El Cajon, California demographics

El Cajon, CA demographics: median age 36.1; 23.0% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree. Age, race, households, languages and education, ACS 2020–2024 with margins of error.

ACS 2020–2024 · El Cajon city, California · Incorporated city · GEOID 0621712. The survey estimates a population of 104,449 for its five-year window. This is separate from the annual July 2025 population estimate on the city overview.

Median age in El Cajon is 36.1 years, with a 90% margin of error of 0.9 years. There are 33,890 households (±848). Age and household distributions show how these totals are composed; they do not establish which neighborhood suits a particular person.

Every count and share is an estimate. “±” is a 90% margin of error (MOE); pp means percentage points. Derived shares use the category count divided by the named universe. Aggregated category MOEs and percentage MOEs are approximate. A margin larger than half its estimate is flagged as low precision. Blank source uncertainty is shown as unavailable, never zero.

Age distribution and sex

City, state and U.S. estimates · ACS 2020–2024
Measure / survey universe	City estimate ± MOE	State estimate ± MOE	U.S. estimate ± MOE
Median age Total population · years	36.1 ±0.9	37.9 ±0.1	38.9 ±0.1

Age groups · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 104,449
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Under 18	26,716 ±1,583	25.6% ±1.5 pp	22.0%	22.0%
18–34	23,502 ±1,353	22.5% ±1.3 pp	23.9%	22.8%
35–64	39,070 ±1,681	37.4% ±1.6 pp	38.5%	38.0%
65 and older	15,161 ±970	14.5% ±0.9 pp	15.7%	17.2%

Sex categories as published by ACS · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 104,449
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Male	51,710 ±1,090	49.5% ±1.0 pp	49.9%	49.5%
Female	52,739 ±1,089	50.5% ±1.0 pp	50.1%	50.5%

The age groups are mutually exclusive and cover the entire population. The sex categories follow this ACS table’s published classification; they are not a survey of gender identity.

Race and Hispanic origin

Race · B02001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 104,449
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
White alone	58,901 ±2,389	56.4% ±2.3 pp	39.7%	61.0%
Black or African American alone	6,737 ±1,302	6.5% ±1.2 pp	5.4%	12.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	1,521 ±834 · low precision	1.5% ±0.8 pp · low precision	1.3%	0.9%
Asian alone	5,779 ±1,146	5.5% ±1.1 pp	15.5%	6.0%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone	945 ±356	0.9% ±0.3 pp	0.4%	0.2%
Some other race alone	11,759 ±1,703	11.3% ±1.6 pp	18.5%	7.1%
Two or more races	18,807 ±1,746	18.0% ±1.7 pp	19.2%	12.6%

Hispanic or Latino origin · B03003 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 104,449
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Not Hispanic or Latino	74,205 ±2,256	71.0% ±2.2 pp	59.8%	80.7%
Hispanic or Latino	30,244 ±2,262	29.0% ±2.2 pp	40.2%	19.3%

Hispanic origin and race are separate questions. People of Hispanic or Latino origin may be of any race and appear in both tables. Do not add the Hispanic share to race shares. Race alone and two-or-more-race groups are the mutually exclusive categories of the race table.

Household types, children and living alone

Household types · B11001 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 33,890
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Married-couple family	15,861 ±673	46.8% ±1.6 pp	48.4%	46.9%
Other family: male householder, no spouse present	2,820 ±484	8.3% ±1.4 pp	6.3%	5.1%
Other family: female householder, no spouse present	5,800 ±519	17.1% ±1.5 pp	13.1%	12.2%
Nonfamily: householder living alone	7,071 ±756	20.9% ±2.2 pp	24.3%	28.7%
Nonfamily: householder not living alone	2,338 ±421	6.9% ±1.2 pp	7.9%	7.0%

Households with children · B11005 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 33,890
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Households with people under 18	12,738 ±611	37.6% ±1.5 pp	32.4%	29.5%
Households without people under 18	21,152 ±1,112	62.4% ±2.9 pp	67.6%	70.5%

Household size · B11016 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 33,890
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
One-person nonfamily households	7,071 ±756	20.9% ±2.2 pp	24.3%	28.7%
Two-person households	9,811 ±783	28.9% ±2.2 pp	30.5%	33.8%
Three-person households	6,510 ±722	19.2% ±2.1 pp	16.7%	15.3%
Four-person households	5,524 ±557	16.3% ±1.6 pp	14.9%	12.6%
Five-person households	2,854 ±439	8.4% ±1.3 pp	7.7%	5.9%
Six-person households	1,383 ±271	4.1% ±0.8 pp	3.3%	2.2%
Seven or more people	737 ±196	2.2% ±0.6 pp	2.6%	1.4%

A family household contains related people under the Census definition. A nonfamily household can contain one person or unrelated people sharing a home. Households with children can also appear in the household-type and size tables, so those tables must not be added together. Household estimates exclude people living in group quarters from the household universe.

Nativity and languages spoken at home

Nativity · B05002 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 104,449
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Native	73,828 ±1,840	70.7% ±1.8 pp	73.0%	85.9%
Foreign born	30,621 ±1,840	29.3% ±1.8 pp	27.0%	14.1%

Language spoken at home · C16001 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 5 and older: 97,168
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
English only	53,723 ±2,204	55.3% ±2.2 pp	55.6%	77.7%
Spanish	18,999 ±1,774	19.6% ±1.8 pp	28.3%	13.6%
French, Haitian, or Cajun	396 ±296 · low precision	0.4% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.4%	0.7%
German or other West Germanic	190 ±139 · low precision	0.2% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.3%	0.5%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic	297 ±171 · low precision	0.3% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.7%	0.7%
Other Indo-European	4,701 ±1,240	4.8% ±1.3 pp	3.5%	2.0%
Korean	107 ±84 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	1.0%	0.3%
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese	496 ±282 · low precision	0.5% ±0.3 pp · low precision	3.5%	1.1%
Vietnamese	417 ±336 · low precision	0.4% ±0.3 pp · low precision	1.5%	0.5%
Tagalog, including Filipino	1,198 ±426	1.2% ±0.4 pp	2.1%	0.6%
Other Asian and Pacific Island	698 ±200	0.7% ±0.2 pp	2.0%	1.1%
Arabic	10,674 ±1,514	11.0% ±1.6 pp	0.6%	0.5%
Other and unspecified	5,272 ±1,110	5.4% ±1.1 pp	0.6%	0.8%

Foreign born means not a U.S. citizen at birth; it includes naturalized citizens. Language categories describe speech at home among people age five and older. A language other than English at home does not establish that someone cannot speak English. This city page uses the published C16001 summary categories because the more detailed B16001 table does not provide these city records in this release.

Educational attainment

Highest completed education · B15003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 25 and older: 68,594
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Less than high school graduate	10,704 ±1,065	15.6% ±1.5 pp	15.3%	10.4%
High school graduate or equivalency	20,229 ±1,315	29.5% ±1.8 pp	20.5%	26.0%
Some college, no degree	15,897 ±1,132	23.2% ±1.6 pp	19.3%	19.1%
Associate’s degree	5,975 ±722	8.7% ±1.0 pp	7.9%	8.8%
Bachelor’s degree	10,725 ±1,006	15.6% ±1.4 pp	22.7%	21.6%
Graduate or professional degree	5,064 ±552	7.4% ±0.8 pp	14.4%	14.1%

The denominator excludes residents under 25. Each person is counted in the highest attainment category they completed. This table does not measure the quality of local schools or the education level of every current student.

Residence one year earlier

Geographic mobility · B07003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 1 and older: 102,905
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Same house	87,038 ±1,976	84.6% ±1.9 pp	89.2%	87.7%
Moved within same county	11,296 ±1,539	11.0% ±1.5 pp	6.4%	6.3%
Moved from a different county in the same state	957 ±358	0.9% ±0.3 pp	2.6%	3.1%
Moved from a different state	2,170 ±732	2.1% ±0.7 pp	1.1%	2.3%
Moved from abroad	1,444 ±457	1.4% ±0.4 pp	0.7%	0.6%

These are respondents’ residence patterns one year before their survey response, pooled across the five-year window. They are not a net migration count for 2025. A person can move to a different house within the same city or county; moves within the same county should not automatically be interpreted as new arrivals to the city.

Health insurance, internet access and veterans

6.5% of El Cajon residents (±0.9 percentage points) had no health insurance coverage when surveyed, compared with 6.6% in California and 8.4% nationally. 93.6% of households subscribe to broadband of any type, including cellular data plans. A subscription is not the same as available service: the FCC National Broadband Map shows providers at a specific address.

City, state and U.S. shares · ACS 2020–2024
Measure	El Cajon	California	U.S.	Compared with California
People without health insurance Civilian noninstitutionalized population	6.5% ±0.9 pp	6.6%	8.4%	Not statistically different
Households with a broadband subscription Households	93.6% ±1.3 pp	93.5%	91.0%	Not statistically different
Veterans Civilian population age 18 and older	6.5% ±0.9 pp	4.3%	6.2%	Higher

Reading and reusing the estimates

The Census table links above lead to the original detailed tables. Counts, source universes and uncertainty are retained in the source observation download for El Cajon . Compare these figures with the same survey window; do not compare one city’s five-year estimate with another city’s annual estimate as though they measured the same period. For methods, see uncertainty and denominator calculations.

Read El Cajon housing and cost context or return to the city profile.