San Diego, California demographics

San Diego, CA demographics: median age 36.2; 51.0% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree. Age, race, households, languages and education, ACS 2020–2024 with margins of error.

ACS 2020–2024 · San Diego city, California · Incorporated city · GEOID 0666000. The survey estimates a population of 1,389,526 for its five-year window. This is separate from the annual July 2025 population estimate on the city overview.

Median age in San Diego is 36.2 years, with a 90% margin of error of 0.2 years. There are 530,412 households (±2,344). 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	36.2 ±0.2	37.9 ±0.1	38.9 ±0.1

Age groups · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 1,389,526
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Under 18	256,082 ±4,082	18.4% ±0.3 pp	22.0%	22.0%
18–34	410,244 ±4,514	29.5% ±0.3 pp	23.9%	22.8%
35–64	520,068 ±5,187	37.4% ±0.4 pp	38.5%	38.0%
65 and older	203,132 ±3,347	14.6% ±0.2 pp	15.7%	17.2%

Sex categories as published by ACS · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 1,389,526
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Male	704,209 ±3,377	50.7% ±0.2 pp	49.9%	49.5%
Female	685,317 ±3,386	49.3% ±0.2 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: 1,389,526
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
White alone	647,607 ±5,986	46.6% ±0.4 pp	39.7%	61.0%
Black or African American alone	77,964 ±3,071	5.6% ±0.2 pp	5.4%	12.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	10,749 ±1,151	0.8% ±0.1 pp	1.3%	0.9%
Asian alone	244,686 ±4,411	17.6% ±0.3 pp	15.5%	6.0%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone	5,930 ±917	0.4% ±0.1 pp	0.4%	0.2%
Some other race alone	144,841 ±5,023	10.4% ±0.4 pp	18.5%	7.1%
Two or more races	257,749 ±6,437	18.5% ±0.5 pp	19.2%	12.6%

Hispanic or Latino origin · B03003 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 1,389,526
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Not Hispanic or Latino	975,486 ±5,598	70.2% ±0.4 pp	59.8%	80.7%
Hispanic or Latino	414,040 ±5,585	29.8% ±0.4 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: 530,412
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Married-couple family	231,688 ±3,112	43.7% ±0.6 pp	48.4%	46.9%
Other family: male householder, no spouse present	24,311 ±1,328	4.6% ±0.2 pp	6.3%	5.1%
Other family: female householder, no spouse present	54,974 ±1,943	10.4% ±0.4 pp	13.1%	12.2%
Nonfamily: householder living alone	153,780 ±3,363	29.0% ±0.6 pp	24.3%	28.7%
Nonfamily: householder not living alone	65,659 ±1,954	12.4% ±0.4 pp	7.9%	7.0%

Households with children · B11005 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 530,412
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Households with people under 18	138,222 ±2,111	26.1% ±0.4 pp	32.4%	29.5%
Households without people under 18	392,190 ±3,015	73.9% ±0.5 pp	67.6%	70.5%

Household size · B11016 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 530,412
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
One-person nonfamily households	153,780 ±3,363	29.0% ±0.6 pp	24.3%	28.7%
Two-person households	182,143 ±3,246	34.3% ±0.6 pp	30.5%	33.8%
Three-person households	82,064 ±2,094	15.5% ±0.4 pp	16.7%	15.3%
Four-person households	67,751 ±1,780	12.8% ±0.3 pp	14.9%	12.6%
Five-person households	27,580 ±1,149	5.2% ±0.2 pp	7.7%	5.9%
Six-person households	9,987 ±799	1.9% ±0.2 pp	3.3%	2.2%
Seven or more people	7,107 ±654	1.3% ±0.1 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: 1,389,526
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Native	1,040,164 ±5,986	74.9% ±0.4 pp	73.0%	85.9%
Foreign born	349,362 ±5,980	25.1% ±0.4 pp	27.0%	14.1%

Language spoken at home · C16001 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 5 and older: 1,319,137
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
English only	804,929 ±6,188	61.0% ±0.5 pp	55.6%	77.7%
Spanish	281,694 ±5,078	21.4% ±0.4 pp	28.3%	13.6%
French, Haitian, or Cajun	7,495 ±921	0.6% ±0.1 pp	0.4%	0.7%
German or other West Germanic	5,801 ±952	0.4% ±0.1 pp	0.3%	0.5%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic	13,230 ±1,595	1.0% ±0.1 pp	0.7%	0.7%
Other Indo-European	39,947 ±2,601	3.0% ±0.2 pp	3.5%	2.0%
Korean	10,280 ±1,194	0.8% ±0.1 pp	1.0%	0.3%
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese	38,274 ±2,562	2.9% ±0.2 pp	3.5%	1.1%
Vietnamese	27,104 ±2,023	2.1% ±0.2 pp	1.5%	0.5%
Tagalog, including Filipino	41,080 ±2,105	3.1% ±0.2 pp	2.1%	0.6%
Other Asian and Pacific Island	31,226 ±2,307	2.4% ±0.2 pp	2.0%	1.1%
Arabic	8,663 ±1,684	0.7% ±0.1 pp	0.6%	0.5%
Other and unspecified	9,414 ±1,124	0.7% ±0.1 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: 984,073
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Less than high school graduate	96,577 ±3,069	9.8% ±0.3 pp	15.3%	10.4%
High school graduate or equivalency	145,809 ±3,520	14.8% ±0.4 pp	20.5%	26.0%
Some college, no degree	168,001 ±3,774	17.1% ±0.4 pp	19.3%	19.1%
Associate’s degree	71,944 ±2,322	7.3% ±0.2 pp	7.9%	8.8%
Bachelor’s degree	287,800 ±4,305	29.2% ±0.4 pp	22.7%	21.6%
Graduate or professional degree	213,942 ±3,801	21.7% ±0.4 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: 1,375,719
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	California	U.S.
Same house	1,169,569 ±5,283	85.0% ±0.4 pp	89.2%	87.7%
Moved within same county	121,598 ±4,528	8.8% ±0.3 pp	6.4%	6.3%
Moved from a different county in the same state	31,623 ±2,139	2.3% ±0.2 pp	2.6%	3.1%
Moved from a different state	38,980 ±2,164	2.8% ±0.2 pp	1.1%	2.3%
Moved from abroad	13,949 ±1,268	1.0% ±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

5.8% of San Diego residents (±0.2 percentage points) had no health insurance coverage when surveyed, compared with 6.6% in California and 8.4% nationally. 95.2% 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	San Diego	California	U.S.	Compared with California
People without health insurance Civilian noninstitutionalized population	5.8% ±0.2 pp	6.6%	8.4%	Lower
Households with a broadband subscription Households	95.2% ±0.3 pp	93.5%	91.0%	Higher
Veterans Civilian population age 18 and older	6.4% ±0.2 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 San Diego . 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 San Diego housing and cost context or return to the city profile.