San Diego, California had 1,406,106 residents as of July 1, 2025 (U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025), ranking #8 nationally and #2 in California. cost of living runs 12% above the U.S. average (BEA RPP 2024); a family of four needs roughly $176,144/yr to break even (2025 modeled). This profile draws on 13 federal datasets covering population, housing, income, employment, climate, and risk.
SourceU.S. Census · PEP
VintageV2025
Reference2025-07-01
Place typeIncorporated place
GEOID0666000
Last build2026-05-29
At a glance.
2025 population
1,406,106
Census Vintage 2025
Median HH income
$108,077
+39.1% vs US $77,719
Median home value
$906,700
+198.8% vs US $303,400
Avg July high
80°F
NOAA 1991–2020
Gigabit broadband
59%
ISP-reported, FCC BDC
Unemployment
4.2%
San Diego · BLS LAUS
Key statistics.
2025 population
1,406,106
Census Vintage 2025, July 1, 2025
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
Population history.
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 9.4% from 2010 to 2019 (V2019 — see seam note below).
2010 base: 1,301,929 → 2019: 1,423,851 (+9.0%)
Year
Population
Reference date
2010 base
1,301,929
April 1, 2010
2010
1,305,906
July 1, 2010
2011
1,319,592
July 1, 2011
2012
1,336,776
July 1, 2012
2013
1,355,320
July 1, 2013
2014
1,375,831
July 1, 2014
2015
1,387,323
July 1, 2015
2016
1,402,089
July 1, 2016
2017
1,412,621
July 1, 2017
2018
1,421,917
July 1, 2018
2019
1,423,851
July 1, 2019
What's the median income in San Diego?
Median household income is 39% above the U.S. median ($108,077 vs $77,719); 11.0% live in poverty — 1.5 points below the 12.5% U.S. rate.
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+39.1% vs US
±1,463
Per capita income
57,083+31.9% vs US
±582
Population in poverty
11.0%
share of population for whom poverty status is determined
Median home value is 199% above the U.S. median ($906,700 vs $303,400); median rent is 72% above ($2,313 vs $1,348); price-to-income ratio is 8.4×, making it 2.1× as cost-burdened as the typical U.S. city (3.9×).
Poverty (Census SAIPE 2024, model-based), unemployment (BLS LAUS 2024 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)
4.2%
San Diego (BLS sub-state LAUS)
Civilian labor force
740,971
2024 annual avg
Worked from home
21.2%+51.5% vs US
share of workers 16+ commuting from home · U.S. median: 14% · ACS
County context — San Diego sits in San Diego County:
County
Poverty rate
Median HH income
Unemployment
San Diego County
10.1%
$108,754
4.3%
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, 2024 annual averages). See methodology §11.
#
Industry (NAICS supersector)
Private employment
Avg weekly wage
#1
Health care and social assistance (62)
222,467
$1,286 / wk
#2
Accommodation and food services (72)
170,776
$691 / wk
#3
Professional and technical services (54)
148,122
$2,934 / wk
#4
Retail trade (44-45)
136,918
$877 / wk
#5
Manufacturing (31-33)
111,940
$2,277 / 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 2024). See methodology §25.
Occupation
Employment
Median annual
Median hourly
Home Health and Personal Care Aides
51,760
$35,050
$16.85
Fast Food and Counter Workers
40,240
$35,860
$17.24
Cashiers
31,630
$36,110
$17.36
Office Clerks, General
28,550
$48,970
$23.54
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand
24,960
$39,000
$18.75
Waiters and Waitresses
24,800
$35,060
$16.85
Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners
22,460
$37,010
$17.79
Retail Salespersons · benchmark
31,420
$36,600
$17.59
Registered Nurses · benchmark
27,660
$133,090
$63.99
General and Operations Managers · benchmark
24,920
—
—
Software Developers · benchmark
21,080
$159,240
$76.56
Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education · benchmark
11,720
$78,430
—
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.
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)
12.30%
9 brackets · TY2025
Family-of-four monthly budget total
$14,679/mo
3BR rent + food + childcare + taxes + transport · federal sources
Single-adult monthly budget total
$7,738/mo
1BR rent + food + taxes + transport · federal sources
Local income tax
—
not applicable in California · no modeled local income tax
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% foreign-born (U.S. median 14%); Spanish is the most-spoken language at home other than English (21.4% of residents 5+).
Where San Diego's residents come from and what they speak at home, from the ACS 5-Year 2020–2024. Foreign-born is the share of residents born outside the U.S. (any citizenship status); language-at-home is reported only for residents 5 and older.
Measure
Value
± margin / note
Foreign-born share
25.1%+79.6% vs US
share of residents born outside the U.S. · U.S. median: 14% · ACS B05002
Speak only English at home
61.0%
share of population 5+ · ACS C16001 line 2
Top non-English language at home
Spanish21.4%
most-spoken language other than English among residents 5+ · ACS C16001 collapsed buckets
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's 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 March 2023). 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 · score 100.0 · Very High
Riverine Flooding · score 99.7 · Very High
Earthquake · score 99.7 · Relatively High
Source: FEMA National Risk Index · FEMA NRI March 2023 · methodology →
Internet & broadband.
26 non-satellite ISPs serve the area; 59% 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 June 30, 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
26 + satellite
distinct ISPs, excluding satellite-only
Fiber providers
17
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
58.7%
derived: max(fiber ≥100/20, gigabit). Fiber is symmetric; gigabit is ≥100 up by definition
Units with ≥1 Gbps fixed
58.7%
share of broadband-serviceable units, ISP-reported max
Total broadband-serviceable units
622,631
residential locations in the FCC Fabric (not households)
Source: FCC BDC · as of June 30, 2025 · methodology →
In-state context.
San Diego sits at state rank #2 among 483 cities in California. Nearby in the state ranking:
San Diego is ranked #8 of 19,483 U.S. cities by 2025 population.
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.
Nearest commercial 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 Elevation Point Query Service (3DEP) · nearest airport from OurAirports CSV (FAA-aligned, type=large/medium, scheduled_service=yes) · best months derived from NOAA 1991-2020 normals · methodology →
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.
