METRO AREA
San Diego Metro
San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA · 1 counties · 3,282,248 residents (2025 est.) · 4,210 sq mi
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The short version
San Diego is home to 3,288,774 people. Home values have more than tripled since 2000, reaching $854,700. That puts it in the top 1% of US metro areas for household income. Median rent is $2,246 a month. 55% of homes are owner-occupied. The foreign-born share is 23%.
At a glance
Wealthier
median household income $106,268, above the US median
US median: $82,259
Younger
median age 37.3
US median: 38.9
More educated
43% hold a bachelor's degree
US average: 36%
Less affordable
home values up 121%, inflation adjusted
US median home: $376,019
Unique to this place
What stands out about San Diego
What changed most since 1990
- White share65.6% → 42.4% (−23.2 pts)US over the same years: −17.8 pts
Among the 34 metro and micro areas based in California
- 6th in household income$106,268
- 4th in share with a bachelor's degree43.2%
- 6th in home value$854,700
- 5th in diversity score84.9
Section 01
Population & growth
3,288,774
+17%since 2000
from 2,813,833 in 2000
3,282,248 in 2025 (Census Bureau estimate)
1990 – 2025
Land area
4,210 sq mi
Population, 1990 – 2024
20243.3M
Age distribution, 2024
Under 55.6%(183,613)
5 to 95.7%(186,786)
10 to 146.1%(199,717)
15 to 196.3%(208,240)
20 to 247%(229,033)
25 to 3415.9%(522,544)
35 to 4414.3%(471,054)
45 to 5412.1%(396,336)
55 to 6411.7%(383,717)
65 to 749.1%(297,980)
75 to 844.6%(149,924)
85 and over1.8%(59,830)
BAR + DOT: THIS PLACE · TICK: US AVERAGE
Section 02
Income & economy
$106,268
+24%inflation adjusted, since 2000
from $47,067 in 2000
US average: $82,259
1990 – 2024
Households earning $100K+
64.6%
+22.5 ptssince 2009
from 42.0% in 2009
US average: 53.3%
Workforce by industry, 2024
Retail trade9.9%
Information9.8%
Wholesale trade6.4%
Other services6%
Finance & insurance4.5%
Professional, scientific, technical3.7%
Public administration3.7%
Arts, entertainment, food1.9%
Transportation & warehousing1.8%
Education & health services0.8%
Agriculture, forestry, fishing0.8%
Construction0.7%
Manufacturing0%
BAR + DOT: THIS PLACE · TICK: US AVERAGE
Section 03
Housing
$854,700
+121%inflation adjusted, since 2000
from $212,000 in 2000
US average: $376,019
1990 – 2024
8.0
−2%since 2009
from 8.2 in 2009
1990 – 2024
Years of local income it takes to buy a local home, on a scale of about 0 to 15. Lower is more affordable.
81
Our index, 0 to 100. Higher means faster recent growth in incomes, home values, and college degrees.
Section 04
Race & ethnicity
2000
White, non-Hispanic55%(1,548,833)
Black5.5%(154,487)
Hispanic / Latino26.7%(750,965)
Asian8.7%(245,297)
Other0%
2024
White, non-Hispanic42.4%(1,394,708)
Black4.4%(143,223)
Hispanic / Latino34.6%(1,139,063)
Asian12.1%(397,310)
Other6.5%(214,470)
85
+8%since 2009
from 79 in 2009
1990 – 2024
Our index, 0 to 100. Higher means a more even mix of racial and ethnic groups.
39
−6%since 2020
from 41 in 2020
Our index, 0 to 100. Higher means White and non-White residents are more separated across neighborhoods.
Section 04 · Origins
Detailed origins & ancestry
Hispanic origin
Mexican29.7%(975,588)
Central American1.2%(39,448)
South American1%(33,735)
Puerto Rican0.8%(26,187)
Guatemalan0.6%(18,300)
Spaniard0.4%(14,413)
Colombian0.3%(11,484)
Salvadoran0.3%(10,718)
Cuban0.2%(7,915)
Peruvian0.2%(6,927)
Dominican0.1%(4,125)
Argentine0.1%(3,875)
+ 10 more hispanic origin groups with data
Chilean0.1%(3,708)
Ecuadorian0.1%(3,212)
Nicaraguan0.1%(2,866)
Honduran0.1%(2,686)
Venezuelan0.1%(2,560)
Panamanian0.1%(2,477)
Costa Rican0.1%(1,978)
Bolivian0%(1,007)
Uruguayan0%(514)
Paraguayan0%(145)
Asian origin
Filipino4.6%(150,280)
Chinese2%(64,366)
Asian Indian1.5%(47,693)
Vietnamese1.4%(47,640)
Korean0.7%(21,721)
Japanese0.5%(17,115)
Cambodian0.2%(6,900)
Laotian0.2%(6,796)
Taiwanese0.2%(6,175)
Kazakh0.1%(4,171)
Thai0.1%(3,594)
Pakistani0.1%(2,351)
+ 13 more asian origin groups with data
Hmong0.1%(1,764)
Indonesian0.1%(1,652)
Burmese0%(1,370)
Nepalese0%(722)
Bangladeshi0%(677)
Sri Lankan0%(424)
Malaysian0%(404)
Mongolian0%(323)
Uzbek0%(265)
Mien0%(164)
Okinawan0%(66)
Bhutanese0%(41)
Singaporean0%(30)
Pacific Islander origin
Native Hawaiian0.3%(9,903)
Chamorro0.2%(7,855)
Samoan0.2%(6,833)
Guamanian0%(1,559)
Tongan0%(1,101)
Fijian0%(770)
Marshallese0%(629)
Chuukese0%(152)
Ancestry
German9.1%(298,305)
English8%(262,576)
Irish7.8%(255,722)
Italian4.2%(137,798)
American2.5%(81,666)
French1.8%(58,643)
Polish1.6%(53,920)
Scottish1.6%(51,677)
Arab1.4%(44,429)
Norwegian1.1%(37,669)
Swedish1.1%(36,039)
Subsaharan African0.9%(30,641)
+ 51 more ancestry groups with data
Russian0.9%(28,604)
Dutch0.8%(27,141)
Scotch-Irish0.6%(18,987)
Portuguese0.6%(18,138)
Iranian0.5%(17,138)
Iraqi0.5%(16,369)
British0.5%(15,597)
Welsh0.4%(14,465)
Danish0.4%(13,543)
Greek0.4%(13,020)
Hungarian0.4%(11,971)
West Indian0.4%(11,825)
Ukrainian0.4%(11,730)
French Canadian0.3%(9,478)
Swiss0.2%(8,184)
Czech0.2%(8,134)
Canadian0.2%(6,928)
Lebanese0.2%(6,920)
Brazilian0.2%(6,661)
Lithuanian0.2%(5,691)
Austrian0.2%(5,673)
Armenian0.2%(5,546)
Jamaican0.2%(5,354)
Finnish0.1%(4,364)
Ethiopian0.1%(4,128)
Croatian0.1%(4,126)
Romanian0.1%(4,002)
Syrian0.1%(3,877)
Egyptian0.1%(3,605)
Somali0.1%(3,222)
Serbian0.1%(3,197)
Nigerian0.1%(2,974)
Haitian0.1%(2,945)
Belgian0.1%(2,907)
Turkish0.1%(2,798)
Israeli0.1%(2,745)
Slovak0.1%(2,717)
Palestinian0.1%(2,128)
Bulgarian0.1%(1,779)
Australian0.1%(1,711)
Moroccan0%(1,108)
Slovene0%(1,082)
Trinidadian & Tobagonian0%(1,065)
Kenyan0%(1,003)
Guyanese0%(936)
Latvian0%(687)
Ghanaian0%(660)
Jordanian0%(550)
Macedonian0%(456)
Barbadian0%(267)
Cape Verdean0%(130)
Section 05
Education
High school or higher
89.1%
+6.5 ptssince 2000
from 82.6% in 2000
US average: 89.6%
Section 06
Commute & transportation
Section 07
Work & employment
Women 20-64 in the labor force
75.0%
+1.6 ptssince 2020
from 73.4% in 2020
US average: 74.6%
Section 08
People & community
Computer in household
97.6%
+1.7 ptssince 2020
from 95.9% in 2020
US average: 95.5%
Marital status
Men 15+
Never married40.6%(555,874)
Married50.1%(685,901)
Widowed1.8%(25,326)
Divorced7.5%(102,565)
Women 15+
Never married32.8%(441,929)
Married48.8%(658,612)
Widowed6.9%(92,830)
Divorced11.5%(155,621)
SHARE WITHIN EACH SEX · POPULATION 15 AND OVER · 2024
Section 09
Health coverage
Direct-purchase
12.4%
−0.5 ptssince 2020
from 12.9% in 2020
US average: 13.8%
VA health care
2.7%
+0.1 ptssince 2020
from 2.6% in 2020
US average: 2.2%
Any private
69.3%
+0.2 ptssince 2020
from 69.1% in 2020
US average: 67.1%
Any public
35.1%
+1.5 ptssince 2020
from 33.6% 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)39.4%(72,407)
Gulf War (1990s)29.9%(54,894)
Vietnam era27.8%(51,079)
Korean War3.2%(5,867)
World War II0.9%(1,599)
Share of the 183,791 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
Over time
San Diego, decade by decade
| Year | Population | Median household income | Median home value | Bachelor's degree+ | Diversity score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 2,498,016 | $84,055 | $446,893 | 25.3% | 65.0 |
| 2000 | 2,813,833 | $85,740 | $386,191 | 29.5% | 76.7 |
| 2010 | 3,095,313 | $90,729 | $699,145 | 34.1% | 81.0 |
| 2020 | 3,298,634 | $99,904 | $721,890 | 39.5% | 85.0 |
| 2024 | 3,288,774 | $106,268 | $854,700 | 43.2% | 84.9 |
Census years come from the decennial census and the latest year from the American Community Survey, so part of any change between those two rows can reflect the different surveys. Dollar figures are adjusted for inflation to 2024 dollars; a figure ending in "+" was at the Census Bureau's reporting cap that year. The diversity score runs from 0 to 100; see how it's calculated.
In this metro
Largest cities
San DiegoCENTRAL1,406,106Chula VistaCENTRAL275,533Oceanside170,483Escondido146,030CarlsbadCENTRAL112,260El Cajon101,755Vista98,274San Marcos94,908EncinitasCENTRAL60,736La Mesa59,914Santee58,205National City57,807Poway49,180La Presa34,962Fallbrook32,112Spring Valley CDP (San Diego County)31,969Lemon Grove27,936Imperial Beach25,206Ramona22,634Lakeside CDP (San Diego County)22,447Winter Gardens22,131Rancho San Diego21,272Coronado21,094Casa de Oro-Mount Helix19,765Bostonia16,765Camp Pendleton South15,766Alpine15,180Bonita12,652Solana Beach12,602Valley Center11,119
The 30 most populous of 57 cities and towns in this metro. CENTRAL marks the metro's principal cities.
What's inside
1 component county
Drill deeper
Metros similar to San Diego
Denver
Pop 3,092,037
Baltimore
Pop 2,857,781
Minneapolis
Pop 3,790,295
Austin
Pop 2,620,945
Places similar to San DiegoHead to head
Compare San Diego side by side
SAN DIEGO VS
Denver
Income$107,207+1%
Home value$598,608−30%
Population3,092,037−6%
SEE FULL COMPARISON →
SAN DIEGO VS
Baltimore
Income$103,525−3%
Home value$390,167−54%
Population2,857,781−13%
SEE FULL COMPARISON →
SAN DIEGO VS
Minneapolis
Income$100,194−6%
Home value$375,718−56%
Population3,790,295+15%
SEE FULL COMPARISON →
SAN DIEGO VS
Austin
Income$100,512−5%
Home value$473,482−45%
Population2,620,945−20%
SEE FULL COMPARISON →
Frequently asked
How many people live in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA?
San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA has about 3,288,774 residents according to the 2024 American Community Survey.
What is the median household income in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA?
The typical household in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA earns about $106,268 a year. Half of households make more than that, and half make less.
Is San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA expensive?
In San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA, the median home is worth about $854,700, and the typical rent is about $2,246 a month.
How educated are people in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA?
About 43.2% of adults age 25 and over in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA hold a bachelor's degree or higher.
What is the poverty rate in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA?
About 10.3% of people in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA live below the federal poverty line.
Has San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA grown since 1990?
Yes, San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA has grown since 1990. The population has added about 790,758 residents, a change of about 32 percent over that period.
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DATA: US CENSUS BUREAU ACS 5-YEAR + DECENNIAL CENSUS · METRO ROLLUP OF COMPONENT COUNTIES · UPDATED 2024