San Diego, California
Cost of living, housing, income, commute, climate, and safety — compiled for relocators researching San Diego.
Key figures
Each metric shows how San Diego compares with the U.S. baseline (ACS/BLS nationals where available; catalog-city averages for crime, climate, and commute). Income, housing, population, and crime are for the incorporated city (city limits), not the broader metro/MSA — unemployment is county-level (BLS LAUS).
- Population
- 1,385,061City limits · not metro/MSA
- Median household income
- $104,321Incorporated place (ACS)33% above U.S. avgU.S. $78,538
- Housing cost index
- 222ACS home+rent vs U.S. (100 = avg)122% above U.S. avgU.S. 100
- Median home value
- $848,500City limits (ACS)180% above U.S. avgU.S. $303,400
- Median rent
- $2,223City limits (ACS)65% above U.S. avgU.S. $1,348
- Unemployment
- 3.9%County LAUS · not city-onlyNear U.S. avg (4.2 pts)U.S. 4.2 pts
- Avg commute
- 25 minNear U.S. avg (25 min)U.S. 25 min
- Walk Score
- 5318% above U.S. avgU.S. 45
- Violent crime rate
- 361.7annualized per 100k · citywide40% below U.S. avgU.S. 602.7
- Property crime rate
- 1882.5annualized per 100k · citywide39% below U.S. avgU.S. 3084.9
- Summer high
- 75°F12.0°F below U.S. avgU.S. 87°F
- Winter low
- 51°F17.0°F above U.S. avgU.S. 34°F
- Annual rainfall
- 9.8 in70% below U.S. avgU.S. 32.9 in
- Sunny days
- 32522% above U.S. avgU.S. 266
Compare San Diego with another city
About 1,385,061 people live in San Diego, CA. Median household income is roughly $104,321, while the ACS housing-cost index sits near 222 — well above the national housing-cost baseline (100 ≈ U.S. average). Ownership is a high bar — typical values near $848,500 push many newcomers toward renting first.
If you only tour one corridor, make it Gaslamp; if you have a weekend, contrast it with La Jolla and the quieter edges near North Park. Figures on this page are merged from Census ACS, BLS LAUS, FBI Crime Data Explorer, and NOAA Climate Normals — use them to compare San Diego with nearby alternatives before you relocate.
Pacific weather, wildfire seasons, and housing scarcity dominate relocation tradeoffs. Roughly 325 sunny days a year give outdoor routines unusual calendar reliability. Plan on roughly 25 minutes each way for a typical commute; Walk Score is about 53. Unemployment recently ran near 3.9%, broadly in line with many large U.S. counties. Violent-offense rates around 361.7 per 100k are moderate for a large U.S. city, with meaningful variation by neighborhood.
Neighborhoods often researched
- Gaslamp
- La Jolla
- North Park
- Pacific Beach
Nearby & similar cities
Continue researching with these internal links — each page is a full data profile.
Sources
- Census / ACS: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 5-year (San Diego city, 1600000US0666000)
- BLS: BLS LAUS LAUCN060730000000003 (San Diego County, May 2026)
- Crime: FBI CIUS Table 8 (2019) city offenses known to law enforcement — rates per 100k; CDE API unavailable at enrich time
- Climate: NOAA 1991–2020 Monthly Normals (USW00023188 SAN DIEGO LINDBERGH FLD)
Last updated 2026-07-28