Carmel-by-the-Sea is a very small coastal city (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of California. With a population of 3,104 people and two associated neighborhoods, Carmel-by-the-Sea is the 601st largest community in California. Much of the housing stock in Carmel-by-the-Sea was built prior to World War II, making it one of the older and more historic cities in the country. Carmel-by-the-Sea home prices are not only among the most expensive in California, but Carmel-by-the-Sea real estate also consistently ranks among the most expensive in America.Carmel-by-the-Sea is a decidedly white-collar city, with fully 98.77% of the workforce employed in white-collar jobs, well above the national average. Overall, Carmel-by-the-Sea is a city of managers, professionals, and sales and office workers. There are especially a lot of people living in Carmel-by-the-Sea who work in sales jobs (20.88%), business and financial occupations (20.23%), and art, media, and design (16.08%). Of important note, Carmel-by-the-Sea is also a city of artists. Carmel-by-the-Sea has more artists, designers and people working in media than 90% of the communities in America. This concentration of artists helps shape Carmel-by-the-Sea’s character. One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 15.67% 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. Another notable thing is that Carmel-by-the-Sea is an extremely popular vacation destination. A significant portion of the population is seasonal. During the vacation season, the city experiences a large influx of people who take up residence in second homes they own in the area. As the vacation season ends, the population drops again, leaving behind a substantially quieter and smaller city. In addition, Carmel-by-the-Sea 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. Carmel-by-the-Sea 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. One of the benefits of Carmel-by-the-Sea is that there is very little traffic. The average commute to work is 14.34 minutes, which is substantially less than the national average. Not only does this mean that the drive to work is less aggravating, but noise and pollution levels are lower as a result. Being a small city, Carmel-by-the-Sea does not have a public transit system used by locals to get to and from work.Do you like to read, write and learn? If you move to Carmel-by-the-Sea, you'll likely find that many of your neighbors like to as well. Carmel-by-the-Sea is one of the more educated communities in America, with a full 76.01% of its adults having a college degree or even advanced degree, compared to a national average across all communities of 21.84%. The per capita income in Carmel-by-the-Sea in 2022 was $87,422, which is wealthy relative to California and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $349,688 for a family of four. Carmel-by-the-Sea is a somewhat ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Carmel-by-the-Sea home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Carmel-by-the-Sea residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Important ancestries of people in Carmel-by-the-Sea include English, German, Irish, Norwegian, and Scottish. The most common language spoken in Carmel-by-the-Sea is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and German/Yiddish.
