The city is primarily residential, with commercial activity revolving around The Village, a popular collection of street-front small stores, boutiques, art galleries, offices, and restaurants westerly adjacent to the Claremont Colleges. The Village hopes to see even more business since the 2007 completion of the Village Expansion, a multi-use development including a cinema, a museum of art, a boutique hotel, retail space, offices, and a parking structure on the site of an old citrus packing plant just west of Indian Hill Blvd.
Large trees and shade-covered streets, older residential areas, and the Claremont Colleges are located south of Foothill Boulevard and Baseline Road. Several of the colleges are consistently rated among the best in the nation. This has helped draw students from across the country and around the world.
The citrus groves and open space which once dominated the northern portion of the city have been replaced by new residential developments of large homes. Construction of Stone Canyon Preserve, one of the final tract residential developments in the north of the city, commenced in 2003, as part of a complicated agreement between Pomona College and the City of Claremont which resulted in the creation of a 1,740-acre (7.0 km) wilderness park. The foothills also include the Padua Hills Theatre, an historic site constructed in 1930.
Claremont has been a winner of the National Arbor Day Association's Tree City USA award for 22 consecutive years. Early citizens planted trees when the city incorporated in 1907. Claremont is one of the few remaining places in North America with American Elm trees that have not been exposed to Dutch Elm Disease; the stately trees line Indian Hill Boulevard in the vicinity of the city's Memorial Park.
Commuter train service to Claremont is provided by Metrolink from the Claremont Metrolink Station. The station is on the San Bernardino Line with trains traveling to Los Angeles and San Bernardino several times each day.
As of the census of 2000, there were 33,998 people, 11,281 households, and 7,806 families residing in the city. The population density was 999.0/km² (2,586.6/mi²). There were 11,559 housing units at an average density of 339.6/km² (879.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 73.48% White, 15.36% of the population were Hispanic or Latino, 11.51% Asian, of any race, 4.98% Black or African American, 0.56% Native American, 0.13% Pacific Islander, 5.20% from other races, and 4.14% from two or more races.
31.3% of households included children under the age of 18. 55.7% were married couples living together, 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.8% were non-families. 24.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.08.
The population was widely distributed in age, with 20.7% under the age of 18, 18.6% from 18 to 24, 22.8% from 25 to 44, 23.3% from 45 to 64, and 14.6% 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.1 males.
As of 2007, the median household income was $90,256 and the median family income was $107,382. The per capita income for the city was $38,609. About 1.8% of families and 4.1% of individuals were below the poverty line.
As of 2007, the median home price was $729,209.