Petaluma, California demographics

Petaluma, CA demographics: median age 45.3; 43.8% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree. Age, race, households, languages and education, ACS 2020–2024 with margins of error.

ACS 2020–2024 · Petaluma city, California · Incorporated city · GEOID 0656784. The survey estimates a population of 59,247 for its five-year window. This is separate from the annual July 2025 population estimate on the city overview.

Median age in Petaluma is 45.3 years, with a 90% margin of error of 1.3 years. There are 24,239 households (±498). Age and household distributions show how these totals are composed; they do not establish which neighborhood suits a particular person.

Every count and share is an estimate. “±” is a 90% margin of error (MOE); pp means percentage points. Derived shares use the category count divided by the named universe. Aggregated category MOEs and percentage MOEs are approximate. A margin larger than half its estimate is flagged as low precision. Blank source uncertainty is shown as unavailable, never zero.

Age distribution and sex

City, state and U.S. estimates · ACS 2020–2024
Measure / survey universe	City estimate ± MOE	State estimate ± MOE	U.S. estimate ± MOE
Median age Total population · years	45.3 ±1.3	37.9 ±0.1	38.9 ±0.1

Age groups · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 59,247
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Under 18	10,782 ±732	18.2% ±1.2 pp	22.0%	22.0%
18–34	10,695 ±820	18.1% ±1.4 pp	23.9%	22.8%
35–64	24,699 ±1,146	41.7% ±1.9 pp	38.5%	38.0%
65 and older	13,071 ±843	22.1% ±1.4 pp	15.7%	17.2%

Sex categories as published by ACS · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 59,247
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Male	29,042 ±712	49.0% ±1.2 pp	49.9%	49.5%
Female	30,205 ±707	51.0% ±1.2 pp	50.1%	50.5%

The age groups are mutually exclusive and cover the entire population. The sex categories follow this ACS table’s published classification; they are not a survey of gender identity.

Race and Hispanic origin

Race · B02001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 59,247
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
White alone	41,518 ±1,302	70.1% ±2.2 pp	39.7%	61.0%
Black or African American alone	734 ±275	1.2% ±0.5 pp	5.4%	12.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	689 ±359 · low precision	1.2% ±0.6 pp · low precision	1.3%	0.9%
Asian alone	2,276 ±477	3.8% ±0.8 pp	15.5%	6.0%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone	81 ±65 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.4%	0.2%
Some other race alone	4,692 ±949	7.9% ±1.6 pp	18.5%	7.1%
Two or more races	9,257 ±1,235	15.6% ±2.1 pp	19.2%	12.6%

Hispanic or Latino origin · B03003 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 59,247
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Not Hispanic or Latino	46,406 ±1,141	78.3% ±1.9 pp	59.8%	80.7%
Hispanic or Latino	12,841 ±1,149	21.7% ±1.9 pp	40.2%	19.3%

Hispanic origin and race are separate questions. People of Hispanic or Latino origin may be of any race and appear in both tables. Do not add the Hispanic share to race shares. Race alone and two-or-more-race groups are the mutually exclusive categories of the race table.

Household types, children and living alone

Household types · B11001 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 24,239
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Married-couple family	12,226 ±634	50.4% ±2.4 pp	48.4%	46.9%
Other family: male householder, no spouse present	1,198 ±256	4.9% ±1.1 pp	6.3%	5.1%
Other family: female householder, no spouse present	1,806 ±346	7.5% ±1.4 pp	13.1%	12.2%
Nonfamily: householder living alone	7,014 ±630	28.9% ±2.5 pp	24.3%	28.7%
Nonfamily: householder not living alone	1,995 ±382	8.2% ±1.6 pp	7.9%	7.0%

Households with children · B11005 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 24,239
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Households with people under 18	6,367 ±389	26.3% ±1.5 pp	32.4%	29.5%
Households without people under 18	17,872 ±727	73.7% ±2.6 pp	67.6%	70.5%

Household size · B11016 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 24,239
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
One-person nonfamily households	7,014 ±630	28.9% ±2.5 pp	24.3%	28.7%
Two-person households	8,182 ±647	33.8% ±2.6 pp	30.5%	33.8%
Three-person households	4,022 ±447	16.6% ±1.8 pp	16.7%	15.3%
Four-person households	3,441 ±404	14.2% ±1.6 pp	14.9%	12.6%
Five-person households	1,157 ±238	4.8% ±1.0 pp	7.7%	5.9%
Six-person households	333 ±137	1.4% ±0.6 pp	3.3%	2.2%
Seven or more people	90 ±66 · low precision	0.4% ±0.3 pp · low precision	2.6%	1.4%

A family household contains related people under the Census definition. A nonfamily household can contain one person or unrelated people sharing a home. Households with children can also appear in the household-type and size tables, so those tables must not be added together. Household estimates exclude people living in group quarters from the household universe.

Nativity and languages spoken at home

Nativity · B05002 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 59,247
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Native	50,184 ±783	84.7% ±1.3 pp	73.0%	85.9%
Foreign born	9,063 ±787	15.3% ±1.3 pp	27.0%	14.1%

Language spoken at home · C16001 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 5 and older: 56,700
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
English only	45,773 ±1,283	80.7% ±2.2 pp	55.6%	77.7%
Spanish	7,657 ±1,019	13.5% ±1.8 pp	28.3%	13.6%
French, Haitian, or Cajun	274 ±146 · low precision	0.5% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.4%	0.7%
German or other West Germanic	225 ±118 · low precision	0.4% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.3%	0.5%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic	123 ±96 · low precision	0.2% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.7%	0.7%
Other Indo-European	1,008 ±344	1.8% ±0.6 pp	3.5%	2.0%
Korean	35 ±45 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	1.0%	0.3%
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese	616 ±360 · low precision	1.1% ±0.6 pp · low precision	3.5%	1.1%
Vietnamese	39 ±39 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	1.5%	0.5%
Tagalog, including Filipino	253 ±141 · low precision	0.4% ±0.2 pp · low precision	2.1%	0.6%
Other Asian and Pacific Island	193 ±99 · low precision	0.3% ±0.2 pp · low precision	2.0%	1.1%
Arabic	364 ±181	0.6% ±0.3 pp	0.6%	0.5%
Other and unspecified	140 ±110 · low precision	0.2% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.6%	0.8%

Foreign born means not a U.S. citizen at birth; it includes naturalized citizens. Language categories describe speech at home among people age five and older. A language other than English at home does not establish that someone cannot speak English. This city page uses the published C16001 summary categories because the more detailed B16001 table does not provide these city records in this release.

Educational attainment

Highest completed education · B15003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 25 and older: 44,752
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Less than high school graduate	3,594 ±664	8.0% ±1.5 pp	15.3%	10.4%
High school graduate or equivalency	7,679 ±741	17.2% ±1.6 pp	20.5%	26.0%
Some college, no degree	9,671 ±769	21.6% ±1.7 pp	19.3%	19.1%
Associate’s degree	4,213 ±567	9.4% ±1.3 pp	7.9%	8.8%
Bachelor’s degree	12,652 ±766	28.3% ±1.7 pp	22.7%	21.6%
Graduate or professional degree	6,943 ±680	15.5% ±1.5 pp	14.4%	14.1%

The denominator excludes residents under 25. Each person is counted in the highest attainment category they completed. This table does not measure the quality of local schools or the education level of every current student.

Residence one year earlier

Geographic mobility · B07003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 1 and older: 58,845
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Same house	53,739 ±837	91.3% ±1.4 pp	89.2%	87.7%
Moved within same county	2,264 ±625	3.8% ±1.1 pp	6.4%	6.3%
Moved from a different county in the same state	1,873 ±439	3.2% ±0.7 pp	2.6%	3.1%
Moved from a different state	629 ±305	1.1% ±0.5 pp	1.1%	2.3%
Moved from abroad	340 ±187 · low precision	0.6% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.7%	0.6%

These are respondents’ residence patterns one year before their survey response, pooled across the five-year window. They are not a net migration count for 2025. A person can move to a different house within the same city or county; moves within the same county should not automatically be interpreted as new arrivals to the city.

Health insurance, internet access and veterans

4.3% of Petaluma residents (±1.0 percentage points) had no health insurance coverage when surveyed, compared with 6.6% in California and 8.4% nationally. 93.9% of households subscribe to broadband of any type, including cellular data plans. A subscription is not the same as available service: the FCC National Broadband Map shows providers at a specific address.

City, state and U.S. shares · ACS 2020–2024
Measure	Petaluma	California	U.S.	Compared with California
People without health insurance Civilian noninstitutionalized population	4.3% ±1.0 pp	6.6%	8.4%	Lower
Households with a broadband subscription Households	93.9% ±2.7 pp	93.5%	91.0%	Not statistically different
Veterans Civilian population age 18 and older	5.5% ±0.9 pp	4.3%	6.2%	Higher

Reading and reusing the estimates

The Census table links above lead to the original detailed tables. Counts, source universes and uncertainty are retained in the source observation download for Petaluma . Compare these figures with the same survey window; do not compare one city’s five-year estimate with another city’s annual estimate as though they measured the same period. For methods, see uncertainty and denominator calculations.

Read Petaluma housing and cost context or return to the city profile.