Latest Census city estimates released May 14, 2026 · Population as of July 1, 2025 · Next city estimates scheduled for May 2027. Release schedule
San Diego, California population is 1,406,106 as of July 1, 2025 (U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025 estimate), ranking #8 nationally and #2 in California. Cost of living runs 12% above the U.S. average (BEA RPP 2024); the four-person spending scenario corresponds to modeled gross income of $187,421/yr (TY2026 tax assumptions; partial scenario excluding unverified local income tax). This profile draws on 13 federal datasets covering population, housing, income, employment, climate, and risk.
1,406,106 people live in San Diego as of July 1, 2025 (U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025), the #8 largest U.S. city.
How big is San Diego?
San Diego covers 326.0 square miles of land and 16.2 square miles of water. Its population density is about 4,313 residents per square mile of land. Compare U.S. cities by land area →
Source detail: 2025 population
2025 population
Source agency
U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division
Dataset
Census PEP
Vintage / period
Vintage 2025 (Jul 1, 2025)
Native geography
Census PEP subcounty place records for the included city universe.
Transformation
Copied from POPESTIMATE2025, joined by Census GEOID, and used for ranks, filters, and city pages.
Known limit: Annual estimate, not a decennial count; each new PEP vintage can revise the prior series.
Population grew 1.6% from the April 2020 base to mid-2025.
Vintage 2025 · annual estimates
Recent history (V2025 series, 2020 base → 2025).
2020 base: 1,384,481 → 2025: 1,406,106 (+1.6%)
Year
Population
Reference date
2020 base
1,384,481
April 1, 2020
2020
1,382,566
July 1, 2020
2021
1,371,244
July 1, 2021
2022
1,383,847
July 1, 2022
2023
1,388,747
July 1, 2023
2024
1,400,232
July 1, 2024
2025
1,406,106
July 1, 2025
Earlier history (2010–2019, prior Census vintage)
These figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Vintage 2019 release — a separate, earlier methodology. They’re shown here as historical context only; the 2010 and 2019 values aren’t directly comparable to the 2020–2025 series above.
Population grew 9.0% from the July 2010 estimate to 2019 (V2019 — see seam note below).
San Diego is the #8 largest of 19,483 U.S. cities and #2 in California.
▸Show the analyst detail (9 rows)
Measure
Value
Note
2020 base
1,384,481
April 1, 2020 census base
5-yr change
+21,625
2020 base → 2025; within V2025
5-yr change %
+1.6%
within V2025 only
1-yr change
+5,874
2024 → 2025 estimate
1-yr change %
+0.4%
within V2025 only
Density
4,313
people per sq mi, land only
Land area
326
sq mi (2025 Gazetteer)
U.S. rank by population
#8
of 19,483 cities
State rank by population
#2
of 483 in California
What is the median household income in San Diego?
Same-period U.S. benchmarks: household income $80,734 ± $166; per-capita income $44,673 ± $122. Margins are at 90% confidence. Comparison badges describe point estimates; they are not significance tests.
Median household income is 34% above the U.S. median ($108,077 vs $80,734); 11.0% live in poverty, 1.4 points below the 12.5% U.S. estimate.
Median household income$108,077
US
San Diego: $108,077 — 34% above the US median of $80,734.
Scale: 10th–90th percentile of cities with ACS income data; censored rows retained in the distribution
San Diego
$108,077
United States
$80,734
Income and poverty estimates for San Diego from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year estimates (window 2020–2024). Every figure is shown with its 90% margin of error (MOE). Cells where the ± margin exceeds half the estimate are flagged "low precision." See methodology §12.
Measure
Estimate
± margin / note
Median household income
$108,077+33.9% vs US
±$1,463
Per capita income
$57,083+27.8% vs US
±$582
Population in poverty
11.0% ± 0.4 percentage points
share of population for whom poverty status is determined
Median home value is 173% above the U.S. median ($906,700 vs $332,700); median rent is 64% above ($2,313 vs $1,413); the ratio of median home value to median household income is 8.4× versus 4.1× nationally; this compares two distributions and does not measure an individual household's housing burden.
Median home value$906,700
US
San Diego: $906,700 — 173% above the US median of $332,700.
Scale: 10th–90th percentile of cities with ACS home-value data; censored rows retained in the distribution
HUD 2-BR fair-market rent$3,001/mo
US
San Diego: $3,001/mo — 179% above the US median of $1,077/mo.
Scale: 10th–90th percentile of cities with a HUD Fair Market Rent
Same-period U.S. benchmarks: home value $332,700 ± $236; gross rent $1,413 ± $2. Comparison badges describe estimates and do not establish statistical significance.
Measure
Estimate
± margin / note
Median value, owner-occupied units
$906,700+172.5% vs US
±$6,879
Median gross rent
$2,313+63.7% vs US
±$18
HUD Fair Market Rent, 2-BR (FY2026)
$3,001-22.9% vs US
San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA MSA· 40th-percentile gross rent · HUD methodology
Owner-occupied share
47.3% ± 0.5 percentage points
of occupied housing units
Price-to-income ratio
8.4x± 0.13x approximate 90% MOE+103.6% vs US
median home value ÷ median household income · U.S. ratio: 4.1x
Rent-burdened (≥30% of income)
54.7% ± 0.9 percentage points+7.0% vs US
renters with a computed rent/income ratio · U.S. share: 51.1%
Severely rent-burdened (≥50%)
27.2% ± 0.6 percentage points+4.9% vs US
renters with a computed rent/income ratio · U.S. share: 25.9%
Poverty (Census SAIPE 2024, model-based), unemployment (BLS LAUS 2025 annual averages), and remote-work share (ACS 2020–2024) for San Diego. Numbers are labeled at their native grain — place-grain when BLS publishes it, otherwise per-county. We do not compute population-weighted county averages. See methodology §13.
Measure
Value
Grain
Unemployment rate (annual avg)
4.5%
San Diego (BLS sub-state LAUS)
Civilian labor force
753,078
2025 annual avg
Worked from home
21.2% ± 0.5 percentage points+40.4% vs US
share of workers 16+ working from home · U.S. share: 15.1% · ACS
County context — San Diego sits in San Diego County:
County
Poverty rate
Median HH income
Unemployment
San Diego County
10.1%
$108,754
4.6%
Top industries by private employment — NAICS supersectors rolled up from San Diego's linked county in the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW, 2025 annual averages). See methodology §11.
#
Industry (NAICS supersector)
Private employment
Avg weekly wage
#1
Health care and social assistance (62)
232,562
$1,295 / wk
#2
Accommodation and food services (72)
170,874
$719 / wk
#3
Professional and technical services (54)
146,888
$3,010 / wk
#4
Retail trade (44-45)
134,936
$895 / wk
#5
Manufacturing (31-33)
109,768
$2,374 / wk
What workers earn in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metro — top occupations by employment plus six curated benchmarks (registered nurse, software developer, elementary teacher, general manager, retail salesperson, truck driver). Wages are metro-area medians from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025). See methodology §25.
Home Health and Personal Care Aides is the largest tracked occupation in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metro (57,080 jobs, median $35,300/yr).
▸Show all 13 occupations
Occupation
Employment
Median annual
Median hourly
Home Health and Personal Care Aides
57,080
$35,300
$16.97
Fast Food and Counter Workers
42,550
$42,190
$20.28
Cashiers
30,420
$37,020
$17.80
Office Clerks, General
28,470
$49,920
$24.00
Waiters and Waitresses
24,050
$35,850
$17.23
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand
21,950
$43,320
$20.83
Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners
21,700
$38,450
$18.49
Retail Salespersons · benchmark
34,390
$37,810
$18.18
Registered Nurses · benchmark
28,680
$139,520
$67.08
General and Operations Managers · benchmark
26,230
$119,600
$57.50
Software Developers · benchmark
20,610
$163,270
$78.49
Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education · benchmark
11,340
$97,000
—
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers · benchmark
All items run 11.9% above the U.S. average (RPP 111.9); rents run 79.3% above (RPP 179.3) — the metro's housing premium is the main driver.
Cost of living (RPP, all items)RPP 111.9
US
San Diego's cost of living runs 11.9% above the U.S. average (RPP 111.9 vs 100).
Scale: 10th–90th percentile of metro/non-metro areas with a BEA price parity
BEA Regional Price Parity (all items)
RPP 111.9
+11.9% vs U.S. average · BEA 2024 · San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metro
HUD Fair Market Rent, 2-BR
$3,001/mo
FY2026 · San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA MSA
State income tax (top marginal rate)
13.30%
10 brackets · TY2026
Four-person monthly spending scenario
$15,618/mo
3BR rent + food + childcare + taxes + transport · federal sources; excludes unverified local income tax
One-person monthly spending scenario
$6,146/mo
1BR rent + food + taxes + transport · federal sources; excludes unverified local income tax
Local income tax
—
Unverified and excluded from the spending scenario; not a verified zero
Household budget figures are arithmetic floors using current federal sources at the grains documented in methodology. Not a recommended salary, not a poverty threshold, not a composite score.
25.1% ± 0.4 percentage points foreign-born (U.S. share 14.1%); Spanish is the most-spoken language at home other than English (21.4% of residents 5+).
A quick read on San Diego's residents — nativity and languages spoken at home shown above, from the ACS 5-Year 2020–2024. The full demographic breakdown (age, race and ethnicity, household types, and educational attainment, each with its margin of error) lives on the demographics page.
These are K-12 public school districts. Higher education (colleges and universities) is not represented in this dataset.
16 districts serve San Diego, from the NCES EDGE Geographic Relationship Files (GRF25, 2024–25 school year boundaries). The join is many-to-many — large cities often span multiple districts. Expand the list below to see every district sorted primary first. See methodology §12.
Source: NCES EDGE GRF25 · school year 2024–25 · methodology →
What is the climate like in San Diego?
Hottest month: August (83°F avg high). Coldest: December (44°F avg low). Annual precipitation: 10.7 in.
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) for San Diego from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. See methodology §15 for the gridded vs. station source path.
Average monthly highs & lows · 30-year normal (NOAA 1991–2020). Every number on this chart is an average.
bar = avg daily high → avg daily lowprecip in inches below each barprecip in millimeters below each bar
Composite risk score: 99.7/100 — Very High nationally; top hazard: Wildfire (100.0).
Natural-hazard exposure for San Diego from the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index (FEMA NRI December 2025 v1.20.0). NRI is an expected-annual-loss composite calibrated on 1996–2019 historical losses, published at the U.S. county grain. See methodology §17.
County
NRI composite
Rating
Top hazards
San Diego County
99.7
Very High
Wildfire 100.0 Very High · Riverine Flooding 99.7 Very High · Earthquake 99.7 Relatively High
Source: FEMA National Risk Index · FEMA NRI December 2025 v1.20.0 · methodology →
How fast is home internet in San Diego?
25 non-satellite ISPs serve the area; 68% of locations have gigabit-capable service per ISP filings.
Fixed broadband availability for San Diego from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission's Broadband Data Collection (BDC), as of December 31, 2025. Every speed and provider count below is an ISP-reported advertised maximum — not measured throughput. Actual delivered speeds typically run 60–80% of advertised. See methodology §16.
Measure
Value
Note
Providers serving this city
25 + satellite
distinct ISPs, excluding satellite-only
Fiber providers
18
offer fiber-to-the-premises somewhere in the BDC
Units with ≥100/20 Mbps fixed
100.0%
share of broadband-serviceable units, ISP-reported max
Locations with ≥100 Mbps upload
68.2%
derived: max(fiber ≥100/20, gigabit). Fiber is symmetric; gigabit is ≥100 up by definition
Units with ≥1 Gbps fixed
68.2%
share of broadband-serviceable units, ISP-reported max
Total broadband-serviceable units
621,901
residential locations in the FCC Fabric (not households)
Source: FCC BDC · as of December 31, 2025 · methodology →
How much crime is reported in San Diego?
In 2024, law enforcement reported 5,726 violent and 23,197 property offenses in the San Diego jurisdiction — a violent-crime rate of 412.2 per 100,000, above the U.S. estimate of 359.1.
Reported offenses known to law enforcement from the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program (CIUS Table 8), 2024. Figures describe the FBI agency jurisdiction: San Diego — an FBI jurisdiction population of 1,389,024, versus the Census place population of 1,406,106. The rate per 100,000 is the FBI's own (count ÷ that jurisdiction population), never divided by the Census place figure. These are reported crimes under voluntary participation — not measured or victimization crime — and the FBI cautions against using them to rank or compare places. See methodology §31.
Offenses known, 2024
Count
Rate /100k
U.S. rate
Violent crime
5,726
412.2
359.1
Property crime
23,197
1,670.0
1,760.1
▸Offense breakdown and 3-year trend
Offense, 2024
Count
Murder and nonnegligent manslaughter
35
Rape
297
Robbery
1,075
Aggravated assault
4,319
Burglary
2,603
Larceny-theft
15,100
Motor vehicle theft
5,494
Arson (12-month reporters only)
136
Year
Violent /100k
Property /100k
Jurisdiction pop.
2022
430.5
1,817.6
1,377,838
2023
417.8
1,811.7
1,378,349
2024
412.2
1,670.0
1,389,024
Only years the agency reported a complete 12 months appear; the FBI does not estimate missing agency-years, so a gap is a non-reporting year, not zero crime.
U.S. rate is the FBI national estimate (imputes non-reporting agencies); the city figures are reported-only. Source: FBI UCR CIUS Table 8 (2022–2024) · FBI agency jurisdiction: San Diego · methodology → · FBI Crime Data Explorer →
In-state context.
San Diego sits at state rank #2 among 483 cities in California. Nearby in the state ranking:
Just above in the profiled set: San Antonio, TX · #7 · 1,548,422 residents.
Just below in the profiled set: Dallas, TX · #9 · 1,329,491 residents.
Quick travel facts for San Diego
Quick travel facts.
Elevation
303 ft · at city centroid, from USGS 3D Elevation Program
Nearest scheduled-service airport
San Diego International Airport(SAN) · 8 mi 13 km from city centroid
Best months to visit
May, Jun, Oct · months when the avg high sits in 65–80°F and precipitation is at or below the city's median monthly precip
Sources: elevation from USGS 3DEP · nearest airport from OurAirports CSV (OurAirports type=large/medium and scheduled_service=yes; not an FAA service classification) · best months derived from NOAA 1991-2020 normals · methodology →
Frequently asked questions about San Diego.
How many people live in San Diego, CA?
San Diego has 1,406,106 residents as of July 1, 2025, making it the #8 largest city in the United States and #2 in California. Source: U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025.
Is San Diego growing or shrinking?
San Diego has grown 1.6% since the April 2020 census baseline, adding 21,625 residents, including a 0.4% increase from 2024 to 2025. Source: Census PEP Vintage 2025.
What was San Diego's population in the 2020 census?
San Diego covers 326.0 square miles of land, with a population density of about 4,313 residents per square mile. Source: Census Gazetteer 2025.
What is the median household income in San Diego?
$108,077, about 34% above the U.S. median. Source: ACS 5-year estimates, 2020–2024.
SourceU.S. Census · PEP
VintageV2025
Reference2025-07-01
Place typeIncorporated place
GEOID0666000
Last build2026-10-09
Sources · provenance
Every listed dataset is used on this page.
The GEOID for San Diego is 0666000. These are the official datasets used by this profile's main data modules; click "methodology" for inclusion rules and the V2019 ↔ V2025 seam, or "source" for the raw publisher page. The headline population value above includes a source-detail disclosure with publisher, dataset, vintage, native geography, transformation, and caveat.
