Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 43/100
D
Median home value$864,000
San Diego $854,700
Median rent$1,973/mo
San Diego $2,246/mo
Cost-burdened households46%
San Diego 44%
Alpine
San Diego County15,180 residents2 school districts
49
D+
Suburbgrade score
27th of 30 San Diego suburbs. Strongest on cost of living, held back by amenities.
49
San Diego median 52
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Alpine yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 49 is computed on the other six categories, re-normalised to 100%. Answer the poll →
What living here is actually like
Written summary in preparation This page is waiting for its written summary, and for a person to check it. Until then it is excluded from search engines.
What Alpine is like to live in, by category
Bars show Alpine against San Diego. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 45/100
D
Within-state proficiency58th pct
San Diego median 60th pct
Student–teacher ratio20.7
San Diego median 22.6
Graduation rate83%
San Diego median 86%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 75/100
B
Housing cost index95
San Diego 100
Eff. tax rate0.72%
San Diego 0.67%
Local sales tax7.75%
San Diego median 7.75%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 41/100
D−
Mean commute30.2 min
San Diego 25.5 min
Under 30 minutes44%
San Diego 64%
Transit stops / sq mi2.5
San Diego median 4.2 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 40/100
D−
Restaurants & cafés16
San Diego median 50 · within 2 miles
Groceries2
San Diego median 6 · within 2 miles
Parks13
San Diego median 23 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 55/100
C−
Median household income$108,660
San Diego $106,268
Unemployment3.0%
San Diego 6.1%
Professional occupations43%
San Diego 48%
Residents
12% of the score · inactive
—
No responses yet. Residents is excluded from the score until eight people answer.
Ask the people who live here
Twelve yes/no questions, one tap each. No dataset knows whether the yards are kept or whether anyone talks to their neighbours. Answers feed the Residents grade, which needs eight responses before it counts.
Nobody has answered for Alpine yet. If you live here, you can be the first.
Is it quiet at night?
—
Do you feel safe walking after dark?
—
Can you walk to a grocery store?
—
Is it good for young children?
—
Are yards and streets well kept?
—
Tap either button to answer — no account neededAll twelve questions →
Better than Alpine on amenities
Alpine's weakest grade is D−. Six suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same six inputs.
SuburbAmenitiesOverall
San Diego21 mi from AlpineB+ 63 C+ La Mesa16 mi from AlpineB+ 58 C National City23 mi from AlpineB+ 52 D+ El Cajon12 mi from AlpineB+ 50 D+ Lemon Grove18 mi from AlpineB 51 D+ Bostonia11 mi from AlpineB 50 D+ Restaurants & cafés: OpenStreetMap Sep 2026 · Groceries: OpenStreetMap Sep 2026
Common questions about living in Alpine
Is Alpine, CA a good place to live?
Alpine scores 49 out of 100, 27th of 30 San Diego suburbs. It is strongest on cost of living and weakest on amenities. Every weight behind that score is published on the methodology page.
Is Alpine expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades B. The median home is $864,000, 1% above the San Diego median, and the effective property tax rate is 0.72%. $1,973/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in Alpine?
Schools grade D. The districts serving Alpine sit at the 58th pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a 83% graduation rate and a 20.7 student–teacher ratio. Alpine is served by Grossmont Union High School District and Alpine Union Elementary. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from Alpine?
The mean commute is 30.2 min, with 44% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 16% working from home. Transit density is 2.5 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in Alpine?
Within two miles there are 2 groceries, 16 restaurants and cafés and 13 parks, which grades D− on amenities.
Are the homes in Alpine old or new?
The median home in Alpine was built in 1986 — newer than the San Diego median of 1980. That is a median, so a town can be half post-war and half new-build and still land there. 75% of homes are houses rather than flats.
Every answer is built from the figures on this page, with their sources and as-of dates on the methodology page.