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Thursday, August 6, 2026

San Diego vs Santa Monica

San Diego, CA compared with Santa Monica, CA · 114 miles apart

San Diego has 1,406,106 residents to Santa Monica’s 90,082. San Diego comes out ahead on median rent, homeownership, average commute. Santa Monica does better on median household income, bachelor's degree +.

San Diego, CA Santa Monica, CA
Population 1,406,106 90,082
Density (per sq mi) 4,313 10,713
Median household income $108,077 $114,885
Median home value $906,700 $1,755,500
Median rent $2,313 $2,402
Homeownership 47.3% 27.9%
Average commute 23.5 min 24.8 min
Median age 36.2 42.7
Bachelor's degree + 51% 70.7%
Poverty rate 11% 11.2%
Unemployment 6% 6.7%
Price to income 8.4× 15.3×
Clear days a year 57
Days above 90°F 12

Highlighted where one city is clearly better on that measure. Population, density, home value and median age carry no highlight — a higher number there is good or bad depending on what you want.

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