Census-designated place · San Diego County, California

Camp Pendleton South, California

Camp Pendleton South is a census-designated place in San Diego County, California, part of the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metro area. It has 15,766 residents. Camp Pendleton South, California has a quality-of-life score of 58 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #6,566 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within California it ranks #318 of 1,062 cities and towns. It ranks best on income inequality (Gini index) (low), comfortable days (high) and broadband subscriptions (high). It ranks worst on rent-burdened households (high), students per teacher (high) and rent as share of income (high).

58Moderate

Quality-of-life score: #6,566 of 15,651 cities and towns
California: #318 of 1,062 in CA
Population: 15,766 (2020-2024)
Land area: 7 mi²
Density: 2,272.8 /mi²
FIPS code: 0610561

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 73 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety61#6,082/15,637
Economy59#6,442/15,631
Housing—
Health64#5,693/15,609
Healthcare88#1,859/15,650
Environment3#14,978/15,453
Education24#11,910/15,649
Infrastructure86#2,220/15,650
Community35#10,194/15,651
Leisure & amenities81#3,025/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Camp Pendleton South, California ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “San Diego County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Income inequality (Gini index) · low0.289
99/100California 0.489United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
Comfortable days · high46.7%
98/100California 34.8%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationSan Diego County value
Broadband subscriptions · high99.0%
97/100California 93.5%United States 91.0%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B28002
Public EV charging ports · high19.5 /10k
96/100California 17.4 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergySan Diego County value
Gyms and fitness centers · high2.1 /10k
92/100California 1.5 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsSan Diego County value
Mental health providers · high548 /100k
91/100California 487 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSan Diego County value

Weaknesses

Rent-burdened households · high89.5%
1/100California 55.3%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070
Students per teacher · high22.5×
2/100California 21.7×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsSan Diego County value
Rent as share of income · high51.0%
2/100California 32.8%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071At least this value: the publisher's top bracket is open-ended
Median Air Quality Index · high67
4/100California 602025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencySan Diego County value
Unemployment rate · high13.2%
4/100California 5.5%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025High uncertainty
Days with unhealthy air · high9.0%
5/100California 12.4%2025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencySan Diego County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationRising
11,936 (2015-2019) → 15,766 (2020-2024)
+32%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Median household incomeImproving
$49,851 (2015-2019) → $69,853 (2020-2024)
+40%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Child poverty rateImproving
13.9% (2015-2019) → 7.1% (2020-2024)
−6.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Unemployment rateWorsening
8.7% (2015-2019) → 13.2% (2020-2024)
+4.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%
Poverty rateImproving
10.7% (2015-2019) → 6.6% (2020-2024)
−4.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Uninsured residents (under 65)Worsening
0.0% (2015-2019) → 2.0% (2020-2024)
+2 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Camp Pendleton South, California improved on 1 of 9 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 7 moved within the margin of error and 1 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved1

Household income+40%$49,851 → $69,853

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 9 measures

Change of every measure of Camp Pendleton South, California between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	20.2 min2015-2019	19.9 min2020-2024	−0.3 min	Within the margin of error	52%
Bachelor's degree or higher	27.2%2015-2019	26.4%2020-2024	−0.8 points	Within the margin of error	23%
Broadband subscriptions	97.8%2015-2019	99.0%2020-2024	+1.3 points	Within the margin of error	12%
Child poverty rate	13.9%2015-2019	7.1%2020-2024	−6.8 points	Within the margin of error	74%
High school diploma or higher	99.4%2015-2019	99.3%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	32%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3182015-2019	0.2892020-2024	−0.029	Within the margin of error	74%
Median household income	$49,8512015-2019	$69,8532020-2024	+40%	Improved	74%
Rent as share of income	51.0%2015-2019	51.0%2020-2024	0 points	Little change	55%
Rent-burdened households	87.8%2015-2019	89.5%2020-2024	+1.7 points	Within the margin of error	50%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Camp Pendleton South, California five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Camp Pendleton South, California in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Camp Pendleton South, California itself moved +0.1 points in standing on average over the same 8 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

15,766 residents (±2,422)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79
60–69†

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

4,605 households (±712)

Camp Pendleton South, California
California share

Under $25k8.1%†373
$25k–50k20%†915
$50k–75k

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

4,605 households (±712)

Camp Pendleton South, California
California share

Own0.9%†41
Rent99%4,564

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

7,363 workers (±1,343)

Camp Pendleton South, California
California share

Drive alone70%5,150
Carpool11%†795
Public transit0.2%†

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of San Diego County, the county holding most of Camp Pendleton South's residents.

San Diego County has 93,407 employer establishments, 285 for every 10,000 residents (1.15× the US rate of 248; 1.08× California's), with 1,391,721 paid employees at an average annual pay of $76,323. The Census Bureau also counts 309,797 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 93,407; 309,797 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 285; US 248 · California 263
Paid employees: 1,391,721
Average annual pay: $76,323; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of San Diego County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Ambulatory health care services	8,760	26.7	1.28×More than typical	93,307	$78,478	14,172
Restaurants and other eating places	6,900	21	1.15×About typical	133,685	$28,826	1,233
Lessors of real estate	6,696	20.4	1.66×More than typical	25,445	$77,999	30,253
Specialty trade contractors	5,209	15.9	1.03×About typical	61,015	$73,467	12,039
Management, scientific and technical consulting	4,588	14	2.08×More than typical	22,342	$104,103	15,799
Limited-service restaurants	3,086	9.4	1.17×About typical	55,315	$24,940	521
Real estate agents and brokers	2,942	9	1.84×More than typical	5,502	$81,009	8,179
Construction of buildings	2,847	8.7	1.15×About typical	23,326	$93,648	7,466
Offices of physicians	2,821	8.6	1.33×More than typical	21,181	$123,005	2,963
Legal services	2,659	8.1	1.51×More than typical	16,019	$125,747	3,989
Full-service restaurants	2,650	8.1	1.05×About typical	63,776	$33,217	412
Offices of other health practitioners	2,532	7.7	1.27×More than typical	12,989	$47,030	6,974

Rank places for an industry Open San Diego County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 3,279,736 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $10.9M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Camp Pendleton South, California: $688 per resident (US $1,995).

Obligations: $10.9M; −6.6% vs FY2025
Per resident: $688; US $1,995
Sole-source: 0.1%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.1%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Department of the Navy$10.8M99.6%
Defense Logistics Agency$30.1K0.3%
U.S. Special Operations Command$7,9410.1%
Department of the Army$5,3960.0%
Defense Health Agency$1,3770.0%

Top recipients

CLARK CONSTRUCTION GROUP - CALIFORNIA, LP$10.6M97%
RLF AND SHERLOCK SMITH AND ADAMS JV$134.9K1.2%
MULTI-MAC JOINT VENTURE$53.6K0.5%
GENUINE PARTS COMPANY$49K0.5%
ACE AVIATION SERVICE, INC$28.1K0.3%

Spending by fiscal year

333.6KFY2017
492KFY2018
543.9KFY2019
574.3KFY2020
754.8KFY2021
7.2MFY2022
6.4MFY2023
2.6M

Top industries (NAICS)

Nonresidential building construction · 2362$10.6M97%
Architectural, engineering, and related services · 5413$188.5K1.7%
Motor vehicle parts manufacturing · 3363$49.3K0.5%
Other fabricated metal product manufacturing · 3329$23.1K0.2%
Other telecommunications · 5179$7,9410.1%
Household and institutional furniture and kitchen cabinet manufacturing · 3371$5,396

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 6, 2026, loaded Oct 6, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Camp Pendleton South, California, so they do not add up across cities.

Camp Pendleton South, California's figures are part of those of San Diego County, CA ($13B in FY2026), never added to them: 0.1% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Camp Pendleton South is mostly in San Diego County.

See federal money in San Diego County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Camp Pendleton South, California is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).

House

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

San Diego County69100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA73

Other cities and towns in San Diego County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/0610561

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends