma in 2022 was $56,290, which is upper middle income relative to California, and wealthy relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $225,160 for a family of four. However, Petaluma contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

Petaluma is a very ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Petaluma home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Petaluma residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Petaluma also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 19.32% of the city’s residents. Important ancestries of people in Petaluma include Irish, German, English, Italian, and European.

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