Demographics of Arcata city, California

Arcata city, California had 19,047 people on July 1, 2025, by the Census Bureau’s estimate: +209 since July 2020. Age, income, poverty, housing and origin below come from the survey, averaged over 2020–2024, each with its margin of error.

Arcata city, in four figures

19,047
Population: July 1, 2025, Vintage 2025 estimate. The survey’s 2020–⁠2024 figure is 18,607 ±32.; +1.1%
Change since July 2020: +209 people.; 28.1 ±1.8
Median age: ACS 2020–⁠2024.; $46,713 ±$7,736
Median household income: ACS 2020–⁠2024, in 2024 dollars.

Population, year by year

July 1 estimates from the Census Bureau’s Vintage 2025. The Bureau publishes no births, deaths or migration for a place, so the change is the difference between one July estimate and the next.

Arcata city, California's population grew 1.1% from July 2020 to July 2025, against +3.1% nationally

The July 1 estimate of Arcata city, California's resident population and the nation's, each year of the Census Bureau's Vintage 2025, as a share of its July 2020 level (= 100).

U.S. Census Bureau — Census Bureau population estimates — incorporated places and New England towns

About this chart

The figures

Arcata city, California's population grew 1.1% from July 2020 to July 2025, against +3.1% nationally. The July 1 estimate of Arcata city, California's resident population and the nation's, each year of the Census Bureau's Vintage 2025, as a share of its July 2020 level (= 100).
July 1	Population	Index	United States
2020	18,838	100.0	100.0
2021	17,769	94.3	100.2
2022	18,629	98.9	100.7
2023	19,026	101.0	101.6
2024	18,768	99.6	102.5
2025	19,047	101.1	103.1

Population of Arcata city, California on July 1 of each year, Vintage 2025
July 1	Population	Change
2020	18,838	—
2021	17,769	−1,069
2022	18,629	+860
2023	19,026	+397
2024	18,768	−258
2025	19,047	+279

Age, 2020–2024

The median age is 28.1 ±1.8: for men 28.9 ±1.9 and for women 27.4 ±2.3. Shares are of everyone the survey counts, in the Bureau’s sex-by-age table (B01001).

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People in Arcata city by age, ACS 2020–2024
Age	People	Share	California	United States
Under 5	455 ±187	2.4% ±1.0	5.5% ±<0.1	5.6% ±<0.1
5 to 17	1,734 ±320	9.3% ±1.7	16.5% ±<0.1	16.3% ±<0.1
18 to 24	5,680 ±675	30.5% ±3.6	9.1% ±<0.1	9.1% ±<0.1
25 to 44	5,358 ±589	28.8% ±3.2	28.7% ±<0.1	26.9% ±<0.1
45 to 64	2,737 ±381	14.7% ±2.0	24.6% ±<0.1	24.8% ±<0.1
65 and over	2,643 ±369	14.2% ±2.0	15.7% ±<0.1	17.2% ±<0.1

Income and poverty, 2020–2024

Median household income is $46,713 ±$7,736, and income per person $32,307 ±$2,781, in 2024 dollars. The median is $99,122 ±$310 in California and $80,734 ±$166 in the United States.

Households by income

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Households in Arcata city by income, ACS 2020–2024
Household income	Households	Share	California	United States
Under $25,000	2,169 ±409	27.5% ±4.9	12.5% ±0.1	14.6% ±<0.1
$25,000 to $49,999	1,881 ±413	23.9% ±5.1	13.3% ±0.1	16.7% ±<0.1
$50,000 to $74,999	1,163 ±269	14.8% ±3.3	13.0% ±0.1	15.5% ±<0.1
$75,000 to $99,999	764 ±234	9.7% ±2.9	11.6% ±0.1	12.6% ±<0.1
$100,000 to $149,999	833 ±200	10.6% ±2.5	17.8% ±0.1	17.5% ±<0.1
$150,000 to $199,999	626 ±212	7.9% ±2.7	11.3% ±0.1	9.6% ±<0.1
$200,000 or more	448 ±128	5.7% ±1.6	20.5% ±0.1	13.4% ±0.1

Poverty by age

The poverty rate is the share of people whose family income is below the federal threshold for their family’s size, of everyone for whom the Bureau determines it (B17020).

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Poverty rate in Arcata city by age, ACS 2020–2024
Age	Below poverty	Rate	California	United States
All ages	4,593 ±777	27.2% ±4.6	12.0% ±0.1	12.5% ±0.1
Under 18	461 ±216	21.2% ±9.3	15.0% ±0.1	16.1% ±0.1
18 to 59	3,741 ±675	33.3% ±5.2	11.0% ±0.1	11.6% ±0.1
60 and over	391 ±173	11.2% ±4.8	11.5% ±0.1	11.0% ±<0.1

Housing, 2020–2024

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Housing in Arcata city, ACS 2020–2024
Measure	Arcata city	California	United States
Housing units	8,636 ±466	14,644,735 ±1,665	143,775,355 ±10,234
Occupied	91.3% ±1.8	92.5% ±0.1	89.9% ±0.1
Vacant	8.7% ±2.8	7.5% ±0.1	10.1% ±0.1
Owner occupied	36.4% ±4.2	55.9% ±0.3	65.2% ±0.3
Renter occupied	63.6% ±3.1	44.1% ±0.2	34.8% ±0.1
Median home value	$484,600 ±$24,804	$734,700 ±$1,307	$332,700 ±$236
Median gross rent	$1,327 ±$65	$2,036 ±$5	$1,413 ±$2
Median year built	1976 ±3	1976 ±1	1980 ±1

Occupied and vacant are shares of all housing units; owner and renter occupied are shares of occupied units. Value and rent are medians in 2024 dollars.

Origin and place of birth, 2020–2024

Hispanic or Latino origin is not a race in the Census Bureau’s tables. Here the people of Hispanic origin, of any race, are one row, and everyone else is counted by race alone (B03002), so the rows add to the whole.

Hispanic origin and race

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People in Arcata city by Hispanic origin and race, ACS 2020–2024
Origin	People	Share	California	United States
Hispanic or Latino	2,982 ±441	16.0% ±2.4	40.2% ±<0.1	19.3% ±<0.1
White alone, not Hispanic	13,128 ±614	70.6% ±3.3	33.8% ±<0.1	57.4% ±<0.1
Black alone, not Hispanic	554 ±240	3.0% ±1.3	5.2% ±<0.1	11.9% ±<0.1
Asian alone, not Hispanic	100 to 308	0.5% to 1.7%	15.3% ±<0.1	5.9% ±<0.1
American Indian and Alaska Native alone, not Hispanic	63 to 239	0.3% to 1.3%	0.3% ±<0.1	0.5% ±<0.1
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone, not Hispanic	0 to 48	0% to 0.3%	0.3% ±<0.1	0.2% ±<0.1
Some other race alone, not Hispanic	126 to 414	0.7% to 2.2%	0.6% ±<0.1	0.6% ±<0.1
Two or more races, not Hispanic	1,295 ±315	7.0% ±1.7	4.4% ±<0.1	4.3% ±<0.1

A range (the estimate less and plus its margin) where the Bureau's estimate is too uncertain to state as one number: a coefficient of variation over 30%.

Place of birth and citizenship

“Born a citizen outside the states” counts people born in Puerto Rico, the island areas, or abroad to American parents. Naturalized citizens and those who are not citizens together make up the people born abroad (B05002).

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People in Arcata city by place of birth and citizenship, ACS 2020–2024
Born	People	Share	California	United States
Born in the state	12,618 ±602	67.8% ±3.2	56.5% ±0.1	57.3% ±<0.1
Born in another state	4,977 ±580	26.7% ±3.1	15.0% ±0.1	26.9% ±<0.1
Born a citizen outside the states	58 to 238	0.3% to 1.3%	1.5% ±<0.1	1.7% ±<0.1
Born abroad	864 ±259	4.6% ±1.4	27.0% ±0.1	14.1% ±<0.1
Naturalized citizens	351 ±134	1.9% ±0.7	14.7% ±0.1	7.4% ±<0.1
Not citizens	513 ±184	2.8% ±1.0	12.3% ±0.1	6.8% ±<0.1

A range (the estimate less and plus its margin) where the Bureau's estimate is too uncertain to state as one number: a coefficient of variation over 30%.

Arcata city among the places of California

367th of 661 places of 5,000 or more by the survey’s 2020–2024 count. Every one is listed on the California page.

Places of California near Arcata city in population, ACS 2020–2024
Place	ACS 2020–⁠2024
Coronado city	19,015 ±39
Rosedale CDP	18,877 ±1,640
Santa Fe Springs city	18,871 ±53
Pinole city	18,761 ±40
Stanford CDP	18,662 ±967
Arcata city	18,607 ±32
Valle Vista CDP	18,602 ±2,216
Phelan CDP	18,496 ±2,229
Olivehurst CDP	18,444 ±1,334
Arroyo Grande city	18,372 ±35
Cameron Park CDP	18,315 ±1,348

Sources

Census Bureau population estimates — incorporated places and New England towns — U.S. Census Bureau · U.S. Government work · retrieved September 25, 2026
American Community Survey 5-year estimates — table-based Summary File · U.S. Government work

Data retrieved September 25, 2026