Carmel is a somewhat small coastal town (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of California. With a population of 11,208 people and four associated neighborhoods, Carmel is the 400th largest community in California.

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

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

One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 25.15% 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, Carmel is home to many people who could be described as "urban sophisticates", which are people who are not only wealthy and employed in professional occupations, but highly educated to boot. Urban sophisticates have urbane tastes - whether they reside in a big or small city, a suburb, or a little town. Urban sophisticates support bookstores, quality clothing stores, enjoy luxury travel, and in big cities, they are truly the patrons of the arts, attending and supporting institutions such as opera, symphony, ballet, and theatre.

Because of many things, Carmel 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, Carmel really has some of the features that families look for when choosing a good community to raise children. Is Carmel 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 of the nice things about Carmel 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.

Being a small town, Carmel does not have a public transit system used by locals to get to and from work.

Do you have a 4-year college degree or graduate degree? If so, you may feel right at home in Carmel. 63.50% 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 Carmel in 2022 was $92,198, which is wealthy relative to California and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $368,792 for a family of four.

Carmel is a very ethnically-diverse town. The people who call Carmel home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Carmel residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Carmel also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 10.66% of the town’s residents. Important ancestries of people in Carmel include English, German, Irish, Italian, and European.

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