San Diego, CA

Census Place

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2024 Population
1.39M
US Senator
Alex Padilla
Democratic Party
US Senator
Adam Schiff
Democratic Party
2024 Median Age
36.2
0.556% 1-year increase
2024 Poverty Rate
11%
0.904% 1-year decrease
2024 Median Household Income
$108,077
3.6% 1-year growth
2024 Median Property Value
$906,700
6.86% 1-year growth
2024 Employed Population
710,847
0.855% 1-year growth

About

None of the households in San Diego, CA reported speaking a non-English language at home as their primary shared language. This does not consider the potential multi-lingual nature of households, but only the primary self-reported language spoken by all members of the household.

89.6% of the residents in San Diego, CA are U.S. citizens.

The largest universities in San Diego, CA are University of California-San Diego (12,624 degrees awarded in 2023), San Diego State University (10,849 degrees), and Ashford University (8,499 degrees).

In 2024, the median property value in San Diego, CA was $906,700, and the homeownership rate was 47.3%.

Most people in San Diego, CA drove alone to work, and the average commute time was 23.5 minutes. The average car ownership in San Diego, CA was 2 cars per household.

About the photo: Top view of the Torrey Pines Beach
Photo by DARSHAN SIMHA
United StatesCaliforniaSan Diego County, CASan Diego-Carlsbad, CA

Population & Diversity

San Diego, CA is home to a population of 1.39M people, from which 89.6% are citizens. As of 2024, 25% of San Diego, CA residents were born outside of the country (348k people).

In 2024, there were 2.37 times more White (Non-Hispanic) residents (568k people) in San Diego, CA than any other race or ethnicity. There were 240k Asian (Non-Hispanic) and 165k Two Races Including Other (Hispanic) residents, the second and third most common ethnic groups.

Population & Diversity

Citizenship

89.6%
2024 Citizenship
89.9%
2023 Citizenship

As of 2024, 89.6% of San Diego, CA residents were US citizens, which is lower than the national average of 93.2%. In 2023, the percentage of US citizens in San Diego, CA was 89.9%, meaning that the rate of citizenship has been decreasing.

The following chart shows US citizenship percentages in San Diego, CA compared to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

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Diversity

Race and Ethnicity

The 3 largest ethnic groups in San Diego, CA
  1. White (Non-Hispanic)
    568k ± 5.65k
  2. Asian (Non-Hispanic)
    240k ± 4.12k
  3. Two Races Including Other (Hispanic)
    165k ± 5.61k
29.8%
Hispanic Population
414k people

In 2024, there were 2.37 times more White (Non-Hispanic) residents (568k people) in San Diego, CA than any other race or ethnicity. There were 240k Asian (Non-Hispanic) and 165k Two Races Including Other (Hispanic) residents, the second and third most common ethnic groups.

29.8% of the people in San Diego, CA are hispanic (414k people).

The following chart shows the 8 races represented in San Diego, CA as a share of the total population.

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Global Diversity

The PUMS dataset is not available at the Place level, so we are showing data for California.
Most Common Origin
  1. Mexico
    3,862,617 ± 45,816 people
  2. Philippines
    824,246 ± 22,054 people
  3. China
    687,951 ± 20,184 people

In 2023, the most common birthplace for the foreign-born residents of California was Mexico, the natal country of 3,862,617 California residents, followed by Philippines with 824,246 and China with 687,951.

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Foreign-Born Population

25%
2024 Foreign-Born Population
348k people
24.6%
2023 Foreign-Born Population
341k people

As of 2024, 25% of San Diego, CA residents (348k people) were born outside of the United States, which is approximately the same as the national average of 14%. In 2023, the percentage of foreign-born citizens in San Diego, CA was 24.6%, meaning that the rate has been increasing.

The following chart shows the percentage of foreign-born residents in San Diego, CA compared to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

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Military

Veterans

Most Common Service Period
  1. Gulf War (2001-)
    28,419 ± 1,539
  2. Vietnam
    16,842 ± 936
  3. Gulf War (1990s)
    11,741 ± 1,025

San Diego, CA has a large population of military personnel who served in Gulf War (2001-), 1.69 times greater than any other conflict.

The chart shows the distribution of veterans by conflict in San Diego, CA.

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Economy

The economy of San Diego, CA employs 711k people. In 2024, the largest industries in San Diego, CA were Professional, Scientific, & Technical Services (108,356 people), Health Care & Social Assistance (94,827 people), and Manufacturing (71,543 people), and the highest paying industries were Management of Companies & Enterprises ($124,234), Utilities ($103,590), and Mining, Quarrying, & Oil & Gas Extraction ($101,917).

Employment

Occupations

711k
2024 Value
± 7,441
0.855%
1 Year growth
± 1.46%

From 2023 to 2024, employment in San Diego, CA grew at a rate of 0.855%, from 705k employees to 711k employees.

The most common job groups, by number of people living in San Diego, CA, are Management Occupations (87,727 people), Sales & Related Occupations (62,222 people), and Office & Administrative Support Occupations (57,938 people). This chart illustrates the share breakdown of the primary jobs held by residents of San Diego, CA.

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Unemployment Insurance Claims

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for California.

This chart shows weekly unemployment insurance claims in California (not-seasonally adjusted) compared with the four states with the most similar impact.

The most recent data point uses Advance State Claims data, which can be revised in subsequent weeks.

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Industries

Employment by Industries

711k
2024 Value
± 7,441
0.855%
1 Year growth
± 1.46%

From 2023 to 2024, employment in San Diego, CA grew at a rate of 0.855%, from 705k employees to 711k employees.

The most common employment sectors for those who live in San Diego, CA, are Professional, Scientific, & Technical Services (108,356 people), Health Care & Social Assistance (94,827 people), and Manufacturing (71,543 people). This chart shows the share breakdown of the primary industries for residents of San Diego, CA, though some of these residents may live in San Diego, CA and work somewhere else. Census data is tagged to a residential address, not a work address.

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Median Earnings by Industry

$69,230
Median earning men ± $1,282
$52,541
Median earning women ± $925

The industries with the best median earnings for men in 2024 are Information ($106,431), Manufacturing ($103,453), and Public Administration ($97,915).

The industries with the best median earnings for women in 2024 are Manufacturing ($79,147), Information ($76,406), and Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services ($75,739).

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Employment by Industry Sector

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for California.
Y-Axis
2.57%
Year-over-year growth
Employment change between February 2022 and February 2023

As of February 2023, there are 17.9M people employed in California. This represents a 2.57% increase in employment when compared to February 2022.

Right after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, during April 2020, a general dip can be seen across industry sectors, resulting in an overall decline in employment by 14%.

The following chart shows monthly employment numbers for each industry sector in California.

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Civics

In the 2024 presidential election, the popular vote in California went to Kamala Harris with 58.5% of the vote. The runner-up was Donald J. Trump (38.3%), followed by Robert Kennedy (1.25%).

Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff are the senators currently representing the state of California. In the United States, senators are elected to 6-year terms with the terms for individual senators staggered.

California is currently represented by 52 members in the U.S. house, and members of the House of Representives are elected to 2-year terms.

Presidential Elections

Voting results are not available for San Diego, CA. Showing the available data for California.
2024 Election Results
  1. Kamala Harris (58.5%)
    Democratic Party
  2. Donald J. Trump (38.3%)
    Republican Party
  3. Robert Kennedy (1.25%)
    Independent Party

In the 2024 presidential election, the popular vote in California went to Kamala Harris with 58.5% of the vote. The runner-up was Donald J. Trump (38.3%), followed by Robert Kennedy (1.25%).

The following chart shows the popular vote results in California for each registered party from 1976 to 2024.

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Senator Elections

US Senators from California

Senatorial voting results are only available at the state level. Showing data for California.
Alex Padilla
Senator from California3
Assumed office on January 20, 2021
Appointed to the seat following the resignation of Kamala Harris, who had become Vice President of the United States.
Adam Schiff
Senator from California1
Assumed office on December 8, 2024
Elected to the seat to succeed Laphonza Butler, who had been appointed to the seat following the death of Dianne Feinstein.

Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff are the senators currently representing California.

In the United States, senators are elected to 6-year terms with the terms for individual senators staggered.

The following chart shows elected senators in California over time, excluding special elections, colored by their political party.

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Education

In 2023, universities in San Diego, CA awarded 53,419 degrees. The student population of San Diego, CA in 2023 is skewed towards women, with 90,525 male students and 125,008 female students.

Most students graduating from Universities in San Diego, CA are White (17,679 and 35.9%), Hispanic or Latino (13,481 and 27.4%), Asian (7,620 and 15.5%), and Black or African American (4,976 and 10.1%).

The largest universities in San Diego, CA by number of degrees awarded are University of California-San Diego (12,624 and 23.6%), San Diego State University (10,849 and 20.3%), and Ashford University (8,499 and 15.9%).

The most popular majors in San Diego, CA are General Business Administration & Management (5,315 and 9.95%), General Psychology (2,620 and 4.9%), and General Education (2,047 and 3.83%).

The median tuition costs in San Diego, CA are $18,576 for private four year colleges, and $5,742 and $17,622 respectively, for public four year colleges for in-state students and out-of-state students.

Admissions & Enrollments

Applicants, Admissions & Enrolled

University
Measure

In 2023 in San Diego, CA, the percentage of applicants admitted was 30.4%, while the percentage of admitted who enrolled was 21.5%. The number of students enrolled in 2023 was 215,533 (42% men and 58% women).

The line chart  shows the evolution of the percentage of applicants admitted, admitted who enrolled or the number of students enrolled according to the option selected in the upper button.

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Enrollments by Gender and Races

Universities

In 2023 there were 215,533 students enrolled in San Diego, CA, 42% men and 58% women.

By race, the largest number of students enrolled was concentrated in White with 66,070 records, of which 57.7% were women and 42.3% men.

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Completions

Concentrations

Most Common
  1. General Business Administration & Management
    3,122 degrees awarded
  2. General Psychology
    1,817 degrees awarded
  3. Computer Science
    816 degrees awarded

In 2023, the most common concentation for Bachelors Degree recipients in San Diego, CA was General Business Administration & Management with 3,122 degrees awarded.

This visualization illustrates the percentage of students graduating with a Bachelors Degree from schools in San Diego, CA according to their major.

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Universities

Gender
Race
Largest Universities by degrees awarded
  1. University of California-San Diego
    12,624 degrees awarded
  2. San Diego State University
    10,849 degrees awarded
  3. Ashford University
    8,499 degrees awarded

In 2023, the institution with the largest number of graduating students was University of California-San Diego with 12,624 degrees awarded.

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Student Diversity

University

In 2023, 21,603 men were awarded degrees from institutions in San Diego, CA, which is 0.679 times less than the 31,816 female students who received degrees in the same year.

In 2023, the most common race/ethnicity group awarded degrees at institutions was White students. These 17,679 degrees mean that there were 1.31 times more degrees awarded to White students then the next closest race/ethnicity group, Hispanic or Latino, with 13,481 degrees awarded.

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Awarded Degrees over Time

The graph shows the evolution of awarded degrees by degrees. Under the paragraphs, the average number of awarded degrees by university in each degree is shown.

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Tuition

Average Net Price by Sector

Universities

Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above ($18,576) is the sector with the highest median state tuition in 2023.

Public, 4-year or above ($2,548) is the sector with the highest median state fee in 2023.

Public, 2-year ($1,152) is the sector with the highest average net price of books and supplies.

The graph shows the average net price by sector and year.

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Housing & Living

The median property value in San Diego, CA was $906,700 in 2024, which is 2.73 times larger than the national average of $332,700. Between 2023 and 2024 the median property value increased from $848,500 to $906,700, a 6.86% increase. The homeownership rate in San Diego, CA is 47.3%, which is lower than the national average of 65.2%.

People in San Diego, CA have an average commute time of 23.5 minutes, and they drove alone to work. Car ownership in San Diego, CA is approximately the same as the national average, with an average of 2 cars per household.

Housing

Property

$906,700
Median Property Value 2024
±$6,879
$251,100
Median Property Taxes
±$3,457

The following chart display owner-occupied housing units distributed between a series of property tax buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. In San Diego, CA the largest share of households pay taxes in the $3k+ range.

The chart underneath the paragraph shows the property taxes in San Diego, CA compared to it's parent and neighbor geographies.

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Rent vs Own

47.3%
Homeownership
2024
70.3%
Homeowners with Mortgage
2024

In 2024, 47.3% of the housing units in San Diego, CA were occupied by their owner. This percentage declined from the previous year's rate of 47.6%.

This chart shows the percentage of owner in San Diego, CA compared it's parent and neighboring geographies.

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Equity

Household Income

Please note that the buckets used in this visualization were not evenly distributed by ACS when publishing the data.
$108,077
Median Household Income
± $1,463
530k
Number of Households
± 6,037

In 2024, the median household income of the 530k households in San Diego, CA grew to $108,077 from the previous year's value of $104,321.

The following chart displays the households in San Diego, CA distributed between a series of income buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. The largest share of households have an income in the $200k+ range.

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Wage Distribution

The closest comparable wage GINI for San Diego, CA is from California.
0.495
2023 Wage GINI in California
0.498
2022 Wage GINI in California

In 2023, the income inequality in California was 0.495 according to the GINI calculation of the wage distribution. Income inequality had a 0.573% decline from 2022 to 2023, which means that wage distribution grew somewhat more even. The GINI for California was higher than than the national average of 0.476. In other words, wages are distributed less evenly in California in comparison to the national average.

This chart shows the number of workers in California across various wage buckets compared to the national average.

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Transportation

Commuter Transportation

Most Common Commute in 2024
  1. Drove Alone (62.6%)
  2. Worked At Home (21.2%)
  3. Carpooled (7.72%)

In 2024, 62.6% of workers in San Diego, CA drove alone to work, followed by those who worked at home (21.2%) and those who carpooled to work (7.72%).

The following chart shows the number of households using each mode of transportation over time, using a logarithmic scale on the y-axis to help better show variations in the smaller means of commuting.

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Commute Time

23.5 minutes
Average Travel Time

Using averages, employees in San Diego, CA have a shorter commute time (23.5 minutes) than the normal US worker (26.4 minutes). Additionally, 1.56% of the workforce in San Diego, CA have "super commutes" in excess of 90 minutes.

The chart below shows how the median household income in San Diego, CA compares to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

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Car Ownership

2 cars
Average Number

The following chart displays the households in San Diego, CA distributed between a series of car ownership buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. The largest share of households in San Diego, CA have 2 cars.

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Poverty

Poverty & Diversity

11% of the population for whom poverty status is determined in San Diego, CA (148k out of 1.35M people) live below the poverty line, a number that is lower than the national average of 12.5%. The largest demographic living in poverty are Females 18 - 24, followed by Males 18 - 24 and then Females 25 - 34.

The most common racial or ethnic group living below the poverty line in San Diego, CA is Hispanic, followed by White and Two Or More.

The Census Bureau uses a set of money income thresholds that vary by family size and composition to determine who classifies as impoverished. If a family's total income is less than the family's threshold than that family and every individual in it is considered to be living in poverty.

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Health

94.2% of the population of San Diego, CA has health coverage, with 50.5% on employee plans, 16.2% on Medicaid, 9.52% on Medicare, 14.7% on non-group plans, and 3.24% on military or VA plans.

Primary care physicians in California see 1,233 patients per year on average, which represents a 0% change from the previous year (1,233 patients). Compare this to dentists who see 1076 patients per year, and mental health providers who see 213 patients per year.

By gender, of the total number of insured persons, 49.8% were men and 50.2% were women.

Coverage

Health Care Diversity

In 2024, insured persons according to age ranges were distributed in 20.6% under 18 years, 26.6% between 18 and 34 years, 37.9% between 35 and 64 years, and 14.9% over 64 years.

By gender, of the total number of insured persons, 49.8% were men and 50.2% were women.

The following chart shows the number of people with health coverage by gender.

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Uninsured People

5.83%
Uninsured
50.5%
Employer Coverage
16.2%
Medicaid
9.52%
Medicare
14.7%
Non-Group
3.24%
Military or VA

Between 2023 and 2024, the percent of uninsured citizens in San Diego, CA declined by 7.08% from 6.27% to 5.83%.

The following chart shows how the percent of uninsured individuals in San Diego, CA changed over time compared with the percent of individuals enrolled in various types of health insurance.

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