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CITY

Chula Vista

California · 275,533 residents (2025 est.) · 49.6 sq mi
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Part of the San Diego metro area
The short version

Chula Vista is home to 276,375 people in California. Home values have more than tripled since 2000, reaching $758,700. Since 2000 the city has risen by half, up 102,819 people. Few US cities rank higher on income. 29% of people here were born outside the United States. Density works out to 5,568 people per square mile.

At a glance
Wealthier
above the US median
US median: $82,259
Younger
median age 37.1
US median: 38.9
Average education
33% hold a bachelor's degree
US average: 36%
Less affordable
home values up 123%, inflation adjusted
US median home: $376,019
Section 01

Population & growth

Total population
276,375
+59%since 2000
from 173,556 in 2000
275,533 in 2025 (Census Bureau estimate)
1990 – 2025
Population density
5,568 / sq mi
+28%since 2009
from 4,340 / sq mi in 2009
US average: 281
Median age
37.1
+12%since 2000
from 33.0 in 2000
US average: 38.9
Land area
49.6 sq mi
Population, 1990 – 2024
121K163K206K248K290K19902000201020202024Chula Vista
2024276K
1990201020202024
Age distribution, 2024
Under 55.6%(15,467)
US avg: 5.6%
5 to 96.7%(18,444)
US avg: 6%
10 to 147.5%(20,712)
US avg: 6.4%
15 to 197.2%(19,841)
US avg: 6.6%
20 to 246.3%(17,282)
US avg: 6.5%
25 to 3413.9%(38,324)
US avg: 13.7%
35 to 4414.7%(40,672)
US avg: 13.2%
45 to 5413.4%(37,054)
US avg: 12.2%
55 to 6411.4%(31,588)
US avg: 12.7%
65 to 748%(22,146)
US avg: 10.2%
75 to 843.7%(10,199)
US avg: 5.1%
85 and over1.7%(4,646)
US avg: 1.9%
BAR + DOT: THIS PLACE · TICK: US AVERAGE
Section 02

Income & economy

Median household income
$108,032
+32%inflation adjusted, since 2000
from $44,861 in 2000
US average: $82,259
1990 – 2024
Per capita income
$41,343
+123%since 2000
from $18,556 in 2000
US average: $44,673
Households earning $100K+
64.7%
+23.4 ptssince 2009
from 41.3% in 2009
US average: 53.3%
Poverty rate
8.7%
−1.9 ptssince 2000
from 10.6% in 2000
US average: 12.5%
Income inequality (Gini)
0.424
+6%since 2010
from 0.401 in 2010
US average: 0.476
Workforce by industry, 2024
Information10.2%
US avg: 10.8%
Retail trade7.4%
US avg: 9.9%
Wholesale trade6.6%
US avg: 6.9%
Finance & insurance6.3%
US avg: 5.9%
Other services5.6%
US avg: 6.7%
Professional, scientific, technical5.5%
US avg: 5.1%
Public administration3.2%
US avg: 4.8%
Transportation & warehousing1.8%
US avg: 2.2%
Arts, entertainment, food1.3%
US avg: 1.9%
Education & health services0.7%
US avg: 0.9%
Agriculture, forestry, fishing0.6%
US avg: 1.6%
Construction0.5%
US avg: 1.2%
Manufacturing0%
US avg: 0.4%
BAR + DOT: THIS PLACE · TICK: US AVERAGE
Section 03

Housing

Median home value
$758,700
+123%inflation adjusted, since 2000
from $187,100 in 2000
US average: $376,019
1990 – 2024
Median gross rent
$2,229
+73%inflation adjusted, since 2000
from $707 in 2000
US average: $1,442
Owner-occupied
59.8%
+2.4 ptssince 2000
from 57.4% in 2000
40.2% rent
Vacancy rate
5.1%
−4.4 ptssince 2009
from 9.5% in 2009
US average: 10.0%
Persons per household
3.20 people
+1%since 2009
from 3.17 people in 2009
US average: 2.54
Owner cost-burdened
33.4%
−17.4 ptssince 2009
from 50.8% in 2009
US average: 22.9%
Renter cost-burdened
59.2%
−2.1 ptssince 2009
from 61.3% in 2009
US average: 47.4%
Afford Score
7.0
−9%since 2009
from 7.8 in 2009
2009 – 2024
Years of local income it takes to buy a local home, on a scale of about 0 to 15. Lower is more affordable.
Gentrification Score
63
Our index, 0 to 100. Higher means faster recent growth in incomes, home values, and college degrees.
Section 04

Race & ethnicity

2000
White, non-Hispanic31.7%(55,042)
Black4.3%(7,517)
Hispanic / Latino49.6%(86,073)
Asian10.6%(18,410)
Other0%
2024
White, non-Hispanic15.3%(42,245)
Black4.7%(12,959)
Hispanic / Latino61.1%(168,934)
Asian14.2%(39,180)
Other4.7%(13,057)
Diversity Score
72
−6%since 2009
from 77 in 2009
2009 – 2024
Our index, 0 to 100. Higher means a more even mix of racial and ethnic groups.
Section 04 · Origins

Detailed origins & ancestry

Hispanic origin
Mexican55.5%(153,261)
Puerto Rican1.2%(3,317)
South American1.2%(3,308)
Spaniard0.6%(1,667)
Colombian0.4%(1,218)
Guatemalan0.4%(1,071)
Peruvian0.3%(799)
Nicaraguan0.3%(732)
Salvadoran0.2%(632)
Cuban0.2%(478)
Argentine0.2%(461)
+ 9 more hispanic origin groups with data
Venezuelan0.1%(301)
Dominican0.1%(248)
Ecuadorian0.1%(220)
Chilean0.1%(178)
Panamanian0%(130)
Uruguayan0%(73)
Bolivian0%(58)
Honduran0%(48)
Asian origin
Filipino10.2%(28,289)
Chinese1.1%(3,093)
Korean0.6%(1,634)
Japanese0.6%(1,526)
Vietnamese0.6%(1,521)
Asian Indian0.3%(892)
Cambodian0.2%(509)
Pakistani0.1%(192)
Thai0.1%(161)
Laotian0.1%(147)
Indonesian0.1%(143)
Taiwanese0%(126)
+ 8 more asian origin groups with data
Burmese0%(113)
Kazakh0%(71)
Hmong0%(27)
Nepalese0%(26)
Uzbek0%(22)
Malaysian0%(13)
Pacific Islander origin
Chamorro0.3%(940)
Samoan0.1%(259)
Tongan0.1%(202)
Guamanian0%(130)
Fijian0%(22)
Ancestry
German3.7%(10,294)
English3.2%(8,816)
Irish2.9%(8,147)
Italian2%(5,564)
American1.5%(4,033)
French0.9%(2,427)
Polish0.7%(1,843)
Scottish0.5%(1,362)
Norwegian0.4%(1,210)
West Indian0.4%(1,170)
Swedish0.4%(1,030)
+ 43 more ancestry groups with data
Portuguese0.4%(974)
Arab0.3%(797)
Russian0.3%(793)
Dutch0.3%(757)
Jamaican0.3%(756)
Scotch-Irish0.3%(746)
British0.2%(617)
Greek0.2%(450)
Danish0.1%(382)
Croatian0.1%(377)
Hungarian0.1%(337)
Ukrainian0.1%(319)
Iranian0.1%(275)
Welsh0.1%(269)
Haitian0.1%(237)
Canadian0.1%(232)
Swiss0.1%(209)
Nigerian0.1%(188)
Lebanese0.1%(182)
Brazilian0.1%(179)
Ethiopian0.1%(161)
Finnish0.1%(156)
Czech0.1%(142)
Ghanaian0.1%(141)
Romanian0%(124)
Jordanian0%(112)
Egyptian0%(109)
Austrian0%(86)
Serbian0%(67)
Israeli0%(65)
Syrian0%(58)
Armenian0%(44)
Iraqi0%(36)
Turkish0%(30)
Latvian0%(12)
Slovak0%(11)
Belgian0%(10)
Slovene0%(7)
Section 05

Education

Bachelor's degree or higher
33.2%
+11.0 ptssince 2000
from 22.2% in 2000
US average: 35.6%
High school or higher
86.2%
+7.7 ptssince 2000
from 78.5% in 2000
US average: 89.6%
Graduate degree
11.1%
+3.9 ptssince 2000
from 7.2% in 2000
US average: 14.0%
Section 06

Commute & transportation

Average commute
28.6 min
+66%since 2000
from 17.3 min in 2000
US average: 26.5
Drive alone to work
71.6%
−6.4 ptssince 2009
from 78.0% in 2009
US average: 68.9%
Carpooled to work
10.4%
−1.6 ptssince 2009
from 12.0% in 2009
US average: 8.5%
Public transit
2.2%
−1.1 ptssince 2009
from 3.2% in 2009
US average: 3.2%
Worked from home
12.6%
+9.0 ptssince 2009
from 3.6% in 2009
US average: 15.0%
Walked to work
1.7%
−0.1 ptssince 2009
from 1.8% in 2009
US average: 2.4%
Biked to work
0.0%
−0.2 ptssince 2009
from 0.3% in 2009
US average: 0.4%
No vehicle available
4.5%
−1.4 ptssince 2009
from 5.9% in 2009
US average: 8.3%
Section 07

Work & employment

Unemployment rate
8.0%
−2.4 ptssince 2011
from 10.4% in 2011
US average: 5.2%
Labor force participation
66.2%
−0.3 ptssince 2011
from 66.6% in 2011
US average: 63.5%
Women 20-64 in the labor force
75.4%
+2.0 ptssince 2020
from 73.4% in 2020
US average: 74.6%
Self-employed
15.6%
+1.2 ptssince 2009
from 14.4% in 2009
US average: 13.1%
Management & professional
42.3%
+8.4 ptssince 2009
from 33.9% in 2009
US average: 42.5%
Section 08

People & community

Male
49.2%
+0.9 ptssince 2009
from 48.3% in 2009
Female
50.8%
−0.9 ptssince 2009
from 51.7% in 2009
Foreign born
29.4%
−1.3 ptssince 2009
from 30.7% in 2009
US average: 14.1%
Veterans
8.4%
−3.1 ptssince 2009
from 11.6% in 2009
US average: 6.2%
With a disability
10.7%
+1.8 ptssince 2012
from 8.9% in 2012
US average: 13.3%
Uninsured
6.4%
−11.3 ptssince 2013
from 17.7% in 2013
US average: 8.4%
Broadband at home
94.7%
+11.6 ptssince 2017
from 83.1% in 2017
US average: 91.0%
Computer in household
97.0%
+2.2 ptssince 2020
from 94.8% in 2020
US average: 95.5%
Same house as last year
91.3%
+0.7 ptssince 2020
from 90.6% in 2020
US average: 87.7%
English only at home
42.6%
+1.0 ptssince 2016
from 41.7% in 2016
US average: 77.7%
Spanish at home
46.8%
+0.2 ptssince 2016
from 46.6% in 2016
US average: 13.6%
Marital status
Men 15+
Never married38.7%(42,309)
Married53.8%(58,764)
Widowed1.7%(1,869)
Divorced5.8%(6,362)
Women 15+
Never married32%(36,033)
Married50.4%(56,619)
Widowed7.3%(8,259)
Divorced10.3%(11,537)
SHARE WITHIN EACH SEX · POPULATION 15 AND OVER · 2024
Section 09

Health coverage

Uninsured
6.4%
−11.3 ptssince 2013
from 17.7% in 2013
US average: 8.4%
Employer-based
55.2%
+0.6 ptssince 2020
from 54.6% in 2020
US average: 54.8%
Direct-purchase
9.2%
−0.4 ptssince 2020
from 9.6% in 2020
US average: 13.8%
Medicare
14.0%
+1.2 ptssince 2020
from 12.8% in 2020
US average: 18.4%
Medicaid
22.6%
+0.2 ptssince 2020
from 22.4% in 2020
US average: 20.9%
VA health care
3.7%
+0.5 ptssince 2020
from 3.2% in 2020
US average: 2.2%
Any private
69.0%
+0.5 ptssince 2020
from 68.5% in 2020
US average: 67.1%
Any public
34.9%
+1.8 ptssince 2020
from 33.1% in 2020
US average: 36.7%

Shares are "alone or in combination": a person with both Medicare and Medicaid counts in each, so categories overlap and do not sum to 100%.

Section 09 · Service history

Veterans

Veterans by period of service, 2024
Gulf War (2001 or later)45.3%(7,773)
US avg: 26.4%
Gulf War (1990s)47.1%(8,087)
US avg: 24.3%
Vietnam era19.7%(3,382)
US avg: 33.1%
Korean War2.2%(380)
US avg: 4.5%
World War II0.9%(147)
US avg: 1%

Share of the 17,156 veterans here. A veteran who served across eras counts in each, so shares can total more than 100%. Peacetime-only service is included in the total but not shown as an era.

BAR + DOT: THIS PLACE · TICK: US AVERAGE
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Frequently asked

How many people live in Chula Vista, California?

Chula Vista, California has about 276,375 residents according to the 2024 American Community Survey.

What is the median household income in Chula Vista, California?

The typical household in Chula Vista, California earns about $108,032 a year. Half of households make more than that, and half make less.

Is Chula Vista, California expensive?

In Chula Vista, California, the median home is worth about $758,700, and the typical rent is about $2,229 a month.

How educated are people in Chula Vista, California?

About 33.2% of adults age 25 and over in Chula Vista, California hold a bachelor's degree or higher.

What is the poverty rate in Chula Vista, California?

About 8.7% of people in Chula Vista, California live below the federal poverty line.

Has Chula Vista, California grown since 1990?

Yes, Chula Vista, California has grown since 1990. The population has added about 141,212 residents, a change of about 104 percent over that period.

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DATA: US CENSUS BUREAU ACS 5-YEAR + DECENNIAL CENSUS · UPDATED 2024

How we source and harmonize this data →