San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

in the southwest corner of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, north to its

border Borders are generally defined as geography, geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by polity, political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other administrative divisio ...

with

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634; it is the second-most populous county in California and the fifth-most populous in the United States. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, the second-most populous city in California and the eighth-most populous in the United States. It is the southwesternmost county in the 48

contiguous United States The contiguous United States, also known as the U.S. mainland, officially referred to as the conterminous United States, consists of the 48 adjoining U.S. states and the District of Columbia of the United States in central North America. The te ...

, and is a border county. It is home to 18

Indian reservations An American Indian reservation is an area of land land tenure, held and governed by a List of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States#Description, U.S. federal government-recognized Native American tribal nation, whose gov ...

, the most of any county in the United States. There are 16 military installations of the U.S.

Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

, Marine Corps, and

Coast Guard A coast guard or coastguard is a Maritime Security Regimes, maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with cust ...

in the county. San Diego County comprises the San Diego–Chula Vista–Carlsbad, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is the 17th most populous metropolitan statistical area and the 18th most populous primary statistical area in the United States. San Diego County is also part of the

San Diego–Tijuana San Diego–Tijuana is an international transborder agglomeration, straddling the border of the adjacent North America, North American coastal cities of San Diego, California, United States, and Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. The 2020 popula ...

region, the largest metropolitan area shared between the United States and Mexico. From north to south, San Diego County extends from the southern borders of Orange and Riverside counties to the Mexico–U.S. border and the

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

Tijuana Tijuana is the most populous city of the Mexican state of Baja California, located on the northwestern Pacific Coast of Mexico. Tijuana is the municipal seat of the Tijuana Municipality, the hub of the Tijuana metropolitan area and the most popu ...

and

Tecate Tecate () is a city in Tecate Municipality, Baja California. It is across the Mexico–United States border, Mexico–US border from Tecate, California. As of 2019, the city had a population of 108,860 inhabitants, while the metropolitan area ha ...

Baja California Baja California, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California, is a state in Mexico. It is the northwesternmost of the 32 federal entities of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1952, the area was known as the North Territory of B ...

. From west to east, San Diego County stretches from the Pacific Ocean to its boundary with Imperial County, which separated from it in 1907. San Diego County has more than of coastline. This forms the most densely populated region of the county, which has a mild

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

semiarid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of se ...

and extensive

chaparral Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant plant community, community found primarily in California, southern Oregon, and northern Baja California. It is shaped by a Mediterranean climate (mild wet winters and hot dry summers) and infrequent, high-intens ...

vegetation, similar to the rest of the western portion of

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

. Precipitation and temperature extremes increase to the east, with mountains that receive frost and snow in the winter. These lushly forested mountains receive more rainfall than the average in Southern California, while the desert region of the county lies in a

rain shadow A rain shadow is an area of significantly reduced rainfall behind a mountainous region, on the side facing away from prevailing winds, known as its leeward side. Evaporated moisture from body of water, bodies of water (such as oceans and larg ...

to the east, which extends into the

Desert Southwest The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural list of regions of the United States, region of the United States that includes Arizona and New Mexico, along with adjacen ...

region of North America.

History

The area which is now San Diego County has been inhabited for more than 12,000 years by the

Kumeyaay The Kumeyaay, also known as 'Iipai-Tiipai or by the historical Spanish name Diegueño, is a tribe of Indigenous peoples of the Americas who live at the northern border of Baja California in Mexico and the southern border of California in the Uni ...

(also known as 'Iipai-Tiipai or by the historical Spanish name Diegueño),

Luiseño The Luiseño or Payómkawichum are an Indigenous people of California who, at the time of the first contacts with the Spanish in the 16th century, inhabited the coastal area of southern California, ranging from the present-day southern part of ...

, Cupeño, Cahuilla, and the

Acjachemen The Acjachemen () are an Indigenous people of California. Published maps often identify their ancestral lands as extending from the beach to the mountains, south from what is now known as Aliso Creek (Orange County), Aliso Creek in Orange County, ...

people and their local predecessors. In 1542, the explorer

Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo (; 1497 – January 3, 1543) was a Portuguese maritime explorer best known for investigations of the west coast of North America, undertaken on behalf of the Spanish Empire. He was the first European to explore presen ...

, who may have been born in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

but sailed under the flag of Castile, claimed

San Diego Bay San Diego Bay is a natural harbor and deepwater port in San Diego County, California, near the Mexico–United States border. The bay, which is long and wide, is the third largest of the three large, protected natural bays on California's of ...

for the

Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire, sometimes referred to as the Hispanic Monarchy (political entity), Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy, was a colonial empire that existed between 1492 and 1976. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, it ushered ...

, and he named the site San Miguel. In November 1602, Sebastián Vizcaíno surveyed the harbor and what are now Mission Bay and Point Loma and named the area for Saint Didacus, a Spaniard more commonly known as San Diego. European settlement in what is now San Diego County began with the founding of the San Diego Presidio and

Mission San Diego de Alcalá Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcalá (, lit. The Mission of Saint Didacus of Acalá) was the second Franciscan founded mission in the Californias (after San Fernando de Velicata), a province of New Spain. Located in present-day San Diego, C ...

by Spanish soldiers and clerics in 1769. This county was part of

Alta California Alta California (, ), also known as Nueva California () among other names, was a province of New Spain formally established in 1804. Along with the Baja California peninsula, it had previously comprised the province of , but was made a separat ...

under the

Viceroyalty of New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( ; Nahuatl: ''Yankwik Kaxtillan Birreiyotl''), originally the Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain. It was one of several ...

until the Mexican declaration of independence. From 1821 through 1848, this area was part of

. San Diego County became part of the United States as a result of the

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo officially ended the Mexican–American War (1846–1848). It was signed on 2 February 1848 in the town of Villa de Guadalupe, Mexico City, Guadalupe Hidalgo. After the defeat of its army and the fall of the cap ...

in 1848, ending the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...

. This treaty designated the border to pass through a point one marine league south of the southernmost point of the port of San Diego, ensuring that the United States received all of the natural harbor of San Diego Bay. San Diego County was one of the original counties of California, created at the time of California statehood in 1850. At the time of its establishment in 1850, San Diego County was relatively large, and included all of southernmost California south and east of

Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles and sometimes abbreviated as LA County, is the most populous county in the United States, with 9,663,345 residents estimated in 2023. Its population is greater than that of 40 individua ...

. It included areas of what are now Inyo and San Bernardino Counties, as well as all of what are now Riverside and Imperial Counties. During the later part of the 19th century, there were numerous changes in the boundaries of San Diego County, when various areas were separated to make up the counties mentioned above. The most recent changes were the establishments of Riverside County in 1893 and Imperial County in 1907. Imperial County was also the last county to be established in California, and after this division, San Diego no longer extended from the Pacific Ocean to the

Colorado River The Colorado River () is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The river, the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), 5th longest in the United St ...

, and it no longer covered the entire border between California and Mexico.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of , of which is land and (7.0%) is water. The county is larger in area than the combined states of Rhode Island and Delaware. San Diego County has a varied topography. On its western side is more than of coastline. Most of San Diego between the coast and the Laguna Mountains consists of hills,

mesa A mesa is an isolated, flat-topped elevation, ridge, or hill, bounded from all sides by steep escarpments and standing distinctly above a surrounding plain. Mesas consist of flat-lying soft sedimentary rocks, such as shales, capped by a ...

s, and small

canyon A canyon (; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), gorge or chasm, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tendency t ...

s. Snow-capped (in winter) mountains rise to the east, with the

Sonoran Desert The Sonoran Desert () is a hot desert and ecoregion in North America that covers the northwestern Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur, as well as part of the Southwestern United States (in Arizona and California). It ...

farther to the east. The

Cleveland National Forest Cleveland National Forest is a National forest (United States), U.S. national forest in Southern California that encompasses 460,000 acres/ of inland Montane ecosystems, montane regions. It is approximately 60 miles from the Pacific Ocean, withi ...

is spread across the central portion of the county, while Anza-Borrego Desert State Park occupies most of the northeast. Although the county's western third is primarily urban, the mountains and deserts in the eastern two-thirds are primarily undeveloped backcountry. Most of these backcountry areas are home to a native plant community known as

. San Diego County contains more than of chaparral, twice as much as any other California county. Periodically the area has been subject to

wildfire A wildfire, forest fire, or a bushfire is an unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identified as a ...

s that force thousands to evacuate. The most recent are the December 2017 Lilac Fire, the May 2014 San Diego County wildfires, the Witch Creek Fire in 2007, and the Cedar Fire in 2003. California defines a fire season in which fires are most likely to occur, usually between late July and late October (which are the driest months of the area). Signs posted in numerous spots of the county provide information on the level of threats from fires based on weather conditions.

Regions

Northern San Diego County is known as North County; the eastern suburbs are collectively known as East County; the rural areas located further east and extending to the Imperial County line are known as the Mountain Empire; and the southern suburbs, extending to the Mexican border, are collectively known as the South Bay or South County, including South San Diego, an exclave of the city of San Diego which has no land connection to the rest of the city.

Location

San Diego County is bordered on the northwest by Orange County, on the north by Riverside County; on the east by Imperial County; on the south by

; and on the west by the Pacific Ocean.

Climate

Under the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, the urban and suburban San Diego area straddles areas of

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

(Csa) to the north and

hot semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of sem ...

(BSh) to the south and east. As a result, it is often described as "arid Mediterranean" and "semi-arid steppe." Farther east, arid desert conditions prevail. Western San Diego's climate is characterized by warm, dry summers and mild winters with most of the annual precipitation falling between November and March. The city has mild, mostly dry weather, with an average of 201 days above and low rainfall ( annually). Summer temperatures are generally warm, with average highs of and lows of . Temperatures exceed only four days a year. Most rainfall occurs from November to April. Winter temperatures are mild, with average high temperatures of and lows of . The climate in the San Diego area, like much of California, often varies significantly over short geographical distances resulting in

microclimate A microclimate (or micro-climate) is a local set of atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric conditions that differ from those in the surrounding areas, often slightly but sometimes substantially. The term may refer to areas as small as a few square m ...

s. In San Diego's case this is mainly due to the city's topography (the Bay, and the numerous hills, mountains, and canyons). Frequently, particularly during the "May gray/ June gloom" period, a thick

marine layer A marine layer is an air mass that develops over the surface of a large body of water, such as an ocean or large lake, in the presence of a Inversion (meteorology), temperature inversion. The inversion itself is usually initiated by the cooling ...

will keep the air cool and damp within a few miles of the coast, but will yield to bright cloudless sunshine approximately inland. This happens every year in May and June. Even in the absence of June gloom, inland areas tend to experience much more significant temperature variations than coastal areas, where the ocean serves as a moderating influence. Thus, for example, downtown San Diego averages January lows of and August highs of . The city of El Cajon, just northeast of downtown San Diego, averages January lows of and August highs of . Julian, in the mountains, has an average January low of and August high of . Borrego Springs, in the Colorado Desert, has an average January low of and August high of . Rainfall along the coast averages about of precipitation annually, which occurs mainly during the cooler months of December through April. Though there are few wet days per month during the rainy period, rainfall can be heavy when it does occur. However, the rainfall is greater in the higher elevations of San Diego. Some of the higher areas of San Diego, such as Palomar Mountain and the Laguna Mountains, receive of rain per year, supporting lush forests similar to the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada ( ) is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primari ...

and California Coast Range. The Colorado Desert portion of the county lies to the east of the mountains, which receives the least amount of precipitation; Borrego Springs, the largest population center in the desert, averages only , with a high evaporation rate.

Adjacent counties and municipalities

National protected areas

* Cabrillo National Monument *

(part) * San Diego National Wildlife Refuge Complex, which includes ** San Diego National Wildlife Refuge ** San Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge ** Tijuana Slough National Wildlife Refuge ** Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge (located in Orange County) There are seven official

wilderness area Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural) are Earth's natural environments that have not been significantly modified by human activity, or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally ...

s in San Diego County that are part of the

National Wilderness Preservation System The National Wilderness Preservation System (NWPS) of the United States protects federal government of the United States, federally managed Wilderness, wilderness areas designated for preservation in their natural condition. Activity on formally ...

(NWPS). Four of these are integral parts of Cleveland National Forest, whereas three are managed by the

Bureau of Land Management The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior responsible for administering federal lands, U.S. federal lands. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the BLM oversees more than of land, or one ...

(BLM). Some of these extend into neighboring counties (as indicated below): * Otay Mountain Wilderness (BLM) * Pine Creek Wilderness (Cleveland National Forest) * Hauser Wilderness (Cleveland National Forest) * Carrizo Gorge Wilderness (BLM) * Sawtooth Mountains Wilderness (BLM) * Agua Tibia Wilderness (Cleveland National Forest) partly in Riverside County * San Mateo Canyon Wilderness (Cleveland National Forest) mostly in Riverside County

State parks and protected areas

* Anza-Borrego Desert State Park (majority) *

Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve is a coastal state park in San Diego, California. The reserve is one of the wildest stretches of land on the Southern California coast, covering . It is bordered immediately to the south by Torrey Pines Golf Co ...

Cuyamaca Rancho State Park Cuyamaca Rancho State Park is a state park in inland San Diego County, California, United States, located east of the metropolitan area of San Diego, California, San Diego. The park is situated near the southernmost reaches of the Cleveland Nat ...

* Palomar Mountain State Park * San Pasqual Battlefield State Historic Park * Old Town San Diego State Historic Park * Border Field State Park * Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve * San Onofre State Beach * Moonlight State Beach * Carlsbad State Beach * South Carlsbad State Beach * Leucadia State Beach * San Elijo State Beach * Cardiff State Beach * Torrey Pines State Beach * Silver Strand State Beach

Mountains

Cuyamaca Mountains The Cuyamaca Mountains (Kumeyaay language, Kumeyaay: ''‘Ekwiiyemak''), locally the Cuyamacas, are a mountain range of the Peninsular Ranges in San Diego County, California. The mountain range runs roughly northwest to southeast. The Laguna Mount ...

* In-Ko-Pah Mountains *

Jacumba Mountains The Jacumba Mountains are a mountain range of the Peninsular Ranges in eastern San Diego County, California, near the Mexico–United States border The international border separating Mexico and the United States extends from the Pacific O ...

* Laguna Mountains * Palomar Mountain * Peninsular Ranges * San Ysidro Mountains *

Santa Ana Mountains The Santa Ana Mountains are a short peninsular mountain range along the coast of Southern California in the United States. They extend for approximately southeast of the Los Angeles Basin largely along the border between Orange and Riversid ...

* Volcan Mountains There are 236 mountain summits and peaks in San Diego County including: * Black Mountain * Cuyamaca Peak (second highest point in San Diego County) * Cowles Mountain (highest point in the city of San Diego) * Mount Helix * Hot Springs Mountain (highest point in San Diego County) * Margarita Peak * Mount Soledad * Stonewall Mountain * El Cajon Mountain * Woodson Mountain (known for Potato Chip Rock)

Bays and lagoons

Buena Vista Lagoon Buena Vista Lagoon is a freshwater lagoon adjacent to the Pacific Ocean in the South Coast (California), South Coast region of Southern California within the North County, San Diego, North County region of San Diego County, California, San Diego ...

* Agua Hedionda Lagoon * Batiquitos Lagoon * San Elijo Lagoon * Los Peñasquitos Lagoon * Mission Bay *

Lakes

* Lake Cuyamaca * Lake Hodges *Santee Lakes * Sweetwater Reservoir * Upper Otay Reservoir * Lower Otay Reservoir *Lake Wohlford *

El Capitan Reservoir El Capitan Reservoir is a reservoir (water), reservoir in central San Diego County, California. It is in the Cuyamaca Mountains, about northeast of the city of San Diego, California, San Diego and two miles northwest of the town of Alpine, Califo ...

*Sutherland Reservoir * Lake Henshaw * Lake Murray * San Vicente Reservoir * Lake Jennings *

Barrett Dam Barrett Dam is a concrete arch-gravity dam in southern San Diego County, California, United States, forming Barrett Lake on Cottonwood Creek. The dam is part of the city of San Diego's local water supply system. Overview and operations Barrett ...

*Natural Rock Tanks *Little Laguna Lake *Big Laguna Lake *Big Lake *Twin Lakes *Jean Lake *Lost Lake *Swan Lake * Lake Miramar * Lake Poway * Dixon Lake *Lindo Lake

Rivers

* San Diego River * San Luis Rey River *

San Dieguito River The San Dieguito River is a major river in Southern California, United States. Its headwaters rise on the southern slope of the Volcan Mountains in San Diego County, and the river flows generally southwest for ,U.S. Geological Survey. National ...

* Sweetwater River * Otay River * Tijuana River ** Tijuana River Mouth State Marine Conservation Area * Santa Margarita River

Forests

* Marys Grove

Environmental risks

San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station 2014-07-09

More than 1,700 tons of

radioactive waste Radioactive waste is a type of hazardous waste that contains radioactive material. It is a result of many activities, including nuclear medicine, nuclear research, nuclear power generation, nuclear decommissioning, rare-earth mining, and nuclear ...

are stored at San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, which sits in an area where there is a record of past

tsunami A tsunami ( ; from , ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and underwater explosions (including detonations, ...

Demographics

In the 1847 census of San Diego County ordered by Richard Barnes Mason, it found that 2,287 people lived in the county, to include Native Americans, Pacific Islanders, and African Americans. Since at least 2014, San Diego County is the fifth most populous county in the United States. In 2000, only about 3% of San Diego County residents left the county for work while 40,000 people commuted into the metropolitan area.

2020 census

Racial and Ethnic Composition since 1960

Race

The 2010 United States census reported that San Diego County had a population of 3,095,313. The racial makeup of San Diego County was 1,981,442 (64.0%)

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 158,213 (5.1%)

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 26,340 (0.9%) Native American, 336,091 (10.9%) Asian (4.7% Filipino, 1.6% Vietnamese, 1.4% Chinese, 3.2% Other Asian), 15,337 (0.5%)

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 419,465 (13.6%) from other races, and 158,425 (5.0%) from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 991,348 people (32.0%). Including those of mixed race, the total number of residents with Asian ancestry was 407,984. As of 2009, the racial makeup of the county was 79.4%

White American White Americans (sometimes also called Caucasian Americans) are Americans who identify as white people. In a more official sense, the United States Census Bureau, which collects demographic data on Americans, defines "white" as " person having ...

, 5.6%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

, 1% Native American, 10.4% Asian, 0.5%

, 10.3% from other races, and 3.6% from two or more races. 31.3% of the population were

or Latino of any race. 67.0% spoke only English at home; 21.9% spoke Spanish, 3.1% Tagalog and 1.2% Vietnamese.

Other demographic data

As of 2018, the Census Bureau estimates there were 3,343,364 people, 1,067,846 households, and 663,449 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 1,142,245 housing units at an average density of . In 2000, there were 994,677 households, out of which 33.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.7% were married couples living together, 11.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.3% were non-families. 24.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.73 and the average family size was 3.29. As of 2000, 25.7% of the population was under the age of 18, 11.30% was from 18 to 24, 32.0% from 25 to 44, 19.8% from 45 to 64, and 11.2% was 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.7 males. In 2012, it was estimated that there were 198,000 unauthorized immigrants; the origin of the plurality of them is

. In 2018, the median household income was $70,824; most people spend more than 30% of their income on housing costs. In August of that year, the median home price was $583,000; this is lower than the median home price in Los Angeles, and Orange counties.

Income

According to the 2000 census, the median income for a household in the county was $47,067, and the median income for a family was $53,438. Males had a median income of $36,952 versus $30,356 for females. The per capita income for the county was $22,926. About 8.9% of families and 12.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.5% of those under age 18 and 6.8% of those age 65 or over. Much of the county's high-income residents are concentrated in the northern part of the city of San Diego. The San Diego metropolitan area has two places with both a population of over 50,000 and a per capita income of over $40,000: Carlsbad and

Encinitas Encinitas (Spanish language, Spanish for "Small Oaks") is a beach city in the North County (San Diego area), North County area of San Diego County, California, United States. Located in Southern California, it is approximately north of San Di ...

. The county's largest continuous high-income urban area is a triangle from a first point on the northern edge of Carlsbad, a second point southeast of Escondido, and a third point on the southern edge of

La Jolla La Jolla ( , ) is a hilly, seaside neighborhood in San Diego, California, occupying of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean. The population reported in the 2010 census was 46,781. The climate is mild, with an average daily temperature o ...

. It contains all or most of the cities of Carlsbad, Encinitas, Solana Beach, Del Mar, and Poway in addition to a substantial portion of northern San Diego.U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Tables B01003 and B19025
U.S. Census website
Retrieved October 26, 2013.

Homelessness

According to a point-in-time count taken for the San Diego Regional Task Force on Homelessness, there were 8,576 homeless individuals on January 6, 2018, a 6% decrease from 2017. 3,586 were sheltered, and 4,990 were not. 4,912 (75.3%) were in the city of San Diego. North County Inland had 1,153 (13.4%), North County Coastal with 822 homeless (9.6%), 602 (7%) were found in South County, and 1,087 (12.7%) in East County.

Religion

According to a 2014

Pew Research Center The Pew Research Center (also simply known as Pew) is a nonpartisan American think tank based in Washington, D.C. It provides information on social issues, public opinion, and demographic trends shaping the United States and the world. It ...

survey, 68% of adults in the county were

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

, of whom 32% were

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. 27% were religiously unaffiliated, and 5% adhered to a non-Christian faith. According to the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

, in 2010, the largest faith in the county was Catholicism, followed by non-denominational Christians, and

Mormons Mormons are a Religious denomination, religious and ethnocultural group, cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's d ...

. In 2014, the county had 978 religious organizations, the seventh most out of all US counties.

Immigration data

In 2014 according to

, there are about 170,000 undocumented immigrants living in the region. San Diego has been a destination for trafficked minors from Mexico and the Philippines. In 2018, the

United States Border Patrol The United States Border Patrol (USBP) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and is responsible for secu ...

caught an average of over a hundred individuals crossing the border illegally each day.

Economy

San Diego County and Imperial County are part of the Southern Border Region, one of nine such regions. As a regional economy, the Southern Border Region is the smallest but most economically diverse region in the state. However, the two counties maintain weak relations and have little in common aside from their common border. The region has a high

cost of living The cost of living is the cost of maintaining a certain standard of living for an individual or a household. Changes in the cost of living over time can be measured in a cost-of-living index. Cost of living calculations are also used to compare t ...

. This includes the highest cost of water in the United States. , San Diego County is within the top ten highest cost of rent in the United States; this has led to people moving out of the county.

Agriculture

San Diego County's

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

industry was worth $1.85 billion in 2013, and is one of the top five egg producing counties in the United States. In 2013, San Diego County also had the most small farms of any county in the United States, and had the 19th largest agricultural economy of any county in the United States. According to the San Diego Farm Bureau, San Diego County is the United States' leading producer of avocados and nursery crops. Until the early 20th century, San Diego County had a thriving wine industry; however the 1916 Charles Hatfield flood was the beginning of the end of the industry which included the destruction of the Daneri winery in Otay Valley. , there are roughly one hundred vineyards and wineries in San Diego County. By the 20192020 statistical survey, California Department of Food & Agriculture (cdfa) found that the nursery trade dominated the county's agriculture by dollar value. Second place went to avocado production.

Breweries

The county has been called "the Craft Beer Capital of America". Brewing has been one of the fastest-growing business sectors with local breweries ranking among the 50 largest craft brewers in the United States and breweries that are consistently rated among the top breweries in the world.

Cannabis

Commercial operations to grow, test, or sell cannabis are not allowed in the unincorporated areas of the county. Companies must be licensed by the local agency to operate and each city or county may authorize none or only some of these activities. Local governments may not prohibit adults, who are in compliance with state laws, from growing, using, or transporting marijuana for personal use.

Tourism

Tourism plays a large part in the economics of the San Diego metropolitan area. Tourists are drawn to the region for a well rounded experience, everything from shopping to surfing as well as its mild climate. Its numerous tourist destinations include Westfield UTC, Seaport Village, and Fashion Valley for shopping.

SeaWorld San Diego SeaWorld San Diego is a theme park in Mission Bay Park in San Diego, California. It is a marine mammal park, oceanarium, public aquarium, and marine animal rehabilitation center. SeaWorld, the theme park's proprietor, is owned and operated by Un ...

and Legoland California as amusement parks. Golf courses such as Torrey Pines Golf Course and Balboa Park Golf Course. Museums such as the Museum of Us, the San Diego Museum of Art, Fleet Science Center, San Diego Natural History Museum, USS ''Midway'' Museum, and the

San Diego Air & Space Museum The San Diego Air & Space Museum (SDASM) is an aviation and space exploration museum in San Diego, California. It is located in Balboa Park (San Diego), Balboa Park and is housed in the former Ford Building (San Diego), Ford Building, which is li ...

. Historical places such as the Gaslamp Quarter, Balboa Park and Old Town San Diego State Historic Park. Wildlife refuges, zoos, and aquariums such as the

San Diego Zoo The San Diego Zoo is a zoo in San Diego, California, United States, located in Balboa Park (San Diego), Balboa Park. It began with a collection of animals left over from the 1915 Panama–California Exposition that were brought together by its ...

San Diego Zoo Safari Park The San Diego Zoo Safari Park is a zoo and safari park in Escondido, California, Escondido, a suburb of the city of San Diego, California, located in San Pasqual Valley, San Diego, San Pasqual Valley. Opened in 1972, the park operates as a sis ...

, Birch Aquarium, Living Coast Discovery Center, and the San Diego-La Jolla Underwater Park. Outdoor destinations include the Peninsular Ranges for hiking, biking, mountainboarding and

trail riding Trail riding is riding outdoors on trails, bridle paths, and forest roads, but not on roads regularly used by motorised traffic. A trail ride can be of any length, including a long distance, multi-day trip. It originated with horse riding, and ...

Surfing Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suita ...

locations include Swami's, Stone Steps Beach, Torrey Pines State Beach, Cardiff State Beach, San Onofre State Beach and the southern portion of

Black's Beach Black's Beach is a secluded section of beach beneath the bluffs of Torrey Pines on the Pacific Ocean in La Jolla, a community of San Diego, California. It is officially part of Torrey Pines State Beach. The northern portion of Black's Beach i ...

. The region is host to the second largest cruise ship industry in California which generates an estimated $2 million annually from purchases of food, fuel, supplies, and maintenance services. In 2008, the Port of San Diego hosted 252 ship calls and more than 800,000 passengers.

Culture

The culture of San Diego is influenced heavily by American and Mexican

culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

s due to its position as a border town, its large

population, and its history as part of

Spanish America Spanish America refers to the Spanish territories in the Americas during the Spanish colonization of the Americas. The term "Spanish America" was specifically used during the territories' Spanish Empire, imperial era between 15th and 19th centur ...

and

. The area's longtime association with the U.S. military also contributes to its culture. Present-day culture includes many historical and tourist attractions, a thriving musical and theatrical scene, numerous notable special events, a varied cuisine, and a reputation as one of America's premier centers of craft brewing.

Sports

Sports in San Diego County includes major professional league teams, other highest-level professional league teams,

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

teams, and

college athletics College sports or college athletics encompasses amateur sports played by non- professional, collegiate and university-level student athletes in competitive sports and games. College sports have led to many college rivalries. College sports ...

. San Diego County hosts two teams of the major professional leagues, the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) and San Diego FC of

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

(MLS). The county is home to several universities whose teams compete in various

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

sports, most notably the

San Diego State Aztecs The San Diego State Aztecs are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent San Diego State University (SDSU). The university fields 17 varsity teams (6 men's, 11 women's) in National Collegiate Athle ...

. The Farmers Insurance Open, a professional golf tournament on the

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also known as the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Champion ...

, is played annually at Torrey Pines Golf Course. San Diego County hosted the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL)'s

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego, California from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franch ...

from 1961 to 2017, when the team relocated to the

Greater Los Angeles Greater Los Angeles is the most populous metropolitan area in the U.S. state of California, encompassing five counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino County and Riverside County in the eas ...

area (now the

Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC W ...

). The county also hosted the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA)'s San Diego Rockets from 1967 to 1971 (now the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA) ...

) and San Diego Clippers from 1978 to 1984 (now the

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. The ...

). San Diego County has never hosted a

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL) franchise, though it hosted the San Diego Mariners of the now-defunct

World Hockey Association The World Hockey Association () was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972–73 WHA season, 1972 to 1978–79 WHA season, 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (N ...

(WHA) from 1974 to 1977. Currently, there is no NFL, NBA, or NHL team in the county. San Diego is the largest American city not to have won a championship in a "Big Four" major professional league. The city does have one major league title to its name: the 1963 American Football League (AFL) Championship won by the San Diego Chargers, when the AFL was an independent entity prior to the

AFL–NFL merger The AFL–NFL merger was the merger of the two major professional American football leagues in the United States at the time: the National Football League (NFL) and the American Football League (AFL). It paved the way for the combined league, wh ...

in 1970. Due to its lackluster record on winning professional championships, and in some cases retaining professional teams, some San Diego sports fans believe there is a curse on professional sports in the city.

Government

San Diego City and County Administration Building

The government of San Diego County is defined and authorized under the

Constitution of California The Constitution of California () is the primary organizing law for the U.S. state of California, describing the duties, powers, structures and functions of the government of California. California's constitution was drafted in both English ...

California law The law of California consists of several levels, including Constitutional law, constitutional, Statutory law, statutory, and regulatory law, as well as case law. The California Codes form the general statutory law, and most state agency regulat ...

, and the Charter of the County of San Diego. Much of the

government of California The government of California is the governmental structure of the U.S. state of California as established by the Constitution of California, California Constitution. California uses the separation of powers system to structure its government. It ...

is in practice the responsibility of county governments such as the government of San Diego County. The County government provides countywide services such as elections and voter registration, law enforcement, jails, vital records, property records, tax collection, public health, and social services. In addition the County serves as the local government for all unincorporated areas. Some chartered cities such as

and Chula Vista provide municipal services such as police, public safety, libraries, parks and recreation, and zoning. Other cities such as Del Mar and Vista arrange to have the County provide some or all of these services on a contract basis. The county government is composed of the elected five-member

San Diego County Board of Supervisors The San Diego County Board of Supervisors is the Board of supervisors, legislative and executive branch of the Government of San Diego County, California, county government of San Diego County, California. Though officially Non-partisan democra ...

, several other elected offices and officers and numerous county departments and entities under the supervision of the Chief Administrative Officer such as the Probation Department. In addition, several entities of the government of California have jurisdiction conterminous with San Diego County, such as the San Diego Superior Court. Under its foundational Charter, the five-member elected Board of Supervisors is the county legislature. The board operates in a legislative, executive, and

quasi-judicial A quasi-judicial body is a non-judicial body which can interpret law. It is an entity such as an arbitration panel or tribunal board, which can be a public administrative agency (not part of the judicial branch of government) but also a contra ...

capacity. As a legislative authority, it can pass ordinances for the unincorporated areas (ordinances that affect the whole county, like posting of restaurant ratings, must be ratified by the individual city). As an executive body, it can tell the county departments what to do, and how to do it. As a quasi-judicial body, the Board is the final venue of appeal in the local planning process. As of January 2025, the members of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors are: For several decades, ending in 2013, all five supervisors were Republican,

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, graduates of

San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Diego, California, United States. Founded in 1897, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CS ...

, and had been in office since 1995 or earlier. The Board was criticized for this homogeneity, which was made possible because supervisors draw their own district lines and, until 2010, were not subject to term limits.) That pattern was broken in 2013 when Slater-Price retired; she was replaced by Democrat Dave Roberts, who won election to the seat in November 2012 and was inaugurated in January 2013. The San Diego County Code is the codified law of San Diego County in the form of ordinances passed by the Board of Supervisors. The Administrative Code establishes the powers and duties of all officers and the procedures and rules of operation of all departments. The county motto is "The noblest motive is the public good." County government offices are housed in the historic County Administration Center Building, constructed in 1935–1938 with funding from the

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; from 1935 to 1939, then known as the Work Projects Administration from 1939 to 1943) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to car ...

Politics

Voting

With its prominent military presence, San Diego County historically has been a Republican Party stronghold, but in recent years it has come to favor the Democratic Party. The Republican presidential nominee carried the county in every election from

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...

through

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

, except in

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

, when

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

won a 37% plurality of the vote. In

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

became the first Democratic presidential candidate to win a majority of votes in San Diego County since

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Democratic candidates continued to carry the county in

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

and

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

's 2020 margin of victory in the county, 22.8%, was the largest for a Democratic candidate since

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King Edward VIII, following the death of his father, George V, at Sandringham House. * January 28 – Death and state funer ...

, though it was narrower than Biden's statewide margin of 29.2%. The city of San Diego itself is more Democratic than the county average and has largely voted Democrat in each presidential election since 1992; certain areas and cities within the county are swing areas and have split their votes in post-2000 elections. The county's Republican population gradually increases the further one travels away from downtown; the Republican strongholds include

Coronado Coronado may refer to: People * Coronado (surname) Coronado is a Spanish surname derived from the village of Cornado, near A Coruña, Galicia. People with the name * Francisco Vásquez de Coronado (1510–1554), Spanish explorer often referred t ...

, the regions of

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

and East County, the eastern backlands, and remote mountain communities such as Julian. While these areas have traditionally voted Republican, all also contain varied electorates of Democrats, Libertarians, and independents. A unique feature of the political scene is the use of Golden Hall, a convention facility next to San Diego's City Hall. The County Registrar of Voters rents the hall to distribute election results. Supporters and political observers gather to watch the results come in; supporters of the various candidates parade around the hall, carrying signs and chanting; candidates give their victory and concession speeches and host parties for campaign volunteers and donors at the site; and television stations broadcast live from the floor of the convention center. The atmosphere at Election Central on the evening of election day has been compared to the voting portion of a political party national convention. On November 4, 2008, San Diego County voted 53.71% for Proposition 8, which amended the California Constitution, effectively placing a ban on same-sex marriages; this proposition would restore Proposition 22, which was overturned by a ruling from the

California Supreme Court The Supreme Court of California is the highest and final court of appeals in the courts of the U.S. state of California. It is headquartered in San Francisco at the Earl Warren Building, but it regularly holds sessions in Los Angeles and Sac ...

. However, the City of San Diego, along with the North County coastal cities of Del Mar,

, and Solana Beach voted against Proposition 8. La Mesa was a virtual tie for Prop. 8 support, while Carlsbad supported the referendum by only a 2% margin.

Federal and state representation

In the U.S. House of Representatives, San Diego County is split between five congressional districts: * * * * and * . In the

California State Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature (the upper house being the California State Senate). The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, Califor ...

, San Diego County is split between seven legislative districts: * , * , * , * , * , * , and * . In the

California State Senate The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature (the lower house being the California State Assembly). The state senate convenes, along with the state assembly, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. ...

, San Diego County is split between four legislative districts: * , * , * , and * .

Crime

The following table includes the number of incidents reported and the rate per 1,000 persons for each type of offense.

Cities by population and crime rates

Education

San Diego County contains three public state universities:

University of California, San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego in communications material, formerly and colloquially UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California, United States. Es ...

(UC San Diego);

(SDSU); and California State University, San Marcos (CSUSM). Major private universities in the county include

University of San Diego The University of San Diego (USD) is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in San Diego, California, United States. Chartered in 1949 as the independent San Diego College for Women and San Diego University ...

(USD), Point Loma Nazarene University (PLNU),

Alliant International University Alliant International University is a Private university, private For-profit higher education in the United States, for-profit university with its main campus in San Diego, five additional campuses in California (San Francisco, Los Angeles, Irv ...

(AIU), and

National University A national university is mainly a university created or managed by a government, but which may also at the same time operate autonomously without direct control by the state. In the United States, the term "national university" connotes the highe ...

. It also includes three law schools, the USD School of Law,

California Western School of Law California Western School of Law is a private law school in San Diego, California. It is one of two successor organizations to California Western University, the other being Alliant International University. The school was founded in 1924, app ...

, and the Thomas Jefferson School of Law. Within the county there are 24 public elementary school districts, 6 high school districts, and 12 unified school districts. There are also five community college districts. Several cities in the county maintain public library systems, including the city of San Diego itself. The San Diego County Library serves all other areas of the county. In 2010 the county library had 33 branches and two bookmobiles; circulated over 10.7 million books, CDs, DVDs, and other material formats; recorded 5.7 million visits to library branches; and hosted 21,132 free programs and events. The San Diego County Library is one of the 25 busiest libraries in the nation as measured by materials circulated.

Community College Districts

* Grossmont–Cuyamaca Community College District * MiraCosta Community College District * Palomar Community College District * San Diego Community College District * Southwestern Community College District

K-12 schools

;School districts: K-12 unified: * Borrego Springs Unified School District * Bonsall Unified School District * Carlsbad Unified School District * Coronado Unified School District * Mountain Empire Unified School District * Oceanside Unified School District * Poway Unified School District * Ramona Unified School District *

San Diego Unified School District San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) is a public school district based in San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 ...

* San Marcos Unified School District * Vista Unified School District * Valley Center-Pauma Unified School District * Warner Unified School District Secondary: * Escondido Union High School District * Fallbrook Union High School District * Grossmont Union High School District * Julian Union High School District *

San Dieguito Union High School District San Dieguito Union High School District (SDUHSD) is a public school district based in northern San Diego County, California. Established in 1936, the district serves over 13,000 students in five middle schools, five comprehensive high schools, ...

* Sweetwater Union High School District Elementary: * Alpine Union Elementary School District * Cajon Valley Union Elementary School District * Cardiff Elementary School District * Chula Vista Elementary School District *

Dehesa Elementary School District Dehesa School District is a public school district based in the rural East County, San Diego, East County area of San Diego County, California, United States. It consists of one school serving grades kindergarten through 8th grade, including TK/ ...

Military

is the headquarters of the U.S. Navy's Eleventh Naval District and is the Navy's principal location for West Coast and Pacific Ocean operations.

Naval Base San Diego Naval Base San Diego is a United States Navy base in San Diego, California. It is the world's second largest surface ship naval base. Naval Base San Diego is the principal homeport of the United States Pacific Fleet, consisting of over 50 ships ...

is principal home to the Pacific Fleet (although the

headquarters Headquarters (often referred to as HQ) notes the location where most or all of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. The term is used in a wide variety of situations, including private sector corporations, non-profits, mil ...

is located in

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Reci ...

). NAS North Island is located on the north side of

, and is home to Headquarters for Naval Air Forces and Naval Air Force Pacific, the bulk of the Pacific Fleet's helicopter squadrons, and part of the West Coast

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and hangar facilities for supporting, arming, deploying and recovering carrier-based aircraft, shipborne aircraft. Typically it is the ...

fleet. The Naval Special Warfare Center is the primary training center for SEALs, and is also located on Coronado. The area contains five major naval bases and the U.S. Marines base

Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton is the major West Coast base of the United States Marine Corps and is one of the largest Marine Corps bases in the United States. It is on the Southern California coast in San Diego County and is bordered by ...

. Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton is the major West Coast base of the United States Marine Corps and serves as its prime amphibious training base. It is located on the

coast, bordered by Oceanside to the south, San Clemente to the north, and Fallbrook to the east.

U.S. Navy

, also known as 32nd Street Naval Station * Naval Amphibious Base Coronado * Naval Air Station North Island * Naval Base Point Loma, which includes the Submarine Base and the Fleet Antisubmarine Warfare Training Center * Naval Information Warfare Systems Command (NAVWAR) *

Naval Medical Center San Diego Naval Medical Center San Diego (NMCSD) is a United States Navy hospital in San Diego, California. It is also known as Bob Wilson Naval Hospital and informally referred to as "Balboa Hospital", and "The Pink Palace", due to the stucco of the first ...

, also known as Bob Wilson Naval Hospital and Balboa Naval Hospital

U.S. Marine Corps

* Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton *

Marine Corps Air Station Miramar Marine Corps Air Station Miramar (MCAS Miramar) is a United States Marine Corps installation that is home to the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, which is the aviation element of the I Marine Expeditionary Force. It is located in Miramar, a commu ...

* Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego

U.S. Coast Guard

* Coast Guard Air Station San Diego

U.S. Air Force

*San Diego Air National Guard Station, which is home to the 147th Combat Communications Squadron.

Media

San Diego County is primarily served by media in San Diego, including TV and radio stations based in the city.

Newspapers

San Diego County is served by many newspapers. The major regional paper is ''

The San Diego Union-Tribune ''The San Diego Union-Tribune'' is a metropolitan daily newspaper published in San Diego, California, that has run since 1868. Its name derives from a 1992 merger between the two major daily newspapers at the time, ''The San Diego Union'' and ...

'', also known as ''U-T San Diego'' or just "The U-T" by locals, is ranked 23rd in the country (by daily circulation) as of March 2013. The ''Union-Tribune'' serves both San Diego County and neighboring Imperial County. The former ''

North County Times The ''North County Times'' was a local newspaper in San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of U ...

'', based in Escondido and serving portions of Riverside County and North County, was purchased by the Union-Tribune in 2012 and closed down. For about a year after absorbing the North County Times the Union-Tribune published a North County edition, but the regional edition was later abandoned. The ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' is also delivered in portions of the county. Many of the area's cities, towns and neighborhoods have their own local newspapers, such as the ''Coronado Eagle''; the ''Union-Tribune'' acquired eight local weekly publications in 2013 and has continued to publish them as independent local newspapers, including the ''La Jolla Light''. The ''San Diego Daily Transcript'' reports business and legal news. Privately-published papers, like the ''Military Press Newspaper'' and the ''Navy Dispatch'', serve the military community both on and off base.

Other media

County Television Network is a

public-access television Public-access television (sometimes called community-access television) is traditionally a form of non-commercial mass media where the general public can create content television programming which is Narrowcasting, narrowcast through cable tele ...

cable channel, offering a "hometown blend of

C-SPAN Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American Cable television in the United States, cable and Satellite television in the United States, satellite television network, created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a Non ...

, the Lifetime, History, Travel, and Discovery channels" for the county, and funded by fees paid by cable companies.

Transportation

Major highways

Interstate 5 Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels thro ...

* Interstate 8 *

Interstate 15 Interstate 15 (I-15) is a major Interstate Highway in the Western United States, running through Southern California and the Intermountain West. I-15 begins near the Mexican border in San Diego County and stretches north to Alberta, Ca ...

* Interstate 805 * U.S. Route 80 (decommissioned) *

U.S. Route 101 U.S. Route 101, or U.S. Highway 101 (US 101), is a major north–south highway that traverses the states of California, Oregon, and Washington on the West Coast of the United States. It is part of the United States Numbered Highway Syst ...

(decommissioned) * California 11

State Route 11 * California 15

State Route 15 * California 52

State Route 52 * California 54

State Route 54 * California 56

State Route 56 * California 67

State Route 67 * California 75

State Route 75 * California 76

State Route 76 * California 78

State Route 78 * California 79

State Route 79 * California 94

State Route 94 * California 125

State Route 125 * California 163

State Route 163 * California 188

State Route 188 * California 282

State Route 282 * California 905

State Route 905

Border crossings to Mexico

San Ysidro Port of Entry __NOTOC__ The San Ysidro Port of Entry (aka the San Ysidro Land Port of Entry or the San Ysidro LPOE) is the largest land border crossing between San Diego and Tijuana, and the fourth- busiest land border crossing in the world (second-busiest exc ...

* Otay Mesa Port of Entry * Otay Mesa East Port of Entry (projected opening 2028) * Tecate Port of Entry

Railroads

* (

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

)

Pacific Surfliner The ''Pacific Surfliner'' is a passenger train service serving the communities on the coast of Southern California between San Diego and San Luis Obispo. The ''Pacific Surfliner'' is Amtrak's third-busiest service (exceeded in ridership only ...

* Coaster * Metrolink *

San Diego and Arizona Eastern Railway The San Diego and Arizona Eastern Railway is a short-line American railroad founded in 1932 as the successor to the San Diego and Arizona Railway (SD&A), which was founded in 1906 by entrepreneur John D. Spreckels. Dubbed "The Impossible Railr ...

* San Diego and Imperial Valley Railroad

Light rail and local transit

* San Diego Trolley *

San Diego Metropolitan Transit System The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) is a public transit service provider for San Diego County, California. The agency operates a transit system that includes the San Diego MTS bus system, San Diego Trolley, and Rapid (San Diego), Rap ...

(MTS) * Sprinter * North County Transit District (NCTD)

The Port of San Diego

* Embarcadero

Airports

Communities

As of the 2020 census, San Diego County includes 18 incorporated cities, 18

, and 39

census-designated places A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...

Cities

Census-designated places (CDPs)

* Alpine * Bonita * Bonsall * Borrego Springs * Bostonia *

Boulevard A boulevard is a type of broad avenue planted with rows of trees, or in parts of North America, any urban highway or wide road in a commercial district. In Europe, boulevards were originally circumferential roads following the line of former ...

* Campo * Camp Pendleton Mainside * Camp Pendleton South * Casa de Oro-Mount Helix * Crest * Del Dios * Descanso * Elfin Forest * Eucalyptus Hills * Fairbanks Ranch * Fallbrook * Granite Hills * Harbison Canyon * Harmony Grove * Hidden Meadows * Jacumba Hot Springs * Jamul * Julian * Lake San Marcos * Lakeside * La Presa * Mount Laguna * Pala * Pine Valley * Potrero *

Rainbow A rainbow is an optical phenomenon caused by refraction, internal reflection and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a continuous spectrum of light appearing in the sky. The rainbow takes the form of a multicoloured circular ...

* Ramona * Rancho San Diego * Rancho Santa Fe * San Diego Country Estates * Spring Valley * Valley Center * Winter Gardens

Unincorporated communities

* 4S Ranch * Agua Caliente Springs * Ballena *

Banner A banner can be a flag or another piece of cloth bearing a symbol, logo, slogan or another message. A flag whose design is the same as the shield in a coat of arms (but usually in a square or rectangular shape) is called a banner of arms. Also, ...

* Casa de Oro * Cuyamaca * De Luz * De Luz Heights *

Dehesa A ''dehesa'' () is a multifunctional, agrosylvopastoral system (a type of agroforestry) and cultural landscape of southern and central Spain and southern Portugal; in Portugal, it is known as a ''montado''. Its name comes from the Latin ''defe ...

* Dulzura * East Otay Mesa * Flinn Springs * Foster * Guatay * Jesmond Dene * Jofegan * Kentwood-In-The-Pines * Lake Henshaw * Lincoln Acres * Manzanita * Morena Village * Mount Helix * Oak Grove * Ocotillo Wells * Pala Mesa * Palomar Mountain * Pauma Valley * Pine Hills * Ranchita * Rincon * San Felipe * Santa Ysabel * Shelter Valley *

Warner Springs Warner Springs is set of springs and a small unincorporated area, unincorporated community in northern San Diego County, California. It is on the Pacific Crest Trail. Geography Warner Springs has a post office; its ZIP Code is 92086. It is loca ...

* Wynola

Indian reservations

San Diego County has 18 federally recognized

Indian reservation An American Indian reservation is an area of land land tenure, held and governed by a List of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States#Description, U.S. federal government-recognized Native American tribal nation, whose gov ...

s, more than any other county in the United States. Although they are typical in size to other Indian reservations in California (many of which are termed "

Ranchería The Spanish word ranchería, or rancherío, refers to a small, rural settlement. In the Americas the term was applied to Indigenous peoples of the Americas, native villages or bunkhouses. Anglo-Americans adopted the term with both these meaning ...

s"), they are relatively small by national standards, and all together total of area. * Barona Indian Reservation *

Campo Indian Reservation The Campo Indian Reservation is home to the Campo Band of Diegueño Mission Indians, also known as the Campo Kumeyaay Nation, a federally recognized tribe of Kumeyaay people in the southern Laguna Mountains, in eastern San Diego County, Califo ...

* Capitan Grande Reservation * Ewiiaapaayp Indian Reservation * Inaja and Cosmit Indian Reservation * Jamul Indian Village * La Jolla Indian Reservation *

La Posta Indian Reservation LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note *"L.A.", a song by Elliott Smi ...

* Los Coyotes Indian Reservation * Manzanita Indian Reservation * Mesa Grande Indian Reservation * Pala Indian Reservation * Pauma and Yuima Indian Reservation * Rincon Indian Reservation * San Pasqual Indian Reservation * Santa Ysabel Indian Reservation * Sycuan Indian Reservation * Viejas Indian Reservation

Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2020 census of San Diego County. † ''county seat''

Former cities

Future and past incorporation efforts

The communities of Del Dios, Elfin Forest, Harmony Grove, and Pala were newly-designated as CDPs in the 2020 census. Some CDPs and unincorporated communities of San Diego County have explored incorporating as cities/towns in the past (California makes no legal distinction between the titles of "city" and "town", allowing communities that incorporate to choose their designation, though there has never been an incorporated town in San Diego County). Alpine, Bonita, Fallbrook, Lakeside, Ramona, Rancho Santa Fe and Spring Valley have each been tied to various incorporation studies, organized efforts and discussions in the past. Some of these past efforts have culminated in ballot initiatives. Voters in Fallbrook previously rejected incorporation in 1981 and 1987. Rancho Santa Fe residents also rejected incorporation in 1987. Among the existing cities of San Diego County, some had multiple failed incorporation efforts before ultimately succeeding in becoming a city. Lemon Grove, for example, saw incorporation measures fail in 1955, 1958 and 1964 before a successful incorporation vote in 1977. Other cities have seen incorporation success thanks to mergers of neighboring unincorporated communities.

, for example, became an incorporated city through a consolidated effort between the then-unincorporated communities of Cardiff-by-the-Sea, Leucadia, Encinitas and Olivenhain in 1986. Encinitas and Solana Beach in 1986 are the most recent examples of successful campaigns for incorporation within the County of San Diego.

Notes

References

External links

*
San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) official website

San Diego Tourism Authority

San Diego Geographic Information Source
{{Authority control 1850 establishments in California California counties Counties in Southern California Geography of San Diego County, California Metropolitan areas of California Populated places established in 1850 San Diego metropolitan area Majority-minority counties in California