County profile

San Diego County / San Diego, CA

Reading this county

San Diego County holds 3.29 million people between the Pacific and its back-country mountains. On Palomar Mountain, the 200-inch Hale Telescope was the largest effective telescope in the world from 1948 until 1993, and astronomers still use it every night. The county rates at the top of the country for scenery, museums and craft brewing. Housing is the counterweight: the median home costs $921K where a typical household earns $98K.

Small or Major Airport: 0h 07m: San Diego International is a seven-minute drive from the city of San Diego, a shorter run than in 99% of counties. It opened in 1928 as Lindbergh Field, named for Charles Lindbergh's transatlantic flight. <99% of 3,134 counties
Art Museums: 12: Twelve art museums, a count only 13 counties beat. Most of them sit inside Balboa Park, alongside its science, history and aerospace collections. >99% of 3,143 counties
Beergardens & Brewpubs: 50+: More than 50 brewpubs and beer gardens, higher than 99% of counties. The brewers' guild here brands the region the Capital of Craft. >99% of 3,143 counties
Scenic Beauty: #1: Scenic beauty rates #1, a top mark 58 counties share. Some of what earns it sits between La Jolla and Del Mar: sea cliffs, a salt marsh and a pine wood in one state reserve. >98% of 3,142 counties
The trade-off — Median Home Price: $921K⁴: The median home costs $921K where a typical household earns $98K, a ratio of about nine to one. Only 21 counties have costlier homes. >99% of 3,143 counties

San Diego County, officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwestern corner of the state of California, in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634, making it California's second-most populous county and the fifth-most populous in the United States.

Demographics and county data

Each comparison is against the US counties that publish the same measurement. Measurements where too many counties share a single value to be ranked show no comparison at all.

Abortion Regulation: Legal (Restricted)
ACT/SAT Scores: #47
Air Quality: 8.7¹
Alcohol Regulation: #45
All Occupations: $87K¹
American Indians/Alaskan Natives: ↓-1.5%
Amish, Mennonites, etc: ↓-2.2%⁷
Any Airport: 0h 07m
Any Natural Disaster: Very High³
Architecture & Engineering: $116K¹⁰
Art Museums: 12
Arts, Design, Sports, Media & Entertainment: $107K¹⁰
Asian Americans: ↑10.3%
Asian Language Speakers: ↑7.1%
Avalanche: Very Low³
Average School Rating: 49.3⁶
Beergardens & Brewpubs: 50+
Bike Score: 43
Blacks/African Americans: ↓-4.3%
Boating: 169
Broadband Internet: 90%
Buddhists: ↑1.2%⁷
Building & Grounds Cleaning & Maintenance: $42K¹⁰
Business & Financial Operations: $94K¹⁰
Cannabis Regulation: Legal
Cat Friendly Rentals: 41%
Catholics: ↑11.9%⁷
City Population: 1.39M
Climate Change Risk: 3.8
Coastal Flooding: Very Low³
Cold Wave: none³
Community & Social Service: $65K¹⁰
Commute Time: 27
Computer & Mathematical: $144K¹⁰
Construction & Extraction: $70K¹⁰
County Population: 3.29M
Cuisine Diversity: 49
Cycling: 50+
Dentists: 9.1
Dog Friendly Rentals: 42%
Drought: Very Low³
Earthquakes: High³
Education, Training, & Library: $76K¹⁰
Educational Attainment: 33%
Elevation: 1,785'⁸
English Speakers: ↓-10.3%
Farmers Markets: 48
Farming, Fishing, & Forestry: $37K¹⁰
Fatal Dog Attacks: 0
Fatal Wildlife Attacks: 2
Fire Ants: none
Fishing: 57
Food Preparation & Serving Related: $37K¹⁰
Forests: 4%
Freshwater Access: 226
Gluten-Free Options: 30
Golf: 38
Gun Open Carry Regulation: Illegal
Hail: Very Low³
Healthcare Practitioners & Technical: $119K¹⁰
Healthcare Support: $38K¹⁰
Heat Wave: Medium³
High School Graduation Rate: 86%¹
Hiking: 210
Hindus: ↑0.2%⁷
Hispanics/Latinos: ↑24.3%
History Museums: 24
Home Ownership Rate: 53%
Homelessness: 126
Homicide Rate: 3¹
Hospitals: 14
Hurricanes: Very Low³
Ice Storms: Low³
Indo-European Language Speakers: ↑1.7%
Installation, Maintenance, & Repair: $63K¹⁰
Investment Potential: 51 / 100
Jehovah's Witnesses: ↓-0.5%⁷
Jews: ↑0.3%⁷
Landslide: Medium³
LDS / Mormons: ↑0.1%⁷
Legal: $154K¹⁰
Life Expectancy: 82¹
Life, Physical, & Social Science: $97K¹⁰
Lightning: Low³
Live Music: 88
Major Airport: 0h 07m
Major City Proximity: Major City
Major League Baseball: 0h 02m
Major League Soccer: 2h 03m
Management: $155K¹⁰
Median Age: 36 years¹¹
Median Home Price: $921K
Median Rental - 1 BR Apartment: $2,534
Median Rental - 2 BR Apartment: $3,135
Median Rental - 3 BR Apartment: $4,191
Median Rental - 4 BR Apartment: $5,103
Median Rental - Room: $1,401
Median Rental - Single Family Home: $3,674⁴
Median Rental - Studio Apartment: $2,334
Mental Health Providers: 40.0
Meth Labs: 1
Michelin Rated Restaurants: 2 Star
Minor League Baseball: 5h 36m
Mountains: 8,760'⁸
Multiracials: ↑1.6%
Muslims: ↑0.5%⁷
National Parks: 2h 55m
Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders: ↑0.3%
NBA Basketball: 2h 12m
NFL Football: 2h 15m
NHL Hockey: 1h 43m
Not Religious / Atheists / Agnostics: ↑8.0%
Nuclear Strike: Direct Target
Obesity Rate: 20%¹
Office & Administrative Support: $52K¹⁰
Orthodox Christians: ↓-0.2%⁷
Other Language Speakers: ↑1.1%
Other Relocation Incentives: none
Park Score: 81%⁹
People 0-9 Years Old: ↑0.3%
People 10-19 Years Old: ↓-0.6%
People 20-29 Years Old: ↑4.2%
People 30-39 Years Old: ↑3.1%
People 40-49 Years Old: ↑0.9%
People 50-59 Years Old: ↓-1.4%
People 60-69 Years Old: ↓-2.9%
People 70-79 Years Old: ↓-2.5%
People 80+ Years Old: ↓-1.0%
Performing Arts: 3
Personal Care & Service: $42K¹⁰
Political Orientation: 85% Dems
Population Density: 783
Population Growth: ↓-0.3%
Poverty Rate: 9.5%
Primary Care Physicians: 8.1¹
Private/Home School Regulation: #13
Production: $49K¹⁰
Property Crime Rate: 1,883
Property Tax: 0.73%
Protective Service: $65K¹⁰
Protestants / Non-Denominationals: ↓-20.7%⁷
Rain: 14"
Regional Theatre: 2
River Flooding: High³
Sales & Related: $58K¹⁰
Sales Tax: 7.8%
Same Sex Households: ↑0.2%
Scenic Beauty: #1
Seacoast Proximity: coastal
Seasons: 28 °F
Shark Attacks: 20
Single Parent Households: ↓-3.1%
Skiing: 2h 32m
Small or Major Airport: 0h 07m
Smokers: 13%¹
Snow: 1"
Spanish Speakers: ↑18.1%
State Income Tax: 13.3%
Strong Wind: Low³
Summer Heat: 89 °F
Summer Mugginess: Sticky
Sunny Days: 266
Termite Infestation: Heavy
Tobacco Regulation: #6
Top School Rating: 99.0⁶
Tornadoes: Medium³
Traffic: 2.52M
Transit Score: 37
Transportation & Material Moving: $47K¹⁰
Tsunami: Low³
Typical Expenses: $61K⁵
Typical Expenses: $122K⁵
Typical Expenses: $80K⁵
Typical Expenses: $182K⁵
Typical Expenses: $178K⁵
Typical Expenses: $80K⁵
Typical Expenses: $115K⁵
Typical Expenses: $135K⁵
Typical Expenses: $97K⁵
Typical Expenses: $106K⁵
Typical Expenses: $108K⁵
Typical Expenses: $145K⁵
Unemployment Rate: 9.2%¹
Vegetarian Friendliness: 50+
Violent Crime Rate: 328²
Volcanic Activity: none³
Walk Score: 53
Water Quality: 2/4
Whites: ↓-30.9%
Wildfires: Very High³
Windiness: 11 mph
Wineries: 19
Winter Cold: 61 °F
Winter Weather: Very Low³

Cities

Agra, Alpine, Alpine Heights, Azure Vista, Bankhead Springs, Banner, Barona, Barrett, Boal, Bonita, Bonsall, Borrego, Borrego Springs, Bostonia, Boulder Oaks, Boulevard, Calavo Gardens, Calexico Lodge, Camp Pendleton North, Camp Pendleton South, Campo, Canyon City, Carlsbad, Carlton Hills, Casa de Oro, Casa de Oro-Mount Helix, Chappo, Chula Vista, Clover Flat, Cockatoo Grove, Coronado, Crest, De Luz, Del Dios, Del Mar, Del Mar Heights, Descanso, Desert Lodge, Dos Cabezas, Dulzura, Eagles Nest, Easter Cross, Eden Gardens, El Cajon, Elfin Forest, Elvira, Encinitas, Engineer Springs, Escondido, Eucalyptus Hills, Fairbanks Ranch, Fallbrook, Farr, Fernbrook, Fleetridge, Flinn Springs, Glenview, Granite Hills, Grossmont, Guatay, Hacienda del Florasol, Harbison Canyon, Harbor Side, Harmony Grove, Harrison Park, Hellhole Palms, Hidden Meadows, Hillsdale, Holcomb Village, Homelands, Hulburd Grove, Imperial Beach, Indian Springs, Irvings Crest, Jacumba, Jamacha, Jamul, Jesmond Dene, Jofegan, Johnstown, Julian, Kentwood-In-The-Pines, La Jolla Amago, La Mesa, La Playa, La Presa, Lake San Marcos, Lakeside, Lakeside Farms, Lemon Grove, Lilac, Lincoln Acres, Live Oak Springs, Los Terrenitos, Los Tules, Lynwood Hills, Manzanita, Mesa Grande, Mesquite Oasis, Mira Mesa, Morena, Morena Village, Mortero Palms, Mount Laguna, National City, North Clairemont, North Jamul, Oak Grove, Oceanside, Ocotillo Wells, Old Town San Diego, Olivenhain, Overlook, Pala, Pala Mesa, Palm Grove, Palomar Mountain, Pauma Valley, Pine Valley, Potrero, Poway, Rainbow, Ramona, Ranchita, Rancho Del Campo, Rancho San Diego, Rancho Santa Fe, Rincon, Riverview, Riverview Farms, San Diego, San Diego Country Estates, San Ignacio, San Luis Rey, San Luis Rey Heights, San Marcos, San Onofre, Santa Ysabel, Santee, Shady Dell, Solana Beach, South Oceanside, South Park, South San Diego, Spring Valley, Stuart, Suncrest, Sunset Cliffs, Tecate, Tierra del Sol, Titus, Twin Oaks, University Heights, Valley Center, Vista, Warner Springs, Winter Gardens, Winterwarm, Wynola