Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 33/100
F
Median home value$857,000
San Diego $854,700
Median rent$2,011/mo
San Diego $2,246/mo
Cost-burdened households50%
San Diego 44%
Imperial Beach
San Diego County25,764 residents2 school districts
51
D+
Suburbgrade score
20th of 30 San Diego suburbs. Strongest on cost of living, held back by housing & affordability.
51
San Diego median 52
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Imperial Beach yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 51 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 Imperial Beach is like to live in, by category
Bars show Imperial Beach against San Diego. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 38/100
D−
Within-state proficiency40th pct
San Diego median 60th pct
Student–teacher ratio23.1
San Diego median 22.6
Graduation rate86%
San Diego median 86%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 84/100
A−
Housing cost index88
San Diego 100
Eff. tax rate0.56%
San Diego 0.67%
Local sales tax8.75%
San Diego median 7.75%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 53/100
C−
Mean commute27.1 min
San Diego 25.5 min
Under 30 minutes58%
San Diego 64%
Transit stops / sq mi7.2
San Diego median 4.2 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 66/100
C+
Restaurants & cafés56
San Diego median 50 · within 2 miles
Groceries5
San Diego median 6 · within 2 miles
Parks36
San Diego median 23 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 40/100
D−
Median household income$86,111
San Diego $106,268
Unemployment7.1%
San Diego 6.1%
Professional occupations33%
San Diego 48%
Residents
12% of the score · inactive
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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 Imperial Beach yet. If you live here, you can be the first.
Is it quiet at night?
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Do you feel safe walking after dark?
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Can you walk to a grocery store?
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Is it good for young children?
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Are yards and streets well kept?
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Tap either button to answer — no account neededAll twelve questions →
Better than Imperial Beach on housing & affordability
Imperial Beach's weakest grade is F. Six suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same four inputs.
SuburbHousingOverall
Coronado7 mi from Imperial BeachC+ 63 C+ Bonita10 mi from Imperial BeachC− 59 C Casa de Oro-Mount Helix16 mi from Imperial BeachD+ 57 C− Rancho San Diego18 mi from Imperial BeachD+ 49 D+ Santee21 mi from Imperial BeachD 58 C San Diego18 mi from Imperial BeachD− 63 C+ Median home value: ACS 2020–24 · Ownership rate: ACS 2020–24
Common questions about living in Imperial Beach
Is Imperial Beach, CA a good place to live?
Imperial Beach scores 51 out of 100, 20th of 30 San Diego suburbs. It is strongest on cost of living and weakest on housing & affordability. Every weight behind that score is published on the methodology page.
Is Imperial Beach expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades A−. The median home is $857,000, 0% above the San Diego median, and the effective property tax rate is 0.56%. $2,011/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in Imperial Beach?
Schools grade D−. The districts serving Imperial Beach sit at the 40th pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a 86% graduation rate and a 23.1 student–teacher ratio. Imperial Beach is served by Sweetwater Union High and South Bay Union. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from Imperial Beach?
The mean commute is 27.1 min, with 58% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 11% working from home. Transit density is 7.2 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in Imperial Beach?
Within two miles there are 5 groceries, 56 restaurants and cafés and 36 parks, which grades C+ on amenities.
Are the homes in Imperial Beach old or new?
The median home in Imperial Beach was built in 1971 — older 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. 53% 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.