City · San Diego County, California

Solana Beach, California

Solana Beach is a city in San Diego County, California, part of the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metro area. It has 12,823 residents. Solana Beach, California has a quality-of-life score of 72 out of 100 (high), ranking #4,456 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within California it ranks #183 of 1,062 cities and towns. It ranks best on comfortable days (high), physical inactivity (low) and bachelor's degree or higher (high). It ranks worst on home price to income ratio (high), students per teacher (high) and median Air Quality Index (high).

72High

Quality-of-life score: #4,456 of 15,651 cities and towns
California: #183 of 1,062 in CA
Population: 12,823 (2020-2024)
Land area: 3 mi²
Density: 3,756.2 /mi²
FIPS code: 0672506

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
Economy92#1,205/15,631
Housing14#12,900/14,977
Health92#1,283/15,609
Healthcare85#2,385/15,650
Environment3#14,978/15,453
Education53#7,365/15,649
Infrastructure99#143/15,650
Community49#7,950/15,651
Leisure & amenities81#3,025/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Solana Beach, 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
Physical inactivity · low13.3%
98/100California 23.5%United States 26.5%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Bachelor's degree or higher · high72.3%
98/100California 37.1%United States 35.7%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Adult obesity · low22.6%
97/100California 30.4%United States 38.2%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Adult smoking · low7.2%
96/100California 12.6%United States 16.1%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

Weaknesses

Home price to income ratio · high13.1×
0/100California 7.4×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
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
Income inequality (Gini index) · high0.498
7/100California 0.489United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
Natural hazard risk · high90.5
9/100California 87.32025Federal Emergency Management AgencySan Diego County value

Trends

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

New homes permittedWorsening
3.9 /1k (2021) → 1.5 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−62%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
62.7% (2015-2019) → 53.0% (2020-2024)
−9.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Median household incomeImproving
$108,118 (2015-2019) → $152,167 (2020-2024)
+41%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Uninsured residents (under 65)Improving
9.1% (2015-2019) → 4.0% (2020-2024)
−5 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
68.0% (2015-2019) → 72.3% (2020-2024)
+4.3 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Rent as share of incomeImproving
37.0% (2015-2019) → 32.8% (2020-2024)
−4.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%

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, Solana Beach, California improved on 2 of 13 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 10 moved within the margin of error and 0 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

Uninsured−5 points9.1% → 4.0%
Household income+41%$108,118 → $152,167

Declined1

Price / income+2.1×11.0× → 13.1×

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Solana Beach, California between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	23.5 min2015-2019	21.0 min2020-2024	−2.5 min	Within the margin of error	75%
Bachelor's degree or higher	68.0%2015-2019	72.3%2020-2024	+4.3 points	Within the margin of error	62%
Broadband subscriptions	94.2%2015-2019	96.6%2020-2024	+2.4 points	Within the margin of error	17%
Effective property tax rate	0.61%2015-2019	0.54%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	28%
High school diploma or higher	95.9%2015-2019	97.5%2020-2024	+1.7 points	Within the margin of error	55%
Home price to income ratio	11.0×2015-2019	13.1×2020-2024	+2.1×	Declined	4%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4762015-2019	0.4982020-2024	+0.022	Within the margin of error	33%
Median household income	$108,1182015-2019	$152,1672020-2024	+41%	Improved	75%
Poverty rate	5.3%2015-2019	5.5%2020-2024	+0.2 points	Within the margin of error	41%
Rent as share of income	37.0%2015-2019	32.8%2020-2024	−4.2 points	Within the margin of error	80%
Rent-burdened households	62.7%2015-2019	53.0%2020-2024	−9.7 points	Within the margin of error	82%
Unemployment rate	3.2%2015-2019	3.5%2020-2024	+0.2 points	Within the margin of error	44%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	9.1%2015-2019	4.0%2020-2024	−5 points	Improved	87%

“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 Solana Beach, California five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Solana Beach, 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, Solana Beach, California itself moved +5.5 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

12,823 residents (±31)

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

5,682 households (±365)

Solana Beach, California
California share

Under $25k8.1%†459
$25k–50k6.7%†382
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

5,682 households (±365)

Solana Beach, California
California share

Own68%3,844
Rent32%1,838

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Rent (−6.8 points).

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

5,868 workers (±461)

Solana Beach, California
California share

Drive alone58%3,424
Carpool4.9%†289
Public transit1.7%†98

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 Solana Beach'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 $16.7M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Solana Beach, California: $1,304 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $16.7M; −97% vs FY2025
Per resident: $1,304; US $1,994
Sole-source: 99%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.0%; 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 Air Force$16.9M100%
Federal Prison System / Bureau of Prisons$35.8K0.2%
Department of the Navy$5640.0%

Top recipients

AEVEX AEROSPACE, LLC$16.6M99%
JASR SYSTEMS, LLC$120.3K0.7%
PACIFIC INK, INC.$35.8K0.2%
SEABORNE PURSUITS LLC$9,0190.1%
COMPRESSED AIR SPECIALTIES, INC.$5640.0%
MACNICA AMERICAS, INC.

Spending by fiscal year

8.8MFY2017
10.9MFY2018
35.1MFY2019
43.3MFY2020
6.2MFY2021
116.8MFY2022
390.3MFY2023
131.9MFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Scientific research and development services · 5417$14.3M85%
Other professional, scientific, and technical services · 5419$2.7M16%
Other miscellaneous manufacturing · 3399$35.8K0.2%
Legal services · 5411$12.9K0.1%
Commercial and industrial machinery and equipment rental and leasing · 5324$9,0190.1%
Other general purpose machinery manufacturing · 3339

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Solana Beach, California

BIG SAFARI$645.8M
AEVEX AEROSPACE, LLC· San Diego County, CA· Weapons, aircraft, ships & vehicles· Dec 2, 2024 – Mar 20, 2026· FA862025FB072
BIG SAFARI$22.1M
AEVEX AEROSPACE, LLC· San Diego County, CA· Weapons, aircraft, ships & vehicles· Feb 13, 2025 – Apr 6, 2026· FA862025FB090
BIG SAFARI$11.9M
AEVEX AEROSPACE, LLC· San Diego County, CA· Weapons, aircraft, ships & vehicles· Jan 22, 2024 – May 28, 2026· FA862024F4040
BIG SAFARI$8.9M

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 Solana Beach, California, so they do not add up across cities.

Solana Beach, 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: Solana Beach 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.

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

House

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

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/0672506

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends