San Diego is a very large coastal city (ie. on the ocean or tidally-influenced rivers) located in the state of California. With a population of 1,223,341 people and 203 constituent neighborhoods, San Diego is the second largest community in California.

Unlike some cities, San Diego isn't mainly white- or blue-collar. Instead, the most prevalent occupations for people in San Diego are a mix of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, San Diego is a city of professionals, sales and office workers, and service providers. There are especially a lot of people living in San Diego who work in office and administrative support jobs (15.03%), sales jobs (11.37%), and management occupations (9.80%).

Also of interest is that San Diego has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.

San Diego is home to a number of people employed in the armed forces. When you visit or walk around San Diego, some of the people you will bump into will be military people In and out of uniform, jogging, shopping and generally out and about town.

In addition, San Diego also has a very large population of students, making it a major college town. As is often the case, having so many students around has a strong influence on the local culture. In fact, San Diego is one of only a few big cities that are also major college towns, making it one of the nation's prominent intellectual centers. In addition, the presence of thousands of college students gives San Diego a sophisticated style, and provides lots of diversions and entertainment for students. Being a big "college town" not only means that San Diego has a burgeoning arts, music, and nightclub scene, but the innovation sector of the local economy receives a great boost from both the intellectual output of the faculty and the thousands of enthusiastic students who graduate every spring.

Not only is San Diego a city with many college students, but it also retains many recent graduates who are looking to start new careers, creating a very large population of people who are young, single, educated, and upwardly-mobile. This makes San Diego a good place to live for young professionals. With so many people in this demographic, San Diego presents many opportunities for single professionals to enjoy themselves, socialize, and to create lasting relationships.

The city is also nautical, which means that parts of San Diego are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and tidal rivers. Quite often, nautical areas such as these attract visitors and locals who come to enjoy the scenery and various waterfront activities.

San Diego is one of the most car-oriented large cities in America. A full 89.8% of people drive their car alone to work each day. If you like to drive, you'll love it. And you better. Because walking to work is just not a viable option for most people who live in San Diego. Highways, wide streets, parking lots, and shopping centers are part of the common San Diego landscape.

San Diego Information and Demographics

The population of San Diego is very well educated relative to most cities and towns in the nation, where the average community has 14.96% of its adult population holding a 4-year degree or higher: 35.01% of adults in San Diego have a bachelor's degree or even advanced degree.

The per capita income in San Diego in 2000 was $23,609, which is upper middle income relative to California and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $94,436 for a family of four.

San Diego is an extremely ethnically-diverse city. The people who call San Diego home come from a variety of different races and ancestries. The most prevalent race in San Diego is White, followed by Asian. San Diego also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 25.38% of the city's residents. Important ancestries of people in San Diego include German, Irish, English, and Italian.

Foreign born people are also an important part of San Diego's cultural character, accounting for 25.69% of the city's population.

The languages spoken by people in San Diego are also diverse. These are tabulated as the languages people preferentially speak when they are at home with their families. The most common language spoken in San Diego is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish, Tagalog, and Vietnamese.