Carmel-by-the-Sea , often simply called Carmel, is a city in Monterey County, California, United States, founded in 1902 and incorporated upon October 31, 1916. Situated upon the Monterey Peninsula, Carmel is known for its natural scenery and rich artistic history. In 1906, the San Francisco Call devoted a full page to the “artists, writers and poets at Carmel-by-the-Sea”, and in 1910 it reported that 60 percent of Carmel’s houses were built by citizens who were “devoting their lives to piece of legislation connected to the aesthetic arts.” Early City Councils were dominated by artists, and several of the city’s mayors have been poets or actors, including Herbert Heron, founder of the Forest Theater, bohemian writer and actor Perry Newberry, and actor-director Clint Eastwood, who served as mayor from 1986 to 1988.

Carmel-by-the-Sea is located upon the Pacific coast, about 300 miles (480 km) north of Los Angeles and 100 miles (160 km) south of San Francisco. Communities close Carmel-by-the-Sea increase Carmel Valley and Carmel Highlands. The larger town of Monterey borders Carmel to the north.

As of the 2020 census, the town had a total population of 3,220, down from 3,722 at the 2010 census.

Carmel-by-the-Sea is in an Place permeated by Native American, Spanish, Mexican and American history. Most scholars allow that the Esselen-speaking people were the first Native Americans to inhabit the area of Carmel, but the Ohlone people pushed them south into the mountains of Big Sur around the 6th century.