City · San Diego County, California

Poway, California

Poway is a city in San Diego County, California, part of the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metro area. It has 48,713 residents. Poway, California has a quality-of-life score of 68 out of 100 (high), ranking #4,981 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within California it ranks #216 of 1,062 cities and towns. It ranks best on comfortable days (high), adult obesity (low) and public EV charging ports (high). It ranks worst on students per teacher (high), median Air Quality Index (high) and days with unhealthy air (high).

68High

Quality-of-life score: #4,981 of 15,651 cities and towns
California: #216 of 1,062 in CA
Population: 48,713 (2020-2024)
Land area: 39 mi²
Density: 1,246.6 /mi²
FIPS code: 0658520

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 76 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
Economy91#1,439/15,631
Housing15#12,757/14,977
Health90#1,586/15,609
Healthcare85#2,328/15,650
Environment3#14,978/15,453
Education50#7,877/15,649
Infrastructure92#1,265/15,650
Community42#9,049/15,651
Leisure & amenities81#3,025/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Poway, 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

Comfortable days · high46.7%
98/100California 34.8%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationSan Diego County value
Adult obesity · low22.7%
97/100California 30.4%United States 38.2%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Public EV charging ports · high19.5 /10k
96/100California 17.4 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergySan Diego County value
Median household income · high$148,359
95/100California $100,130United States $81,6042020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19013
Child poverty rate · low6.0%
93/100California 14.6%United States 15.5%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Gyms and fitness centers · high2.1 /10k
92/100California 1.5 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsSan Diego County value

Weaknesses

Students per teacher · high22.5×
2/100California 21.7×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsSan Diego County value
Median Air Quality Index · high67
4/100California 602025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencySan Diego County value
Days with unhealthy air · high9.0%
5/100California 12.4%2025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencySan Diego County value
Home price to income ratio · high7.0×
6/100California 7.4×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Natural hazard risk · high90.5
9/100California 87.32025Federal Emergency Management AgencySan Diego County value
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · high9.1 µg/m³
10/100California 9.4 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencySan Diego County value

Trends

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

Median household incomeImproving
$107,902 (2015-2019) → $148,359 (2020-2024)
+37%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
New homes permittedImproving
1.6 /1k (2021) → 2.2 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+35%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
48.2% (2015-2019) → 54.2% (2020-2024)
+6 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
50.2% (2015-2019) → 55.7% (2020-2024)
+5.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
High school diploma or higherImproving
91.3% (2015-2019) → 94.1% (2020-2024)
+2.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
93.0% (2015-2019) → 95.6% (2020-2024)
+2.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%

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, Poway, California improved on 2 of 15 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 12 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.

Improved2

Bachelor's++6 points48.2% → 54.2%
Household income+37%$107,902 → $148,359

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 15 measures

Change of every measure of Poway, California between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	26.4 min2015-2019	25.3 min2020-2024	−1.0 min	Within the margin of error	60%
Bachelor's degree or higher	48.2%2015-2019	54.2%2020-2024	+6 points	Improved	74%
Broadband subscriptions	93.0%2015-2019	95.6%2020-2024	+2.6 points	Within the margin of error	18%
Child poverty rate	6.4%2015-2019	6.0%2020-2024	−0.4 points	Within the margin of error	48%
Effective property tax rate	0.77%2015-2019	0.65%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Little change	39%
High school diploma or higher	91.3%2015-2019	94.1%2020-2024	+2.8 points	Within the margin of error	66%
Home price to income ratio	6.4×2015-2019	7.0×2020-2024	+0.6×	Within the margin of error	41%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4362015-2019	0.4252020-2024	−0.011	Within the margin of error	60%
Median household income	$107,9022015-2019	$148,3592020-2024	+37%	Improved	70%
Poverty rate	6.0%2015-2019	5.6%2020-2024	−0.4 points	Within the margin of error	47%
Public transit commuters	1.1%2015-2019	0.5%2020-2024	−0.6 points	Within the margin of error	20%
Rent as share of income	30.1%2015-2019	32.7%2020-2024	+2.6 points	Within the margin of error	35%
Rent-burdened households	50.2%2015-2019	55.7%2020-2024	+5.5 points	Within the margin of error	36%
Unemployment rate	5.6%2015-2019	5.2%2020-2024	−0.5 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	4.5%2015-2019	3.9%2020-2024	−0.6 points	Within the margin of error	54%

“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 Poway, California five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Poway, 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, Poway, California itself moved −0.1 points in standing on average over the same 10 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

48,713 residents (±102)

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

16,423 households (±427)

Poway, California
California share

Under $25k5.5%907
$25k–50k7.7%1,267
$50k–75k11%1,780

Homes

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

Owners and renters

16,423 households (±427)

Poway, California
California share

Own75%12,347
Rent25%4,076

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

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

22,996 workers (±691)

Poway, California
California share

Drive alone65%14,893
Carpool6.7%1,546
Public transit0.5%†111

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 Poway'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 $1.6B of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Poway, California: $32,203 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $1.6B; +5.1% vs FY2025
Per resident: $32,203; US $1,994
Sole-source: 98%; US 30%
Single offer: 1.5%; 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

U.S. Customs and Border Protection$649.7M41%
Department of the Air Force$634.1M40%
Department of the Army$245.4M16%
Department of the Navy$26.2M1.7%
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency$6.7M0.4%
U.S. Special Operations Command$4.2M0.3%
Defense Logistics Agency$2.5M0.2%
U.S. Geological Survey$2M0.1%

Top recipients

GENERAL ATOMICS AERONAUTICAL SYSTEMS, INC.$1.6B99%
DYNOVAS INC$3.6M0.2%
IT MENTOR GROUP, INC.$3M0.2%
TELEDYNE INSTRUMENTS, INC.$2.1M0.1%
INFORMATION SYSTEMS LABORATORIES INC$2M0.1%

Spending by fiscal year

2.1BFY2017
1.9BFY2018
2.5BFY2019
1.7BFY2020
1.7BFY2021
1.7BFY2022
1.6BFY2023
2.1B

Top industries (NAICS)

Support activities for air transportation · 4881$650.3M41%
Aerospace product and parts manufacturing · 3364$529.3M34%
Navigational, measuring, electromedical, and control instruments manufacturing · 3345$204.3M13%
Management, scientific, and technical consulting services · 5416$136M8.7%
Scientific research and development services · 5417$48.1M3.1%

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Poway, California

REQUIREMENT IS FOR THE PROCUREMENT OF PERFORMANCE BASED LOGISTICS SUPPORT SERVICES FOR THE MQ-1C GRAY EAGLE UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEM.$1.9B
GENERAL ATOMICS AERONAUTICAL SYSTEMS, INC.· San Diego County, CA· Equipment maintenance· Apr 19, 2019 – Dec 11, 2025· W58RGZ19C0027
UAS OPERATIONAL AND MAINTENANCE SUPPORT$1B
GENERAL ATOMICS AERONAUTICAL SYSTEMS, INC.· San Diego County, CA· Professional services· Mar 29, 2022 – Sep 25, 2026· 70B02C22C00000016
GRAY EAGLE PERFORMANCE BASED LOGISTICS 2024-2029$805.9M
GENERAL ATOMICS AERONAUTICAL SYSTEMS, INC.· San Diego County, CA· Weapons, aircraft, ships & vehicles· Apr 18, 2024 – Jun 2, 2026· W58RGZ24C0031

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 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 Poway, California, so they do not add up across cities.

Poway, California's figures are part of those of San Diego County, CA ($13B in FY2026), never added to them: 12% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Poway 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.

Poway, 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
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
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/0658520

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends