La Mesa, California demographics

La Mesa, CA demographics: median age 37.4; 40.6% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree. Age, race, households, languages and education, ACS 2020–2024 with margins of error.

ACS 2020–2024 · La Mesa city, California · Incorporated city · GEOID 0640004. The survey estimates a population of 60,797 for its five-year window. This is separate from the annual July 2025 population estimate on the city overview.

Median age in La Mesa is 37.4 years, with a 90% margin of error of 0.9 years. There are 25,038 households (±671). 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	37.4 ±0.9	37.9 ±0.1	38.9 ±0.1

Age groups · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 60,797
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Under 18	13,217 ±1,085	21.7% ±1.8 pp	22.0%	22.0%
18–34	14,700 ±1,132	24.2% ±1.9 pp	23.9%	22.8%
35–64	23,443 ±1,174	38.6% ±1.9 pp	38.5%	38.0%
65 and older	9,437 ±699	15.5% ±1.1 pp	15.7%	17.2%

Sex categories as published by ACS · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 60,797
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Male	29,292 ±818	48.2% ±1.3 pp	49.9%	49.5%
Female	31,505 ±816	51.8% ±1.3 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: 60,797
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
White alone	34,066 ±1,519	56.0% ±2.5 pp	39.7%	61.0%
Black or African American alone	4,996 ±908	8.2% ±1.5 pp	5.4%	12.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	258 ±118	0.4% ±0.2 pp	1.3%	0.9%
Asian alone	3,802 ±776	6.3% ±1.3 pp	15.5%	6.0%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone	111 ±86 · low precision	0.2% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.4%	0.2%
Some other race alone	4,385 ±746	7.2% ±1.2 pp	18.5%	7.1%
Two or more races	13,179 ±1,564	21.7% ±2.6 pp	19.2%	12.6%

Hispanic or Latino origin · B03003 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 60,797
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Not Hispanic or Latino	43,836 ±1,436	72.1% ±2.4 pp	59.8%	80.7%
Hispanic or Latino	16,961 ±1,444	27.9% ±2.4 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: 25,038
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Married-couple family	10,103 ±619	40.4% ±2.2 pp	48.4%	46.9%
Other family: male householder, no spouse present	1,026 ±227	4.1% ±0.9 pp	6.3%	5.1%
Other family: female householder, no spouse present	3,102 ±463	12.4% ±1.8 pp	13.1%	12.2%
Nonfamily: householder living alone	7,956 ±697	31.8% ±2.7 pp	24.3%	28.7%
Nonfamily: householder not living alone	2,851 ±427	11.4% ±1.7 pp	7.9%	7.0%

Households with children · B11005 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 25,038
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Households with people under 18	7,000 ±406	28.0% ±1.4 pp	32.4%	29.5%
Households without people under 18	18,038 ±851	72.0% ±2.8 pp	67.6%	70.5%

Household size · B11016 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 25,038
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
One-person nonfamily households	7,956 ±697	31.8% ±2.7 pp	24.3%	28.7%
Two-person households	8,589 ±716	34.3% ±2.7 pp	30.5%	33.8%
Three-person households	4,174 ±499	16.7% ±1.9 pp	16.7%	15.3%
Four-person households	2,713 ±368	10.8% ±1.4 pp	14.9%	12.6%
Five-person households	948 ±251	3.8% ±1.0 pp	7.7%	5.9%
Six-person households	508 ±246	2.0% ±1.0 pp	3.3%	2.2%
Seven or more people	150 ±84 · low precision	0.6% ±0.3 pp · low precision	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: 60,797
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Native	52,805 ±795	86.9% ±1.3 pp	73.0%	85.9%
Foreign born	7,992 ±792	13.1% ±1.3 pp	27.0%	14.1%

Language spoken at home · C16001 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 5 and older: 56,576
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
English only	42,982 ±1,260	76.0% ±2.0 pp	55.6%	77.7%
Spanish	7,910 ±893	14.0% ±1.6 pp	28.3%	13.6%
French, Haitian, or Cajun	373 ±192 · low precision	0.7% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.4%	0.7%
German or other West Germanic	322 ±169 · low precision	0.6% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.3%	0.5%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic	609 ±243	1.1% ±0.4 pp	0.7%	0.7%
Other Indo-European	662 ±232	1.2% ±0.4 pp	3.5%	2.0%
Korean	77 ±78 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	1.0%	0.3%
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese	715 ±453 · low precision	1.3% ±0.8 pp · low precision	3.5%	1.1%
Vietnamese	223 ±124 · low precision	0.4% ±0.2 pp · low precision	1.5%	0.5%
Tagalog, including Filipino	752 ±294	1.3% ±0.5 pp	2.1%	0.6%
Other Asian and Pacific Island	605 ±301	1.1% ±0.5 pp	2.0%	1.1%
Arabic	650 ±300	1.1% ±0.5 pp	0.6%	0.5%
Other and unspecified	696 ±333	1.2% ±0.6 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: 43,389
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Less than high school graduate	2,370 ±478	5.5% ±1.1 pp	15.3%	10.4%
High school graduate or equivalency	7,113 ±690	16.4% ±1.5 pp	20.5%	26.0%
Some college, no degree	11,133 ±936	25.7% ±2.1 pp	19.3%	19.1%
Associate’s degree	5,173 ±702	11.9% ±1.6 pp	7.9%	8.8%
Bachelor’s degree	11,146 ±870	25.7% ±1.9 pp	22.7%	21.6%
Graduate or professional degree	6,454 ±599	14.9% ±1.3 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: 59,883
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Same house	51,597 ±1,532	86.2% ±2.5 pp	89.2%	87.7%
Moved within same county	6,630 ±1,392	11.1% ±2.3 pp	6.4%	6.3%
Moved from a different county in the same state	764 ±351	1.3% ±0.6 pp	2.6%	3.1%
Moved from a different state	702 ±259	1.2% ±0.4 pp	1.1%	2.3%
Moved from abroad	190 ±82	0.3% ±0.1 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

4.9% of La Mesa residents (±0.8 percentage points) had no health insurance coverage when surveyed, compared with 6.6% in California and 8.4% nationally. 93.5% 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	La Mesa	California	U.S.	Compared with California
People without health insurance Civilian noninstitutionalized population	4.9% ±0.8 pp	6.6%	8.4%	Lower
Households with a broadband subscription Households	93.5% ±1.0 pp	93.5%	91.0%	Not statistically different
Veterans Civilian population age 18 and older	9.3% ±1.2 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 La Mesa . 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 La Mesa housing and cost context or return to the city profile.