Huntington Beach was primarily agricultural in its early years with crops such as celery and sugar beets. Holly Sugar was a major employer with a large processing plant in the city that was later converted to an oil refinery.

The city's first high school, Huntington Beach High School was built in 1906. The school's team, the Oilers, is named after the city's original natural resource.

Meadowlark Airport, a small general aviation airport, existed in Huntington Beach from the 1940s until 1989.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 31.9 square miles. 26.7 square miles of it is land and 5.1 square miles of it (16.10%) is water.

The entire city of Huntington Beach lies in area codes 657 and 714, except for small parts of Huntington Harbour (along with Sunset Beach, the unincorporated community adjacent to Huntington Harbour), which is in the 562 Area Code.

Huntington Beach has a Mediterranean climate. The climate is generally sunny, dry and cool, although evenings can be excessively damp. In the morning and evening, there are often strong breezes, 15 mph. Ocean water temperatures average 55 °F to 65 °F. In the summer, temperatures rarely exceed 85 °F. In the winter, temperatures rarely fall below 40°F, even on clear nights. There are about 14 inches of rain, almost all in mid-winter. Frost occurs only rarely on the coldest winter nights. The area is annually affected by a marine layer caused by the cool air of the Pacific Ocean meeting the warm air over the land. This results in overcast and foggy conditions in May and June.

Construction of any kind on the beach is prohibited without a vote of the people, allowing Huntington Beach to retain its natural tie to the ocean rather than having the view obscured by residential and commercial developments.

Between Downtown Huntington Beach and Huntington Harbour lies a large marshy wetland, much of which is protected within the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve. A $110 million restoration of the wetlands was completed in 2006. The Reserve is popular with bird watchers and photographers.

South of Downtown, the Talbert, Brookhurst and Magnolia Marshes, which lie across the street from Huntington State Beach, had restoration completed in 2010.

The northern and southern beaches (Bolsa Chica State Beach and Huntington State Beach, respectively) are state parks. Only the central beach (Huntington City Beach) is maintained by the city. Camping and RVs are permitted here, and popular campsites for the Fourth of Julyand the Surfing Championships must be reserved many months in advance. Bolsa Chica State Beach is actually a sand bar fronting the Bolsa Bay and Bolsa Chica State Ecological Reserve.

The Orange County run Sunset Marina Park next to Huntington Harbour is part of Anaheim Bay. It is suitable for light craft, and includes a marina, launching ramp, basic services, a picnic area and a few restaurants. The park is in Seal Beach, but is only reachable from Huntington Harbour. The Sunset/Huntington Harbour area is patrolled by the Orange County Sheriff's Harbor Patrol.

The harbor entrance for Anaheim Bay is sometimes restricted by the United States Navy, which loads ships with munitions at the Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station to the north of the main channel.

The 2010 United States Census reported that Huntington Beach had a population of 189,992. The racial makeup of Huntington Beach was 145,661 White, 1,813 African American, 992 Native American, 21,070 Asian, 635 Pacific Islander, 11,193 from other races, and 8,628 from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 32,411 persons.

At the 2000 census The population density was 7,183.6 inhabitants per square mile. There were 75,662 housing units at an average density of 2,866.8 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 79.2% White, 0.8% Black or African American, 0.7% Native American, 9.3% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 5.8% from other races, and 3.9% from two or more races. 14.7% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 73,657 households out of which 29.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.7% were married couples living together, 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.2% were non-families. 24.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.7% 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.

In the city the population was spread out with 22.2% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 34.9% from 25 to 44, 24.0% from 45 to 64, and 10.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 100.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $76,527, and the median income for a family was $94,597. Adult males had a median income of $50,021 versus $33,041 for adult females. The per capita income for the city was $40,183. About 5.1% of families and 7.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.2% of those under age 18 and 4.4% of those age 65 or over.

Huntington Beach sits above a large natural fault structure containing oil. Although the oil is mostly depleted, extraction continues at a slow rate, and still provides significant local income. There are only two off-shore extraction facilities left, however, and the day is not far off when oil production in the city will cease and tourism will replace it as the primary revenue source for resident industry.

The city is discussing closing off Main Street to cars from PCH through the retail shopping and restaurant areas, making it a pedestrian zone only. Other shopping centers include Bella Terra, built on the former Huntington Center site, and Old World Village, a German-themed center.

Huntington Beach has an off-shore oil terminus for the tankers that support the Alaska Pipeline. The terminus pipes run inland to a refinery in Santa Fe Springs. Huntington Beach also has the Gothard-Talbert terminus for the Orange County portion of the pipeline running from the Chevron El Segundo refinery.

Several hotels have been constructed on the inland side of Pacific Coast Highway (State Route 1) within view of the beach, just southeast of the pier.

Huntington Beach contains a major installation of Boeing, formerly McDonnell-Douglas. A number of installations on the Boeing campus were originally constructed to service the Apollo Program, most notably the production of the S-IVB upper stage for the Saturn IB and Saturn V rockets, and some nearby telephone poles are still marked "Apollo Dedicated Mission Control Line."

Huntington Beach contains a small industrial district in its northwest corner, near the borders with Westminster and Seal Beach.

While Huntington Beach retains its 15-year trademark of ‘Surf City’ Huntington Beach, the Huntington Beach Conference and Visitors Bureau filed four applications to register the "Surf City USA" trademark in November 2004. The idea was to market the city by creating an authentic brand based on Southern California's beach culture and active outdoor lifestyle while at the same time creating a family of product licensees who operate like a franchise family producing a revenue stream that could also be dedicated to promoting the brand and city.

The Bureau is actively considering registration of the Surf City USA trademark in several different countries and anticipates a growing market for its branded products overseas in coming years.

An ongoing dispute between Huntington Beach and Santa Cruz, California over the trademark garnered positive national publicity in 2007 when a law firm representing Huntington Beach sent a cease-and-desist letter to a Santa Cruz t-shirt vendor. A settlement was reached in January, 2008, which allows the Huntington Beach Conference and Visitors Bureau to retain the trademark.

The downtown district includes an active art center, a colorful shopping district, and the International Surfing Museum. This district was also the home of The Golden Bear from 1929–1986. Originally a fine dining restaurant opened by Harry Bakre in 1929, the Golden Bear became a nightclub in 1963 and hosted famous-name entertainment until it was demolished in 1986. The list of artists who performed there includes BB King, Janis Joplin, Steve Martin, Charles Bukowski, and Stevie Ray Vaughan.

The Huntington Beach Pier stretches from Main Street into the Pacific Ocean. At the end of the pier is a Ruby's Diner. The Surf Theatre, which was located one block north of the pier, gained fame in the 1960s and 1970s for showing independent surf films such as The Endless Summer and Five Summer Stories. The Surf Theatre was owned and operated by Hugh Larry Thomas from 1961 until it was demolished in 1989. A newer version of The Surf Theatre is now closed, but the International Surf Museum has preserved its memory with a permanent exhibit featuring vintage seats and screening of surfing movies once shown at a Huntington Beach theater.

Many of the events at Huntington Beach are focused around the beach during the summer. The U.S. Open of Surfing and Beach Games are featured on the south side of the pier. Huntington Beach was a stop on the AVP beach volleyball tour. A biathlon (swim/run) hosted by the Bolsa Chica & Huntington State Beach Lifeguards takes place in July, early at dawn. The race begins at the Santa Ana River Jetties and ends at Warner Avenue, Bolsa Chica State Beach. Huntington Beach Junior Lifeguard day camps are held which teaches pre-adolescents and adolescents ocean swimming, running, and first-aid medical knowledge.

In addition to the beach-focused events, the Fourth of July parade has been held since 1904. The SoCal Independent Film Festival takes place every September.

During the winter the annual Cruise of Lights Boat Tour is held in the Huntington Harbour neighborhood. This is a parade of colorful lighted boats as well as boat tours to view the decorated homes. The annual Kite Festival is held just north of the pier in late February.

Huntington Beach hosts car shows such as the Beachcruiser Meet and a Concours d'Elegance. The Beachcruiser Meet is held in March, attracting over 250 classic cars displayed along Main Street and the Pier parking lot. A Concours d'Elegance is held at Central Park in June and benefits the public library. An informal "Donut Derelicts" car show occurs every Saturday morning at the intersection of Adams and Magnolia Street.

Surf City Nights is held every Tuesday night during the entire year. The Tuesday Surf City Nights is a community-spirited event that features a farmer's market, unique entertainment, food, kiddie rides and a carnival atmosphere. Surf City Nights and the Downtown Huntington Beach Art Walk are presented by the Huntington Beach Downtown Business Improvement District (HBDBID) and the City of Huntington Beach. The Tuesday night Surf City Nights event takes place in the first three blocks of Main Street from Pacific Coast Highway to Orange Avenue.

Huntington Beach is the site of the world surfing championships, held in the summer every year. The city is often referred to as "Surf City" because of this high profile event, its history and culture of surfing. It is often called the "Surfing Capital of the World", not for the height of the waves, but rather for the consistent quality of surf. Gordon Duane established the city's first surf shop, Gordie's Surfboards, in 1955.

Apart from sponsored surf events, Huntington Beach has some of the best surf breaks in the State of California and that of the United States. Huntington Beach has four different facing beaches: Northwest, West, Southwest, and South. Northwest consists of Bolsa Chica State Beach with a length of 3.3 miles, the West consist of "The Cliffs" or "Dog Beach", Southwest is considered everything north of the pier which is operated by the City of Huntington Beach. South consists in everything south of the pier which primarily focuses on Huntington State Beach (2.2 Miles), which almost faces true South.

Bolsa Chica State Beach is operated by the State of California, Dept. Parks & Recreation, and the Bolsa Chica State Beach Lifeguards. The beach is very narrow and the sand is very coarse. Bolsa Chica tends to have better surf with NW/W swells during the winter season. During the summer months the beach picks up south/southwest swells at a very steep angle. Due to the bottom of the beach, surf at Bolsa Chica tends to be slowed down and refined to soft shoulders. Longboards are the best option for surfing in the Bolsa Chica area.

"The Cliffs" or "Dog Beach" is also another popular surf spot. This segment of Huntington Beach obtains these names because dogs are allowed around the cliff area. Beach is very restricted and often is submerged with high tides. Surf at this location tends to be even bigger than Bolsa Chica during the winter and often better. During the summer most of the South/Southwest swells slide right by and often break poorly. The best option is to take out a longboard, but shortboards will do at times. Dolphins have also been sighted in this area.

Just north and south of the Huntington Beach Pier are some well defined sandbars that shift throughout the year with the different swells. Southside of the Pier is often a popular destination during the summer for good surf, but the Northside can be just as well during the winter. Around the Pier it all depends on the swell and the sandbars. Shortboard is your best option for surfing around the Pier.

South Huntington Beach, also known as Huntington State Beach, is where all the south swells impact the coastline. Huntington State Beach is operated by the State of California, Department of Parks & Recreation, and Huntington State Beach Lifeguards. This beach is very wide with plenty of sand. Sandbars dramatically shift during the spring, summer and fall seasons, thus creating excellent surf conditions with a combination South/West/Northwest swell. Due to the Santa Ana River jetties located at the southern most end of the beach, large sandbars extend across and upcoast, forcing swells to break extremely fast and hollow. Best seasons for surfing at this beach is the summer and fall. The best option for surfing in this area is a shortboard.

Huntington Beach is also a popular destination for kite surfing, and this sport can be viewed on the beach northwest of the pier.

Huntington Beach is the host city of the National Professional Paintball League Super 7 Paintball Championships. The NPPL holds its first event of the year traditionally between the dates of March 23 through March 26.

Huntington Beach also hosts the annual Surf City USA Marathon and Half-Marathon, which is usually held on the first Sunday of February.

Huntington Beach has a very large Central Park, located between Gothard and Edwards Streets to the east and west, and Slater and Ellis Avenues to the north and south. The park is vegetated with xeric (low water use) plants, and inhabited by native wildlife. Thick forests encircling the park are supplemented with Australian trees, particularly Blue Gum Eucalyptus, a high water use plant.

Huntington Central Park

The Huntington Beach Public Library is located in Central Park in a notable building designed by Richard Neutra and Dion Neutra. It houses almost a half-million volumes, as well as a theater, gift shop and fountains. The library was founded as a Carnegie library in 1914, and has been continuously supported by the city and local activists, with new buildings and active branches at Banning, Oak View, Main Street, and Graham. The library has significant local historical materials and has a special genealogical reference collection. It is independent of the state and county library systems.

The park is also home of Huntington Central Park Equestrian Center, a top class boarding facility that also offers horse rentals to the public, with guided trail rides through the park. There is also a "mud park" available for kids. The world's second oldest disc golf course is available in the park, as are two small dining areas, a sports complex for adult use, and the Shipley Nature Center.

The Bolsa Chica Wetlands, which are diminishing rapidly due to development, contains numerous trails and scenic routes. The wetlands themselves have recently been connected with the ocean again, in effort to maintain its previous, unaltered conditions.

Local government

According to the city’s most recent Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the city’s various funds had $295.6 million in revenues, $287.7 million in expenditures, $1,046.6 million in total assets, $202.8 million in total liabilities, and $87.1 million in cash and investments.

Huntington Beach is the home of Golden West College, which offers two-year associates of arts degrees and transfer programs to four year universities.

Huntington Beach is in the Huntington Beach Union High School District, which includes Edison High School, Huntington Beach High School, Marina High School, and Ocean View High School in the city of Huntington Beach, Fountain Valley High School in the city of Fountain Valley, and Westminster High School in the city of Westminster.

The district also has an alternative school, Valley Vista High School, and an independent study school, Coast High School.

Huntington Beach High School, which is the district's flagship school, celebrated its 100 year anniversary in 2006.

The city has two elementary school districts: Huntington Beach City with 9 schools and Ocean View with 15. A small part of the city is served by the Fountain Valley School District.

Huntington Beach is also home to The Pegasus School, a nationally recognized blue ribbon school.

Brethren Christian Junior/Senior High School is a private independent school with about 400 students living within 25 miles of the school.

The city was featured in the TruTV series Ocean Force: Huntington Beach. Also, the city is mentioned in the Beach Boys song Surfin' Safari and in Surfer Joe by The Surfaris.

A live camera is set up at the Huntington Beach Pier and shown on screens at the California-themed Hollister apparel stores.

The public television station KOCE-TV operates from the Golden West College campus, in conjunction with the Golden West College Media Arts program.

Two weekly newspapers cover Huntington Beach: The Huntington Beach Independent and The Wave Section of The Orange County Register.

Ashlee Simpson's music video for "La La" was filmed in Huntington Beach.

• Actors Willie Aames attended Edison High School.
• Nicole Eggert spent her elementary school years living in Huntington Beach and attended Sowers Middle School.
• Amy Grabow grew up in Huntington Beach and attended the Academy for the Performing Arts.
• Jenna Jameson, famed pornographic actress, resides in Huntington Harbour with Tito Ortiz.
• Jack Kelly, most noted for the role of Bart Maverick on the Maverick (TV series), During the 1980s and early 1990s he served as city councilman and mayor in Huntington Beach.
• Jason Lee, who plays the lead character Earl in the television show My Name is Earl, grew up in Huntington Beach and graduated from Ocean View High School.
• Athletes Huntington Beach is the home to pro skateboarders like: Christian Hosoi, Geoff Rowley, Arto Saari, Tosh Townend, Mark Appleyard, Brian Sumner, and Ed Templeton.
• Former NHL hockey player John Blue is from Huntington Beach, as is professional soccer player Sasha Kljestan.
• It is also home of MMA fighters Tito "The Huntington Beach Bad Boy" Ortiz, Kimo Leopoldo, David "Tank" Abbott and James Irvin.
• Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Ian Kennedy was born in Huntington Beach.
• Former Seattle Mariners pitcher Bob Wolcott was born in Huntington Beach.
• Roller Derby Blonde Amazon Joan Weston.
• Tony Gonzalez of the Atlanta Falcons grew up in Huntington Beach and attended Huntington Beach High School.
• Jeff Kent, retired baseball player and recipient of the 2000 MVP Baseball award was raised in Huntington Beach and attended Edison High School.
• Jessie Godderz - A professional bodybuilder with the World Natural Body Building Federation that was also a contestant on Big Brother 10 and Big Brother 11
• Collin Balester - a professional baseball player for the Washington Nationals, attended Huntington Beach High School
• Jurgen Klinsmann - a former international professional soccer player, former soccer team coach and a former coach of the German national soccer team. He moved with his family in 2008 to Munich, Germany to become the coach of FC Bayern Munich and has since returned.
• Cherokee Parks - a retired professional basketball player, was born in Huntington Beach and attended Marina High School.
• Military Violet Cowden - Aviator and member of the Women Airforce Service Pilots during World War II.
• Musicians The rock/metal band Avenged Sevenfold grew up and currently reside here. Lead guitarist Synyster Gates has said he enjoys nothing more than cruising Huntington Beach on his chopper.
• The punk rock band The Offspring was formed here in 1984.
• The ska punk rock band Reel Big Fish formed here in 1992.
• Dean Torrence, from the 1960s Pop group Jan and Dean, who co-authored the famous song "Surf City" (#1 in 1963), said that Huntington Beach embodies the song's spirit of freedom and California fun.
• Christian Jacobs, The MC Bat Commander of The Aquabats, resides in Huntington Beach.
• Matt Costa, the folk pop singer, was born in Huntington Beach.
• The Vandals, a punk rock band formed in Huntington Beach
• All members of the band Millionaires are from Huntington Beach.
• David Silveria formerly from the rock band Korn resides in Huntington Beach
• Scott Weiland, of the Stone Temple Pilots and formerly of Velvet Revolver, attended Edison High School.
• Joe and Luke McGarry of the indie band Pop Noir were born in Manchester, England, but grew up and still reside in Huntington Beach.
• The reggae band, The Dirty Heads was formed in Huntington Beach.
• Power Pop band hellogoodbye was formed in Huntington Beach, California in 2001 by singer Forrest Kline.

Fire protection in Huntington Beach is provided by the Huntington Beach Fire Department. Law enforcement is provided by the Huntington Beach Police Department. Huntington Beach Marine Safety Officers and its seasonal lifeguards are recognized as some of the best in the world with a top notch safety record. It has an active Community Emergency Response Team training program, that trains citizens as Disaster Service Workers certified by Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as a part of a free program run by the fire department's Office of Emergency Services.

Emergency services are also provided at State Beach locations. Peace Officers and lifeguards can be found at Bolsa Chica and Huntington State Beach. Such services consist of: aquatic rescues, boat rescues, first aid and law enforcement. All services are provided by the State of California, Dept. Parks & Recreation.

In 1926, the Santa Ana River dam failed, and flash-flooded its entire delta. The southern oceanic terminus of this delta is now a settled area of Huntington Beach. The distant dam is still functional, but silting up, which is expected to reduce its storage volume, and therefore its effectiveness at flood-prevention. The flood and dam-endangered areas are protected by a levee, but lenders require expensive flood insurance in the delta. There have been serious discussions to eliminate the need for flood insurance and this requirement has already been waived in some areas and may one day no longer be considered a credible threat.

Since it is a seaside city, Huntington Beach has had tsunami warnings, storm surge (its pier has been rebuilt three times), sewage spills, tornadoes and waterspouts. The cold offshore current prevents hurricanes. The Pier that was rebuilt in the 1990s was engineered to withstand severe storms or earthquakes.

Large fractions of the settled delta are in earthquake liquefaction zones above known active faults. Most of the local faults are named after city streets.

Many residents (and even city hall) live within sight and sound of active oil extraction and drilling operations. These occasionally spew oil, causing expensive clean-ups. Large parts of the developed land have been contaminated by heavy metals from the water separated from oil.

The local oil has such extreme mercury contamination that metallic mercury is regularly drained from oil pipelines and equipment. Oil operations increase when the price of oil rises. Some oil fields have been approved for development. The worst-polluted areas have been reclaimed as parks. At least one Superfund site, too contaminated to be a park, is at the junction of Magnolia and Hamilton streets, near Edison High School.