Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 40/100
D−
Median home value$770,300
San Diego $854,700
Median rent$2,303/mo
San Diego $2,246/mo
Cost-burdened households45%
San Diego 44%
Oceanside
San Diego County172,242 residents3 school districts
53
C−
Suburbgrade score
14th of 30 San Diego suburbs. Strongest on cost of living, held back by housing & affordability.
53
San Diego median 52
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Oceanside yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 53 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 Oceanside is like to live in, by category
Bars show Oceanside against San Diego. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 47/100
D
Within-state proficiency56th pct
San Diego median 60th pct
Student–teacher ratio22.8
San Diego median 22.6
Graduation rate85%
San Diego median 86%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 72/100
B−
Housing cost index96
San Diego 100
Eff. tax rate0.62%
San Diego 0.67%
Local sales tax8.25%
San Diego median 7.75%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 53/100
C−
Mean commute28.7 min
San Diego 25.5 min
Under 30 minutes58%
San Diego 64%
Transit stops / sq mi6.3
San Diego median 4.2 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 65/100
C+
Restaurants & cafés50
San Diego median 50 · within 2 miles
Groceries9
San Diego median 6 · within 2 miles
Parks41
San Diego median 23 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 50/100
D+
Median household income$97,737
San Diego $106,268
Unemployment5.3%
San Diego 6.1%
Professional occupations40%
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 Oceanside 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 Oceanside on housing & affordability
Oceanside's weakest grade is D−. Six suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same four inputs.
SuburbHousingOverall
Solana Beach16 mi from OceansideB− 70 B− Encinitas12 mi from OceansideB− 72 B− Carlsbad7 mi from OceansideC 65 C+ Poway23 mi from OceansideC− 59 C Valley Center17 mi from OceansideD 40 D− San Marcos10 mi from OceansideD 61 C Median home value: ACS 2020–24 · Ownership rate: ACS 2020–24
Common questions about living in Oceanside
Is Oceanside, CA a good place to live?
Oceanside scores 53 out of 100, 14th 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 Oceanside expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades B−. The median home is $770,300, 10% below the San Diego median, and the effective property tax rate is 0.62%. $2,303/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in Oceanside?
Schools grade D. The districts serving Oceanside sit at the 56th pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a 85% graduation rate and a 22.8 student–teacher ratio. Oceanside is served by Oceanside Unified, Vista Unified and Bonsall Unified. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from Oceanside?
The mean commute is 28.7 min, with 58% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 16% working from home. Transit density is 6.3 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in Oceanside?
Within two miles there are 9 groceries, 50 restaurants and cafés and 41 parks, which grades C+ on amenities.
Are the homes in Oceanside old or new?
The median home in Oceanside was built in 1984 — close to 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. 64% 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.