Ferndale is a medium-sized coastal city (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of Washington. With a population of 16,706 people and six associated neighborhoods, Ferndale is the 72nd largest community in Washington. There's nothing like the smell of a brand new house, and in Ferndale, you'll find that a large proportion of houses were recently built. New growth in residential real estate is an indication that people are choosing to move to Ferndale, and putting down their money on brand new construction. Ferndale’s real estate is, on average, some of the newest in the nation. Ferndale does seem to be experiencing an influx of affluent people, because the median household income is $87,579.00. Housing costs in Ferndale 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 Washington.Unlike some cities where white-collar or blue-collar occupations dominate the local economy, Ferndale is neither predominantly one nor the other. Instead, it has a mixed workforce of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, Ferndale is a city of professionals, managers, and sales and office workers. There are especially a lot of people living in Ferndale who work in management occupations (10.58%), office and administrative support (8.69%), and business and financial occupations (7.25%). Also of interest is that Ferndale has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US. One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 15.16% 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. Ferndale 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 Ferndale 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: 36.90% of adults in Ferndale have a bachelor's degree or even advanced degree. The per capita income in Ferndale in 2022 was $41,409, which is middle income relative to Washington, and upper middle income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $165,636 for a family of four. However, Ferndale contains both very wealthy and poor people as well. Ferndale is a very ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Ferndale home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Ferndale residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Ferndale also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 12.55% of the city’s residents. Important ancestries of people in Ferndale include German, Irish, English, Russian, and Norwegian. Foreign born people are also an important part of Ferndale's cultural character, accounting for 15.86% of the city’s population. The most common language spoken in Ferndale is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Langs. of India.
