Because there are quite a few people attending college in Duluth, it is thought of as a college town. To the benefit of the many students in the area, Duluth provides a number of services, amenities and opportunities geared towards their needs and activities.

Not only is Duluth a city with many college students, but it also retains many recent graduates who are looking to start new careers, shaping the character of the city into a place that is geared toward, and considered attractive to, many single, educated people. Many singles consider Duluth a good place to live without being in a really big city, with opportunities for friendships and fun with others like themselves.

Compared to the rest of the country, citizens of Duluth spend much less time in their cars: on average, their commute to work is only 18.24 minutes. This also means that noise and pollution levels in the city are less than they would otherwise be.

The education level of Duluth citizens is very high relative to the national average among all cities (21.84%): 39.04% of adults in Duluth have a bachelor's degree or even advanced degree.

The per capita income in Duluth in 2018 was $31,945, which is middle income relative to Minnesota, and upper middle income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $127,780 for a family of four. However, Duluth contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

Duluth is a somewhat ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Duluth home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Duluth residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in Duluth include German, Norwegian, Swedish, Irish, and Polish.

The most common language spoken in Duluth is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Native American languages.