Living in San Diego vs. Los Angeles

If you look at almost any list showcasing the best places to live in California, you’ll find both San Diego and Los Angeles on it. These two Southern California cities bring a whole lot to the table for those looking to embrace West Coast living.

But which city would be the better place to buy California real estate? You might be asking yourself this question if you’re going to be moving to The Golden State or if you already live in the state and need a change of scenery.

We’ve pitted San Diego vs. Los Angeles in this article in an attempt to get an answer. It should help you decide which of these two California cities would be the best choice for you.

Continue reading to see how the San Diego vs. Los Angeles matchup plays out.

Population

Regardless of whether you choose to live in San Diego or Los Angeles, you’re going to live in a large city in terms of population. But the population of Los Angeles is significantly higher than San Diego’s population.

There are almost 4 million people living in Los Angeles these days. And this number increases just about every year.

San Diego, meanwhile, has a population of just under 3.5 million. That makes it larger than many other cities throughout California, but it’ll obviously be a lot smaller than L.A. in terms of its population.

This could be a good or bad thing depending on which type of person you are. If you like the hustle and bustle that Los Angeles will bring, that could be the right city for you. But if you’d like to live in a city that’s a little more lowkey, San Diego might check all the right boxes for you.

Cost of Living

The cost of living will be on the higher side in both San Diego and Los Angeles. San Diego’s cost of living is about 44% higher than the national average, while Los Angeles’ cost of living is about 51% higher than the national average.

But San Diego’s cost of living won’t hit you quite as hard as Los Angeles’ cost of living will. Here are some of the potential costs you will face in San Diego vs. Los Angeles:

• Median home price: $1,004,634 in San Diego vs. $1,083,995 in Los Angeles
• Median rent: $3,055 in San Diego vs. $3,296 in Los Angeles
• Average electric bill: $199.81 in San Diego vs. $195.92 in Los Angeles

You’ll need to be financially prepared to move to either San Diego or Los Angeles. But San Diego will be the more cost-effective option.

Housing Market

Are you interested in buying a home when you move to either San Diego or Los Angeles? As we just alluded to, homes in San Diego are typically going to cost less than homes in Los Angeles. But you should also take things a step further than that when you’re considering the housing markets in each of these two cities.

For example, you should know that the value of the average home in San Diego has appreciated by 13.6% over the last year, while the average home in Los Angeles has appreciated by just 10.6%. You should also know that the median age of a home in San Diego is 42, while the median age of a home in Los Angeles is 57.

Additionally, you should know that there are more homeowners in San Diego than there are in Los Angeles. About 43% of the homes in San Diego are owned by those living in them, while this is only true about 34% of the time in Los Angeles.

Employment Opportunities

If you’re retired or someone who doesn’t have to work, you won’t need to worry about the job market in San Diego vs. Los Angeles. But this will usually be a concern for most people looking to live in either city, especially when you consider the cost of living in them.

So, how do the employment opportunities stack up in San Diego vs. Los Angeles? Well, for starters, Los Angeles currently has an unemployment rate that sits at around 10%. The San Diego unemployment rate, on the other hand, is at around 6%. This gives the edge to San Diego in this department.

Los Angeles, however, manages to outdo San Diego in the salary department. People living in Los Angeles tend to bring in salaries that are about 4% higher than those doing similar jobs in San Diego.

But the higher cost of living in Los Angeles does help to balance out this salary discrepancy. You’ll be able to afford to take a slightly lower salary in San Diego than you would be able to in Los Angeles since everything from housing to groceries will cost less money.

Transportation

If you plan to own a car when you live in either San Diego or Los Angeles, you’re going to like living in San Diego infinitely more than living in Los Angeles. L.A. has notoriously bad traffic problems that don’t seem like they’re going to get better anytime soon.

The average driver in Los Angeles spends over 150 hours on the road each year, with about 80 of those hours featuring them sitting in traffic. The average driver in San Diego spends just 80 hours in total on the road each year, with about 20 of them featuring them sitting in traffic.

The good news is that both San Diego and Los Angeles have pretty good public transportation systems that people can use. But even in this case, Los Angeles will lose out, since public transportation in L.A. costs more than public transportation in San Diego.

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Schools

If you’re planning to buy a home in San Diego or Los Angeles for you and your family, comparing the schools found in each city would be a good idea. You’ll be happy to hear that both cities have solid school systems.

It’s worth noting that San Diego teachers have higher average salaries than Los Angeles teachers. But these teachers also have larger average class sizes when compared to the class sizes L.A. teachers face.

Crime Rates

If you had to guess whether San Diego or Los Angeles had the higher crime rate, there is a decent chance you would pick Los Angeles because of the perception that some people have of it. And you would be correct in assuming this.

But to be fair, both San Diego and Los Angeles experience their fair share of crimes each year. The violent crime rates in these cities are higher than the national average.

That being said, San Diego is regarded as the safer place to live because there are fewer violent crimes that take place in this city vs. Los Angeles. You’ll sleep a little better in San Diego knowing this.

Things to Do

Whether you choose to live in San Diego or Los Angeles, we can promise you one thing: You won’t ever be bored! There are so many things to do in each of these cities, which is, once again, why San Diego and Los Angeles always land on lists of the best places to live in California.

San Diego is filled with excellent restaurants, awesome museums, and, of course, some of the best beaches in the entire country. Los Angeles has the Santa Monica Pier, Universal Studios, and so much Hollywood history.

There won’t ever be a dull moment living in San Diego or Los Angeles. You’ll want to spend time in both cities at some point to soak up all that they have to offer.

Weather

If you enjoy spending time out in the sun, San Diego and Los Angeles will both provide you with all the sunshine you can possibly handle. But you may be surprised to hear that Los Angeles tends to get slightly more sun than San Diego.

During an average year, Los Angeles gets about 284 sunny days, while San Diego gets about 266 sunny days. These are both way higher than the average U.S. city that gets 205 sunny days. But L.A. gets the slight edge here.

Air Quality

Although Los Angeles might provide you with more sunny days, you might not always want to spend time outside enjoying them. Why? Well, the air quality in Los Angeles is not good at all, according to a recent report.

In reality, both Los Angeles and San Diego have plenty of room for improvement when it comes to air quality. But the air you breathe in when you’re living in San Diego will be cleaner than the air you breathe in while in L.A. This should more than make up for the fewer sunny days you’ll enjoy in San Diego.

San Diego vs. Los Angeles: Which Is Better?

At the end of the day, San Diego and Los Angeles are both fantastic cities to live in. You’ll enjoy so many benefits when you move to one or the other.

But as you’ve seen here, San Diego comes out victorious in many of the individual San Diego vs. Los Angeles showdowns. It’s why you should strongly consider buying California real estate in San Diego as opposed to purchasing it in Los Angeles.

Read through the rest of our blog articles to discover more about living in San Diego.

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