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Area information, such as education, cost of living and relocation services

Relocating to San Diego

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Are you looking to move to the "Golden State?" Look no further than the beautiful city of San Diego, California. Universities, tourist attractions and its proximity to the Pacific Ocean are just a few reasons why San Diego is a fantastic city. Not only is San Diego the second largest city in California, it also has many attractions for both residents and tourists. The San Diego Zoo, famous for its giant pandas, is one of the most popular attractions in Southern California. The year-round sunshine only adds to San Diego's appeal. "America's Finest City" is truly a fantastic place to work and live.

San Diego is the second largest city in California and the eighth largest city in the United States, located along the Pacific Ocean on the West coast of the Western United States. The California Department of Finance's latest figures estimate the city's population at 1,336,865. This coastal city is also the county seat of San Diego County as well as the economic center of the San Diego—Carlsbad—San Marcos metropolitan area. As of 2008, this metropolitan area is the 17th-largest in the United States with a population of 3,146,274 and the 21st-largest metropolitan area in the Americas when including Tijuana, Mexico. According to Forbes Magazine the city of San Diego ranks as the fifth wealthiest in the United States.

San Diego's economy is largely composed of agriculture, biotechnology/biosciences, computer sciences, electronics manufacturing, defense-related manufacturing, financial and business services, ship-repair and construction, software development, telecommunications, and tourism. The presence of the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) with the affiliated UCSD Medical Center promotes research in biotechnology.

Climate

San Diego enjoys mild, mostly dry weather with 264 sunshine days annually. Temperatures vary little throughout the year.

Summer or dry period of May to October are mild to warm with average high temperatures of 70–78°F and lows of 55–66°F, and temperatures exceed 90°F 4 days a year. Winter or rainy period of November to April are mild and somewhat rainy with high temperatures of 66–70°F and lows of 50–56°F.

Weather	City stats	Best places avg.
Annual precipitation (inches)	10.77	36.00
Clear days	146	107
High temp in July °F	75.8°	87.7°
Low temp in Jan °F	49.7°	23.5°

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,223,400 people, 450,691 households, and 271,315 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,771.9 people per square mile (1,456.4/km^²).

There were 451,126 households out of which 30.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.6% were married couples living together, 11.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.8% were non-families. 28.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.30.

In the city the population was spread out with 24.0% under the age of 18, 12.4% from 18 to 24, 34.0% from 25 to 44, 19.1% from 45 to 64, and 10.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 101.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.4 males

Population by ancestry/heritage

• White Non-Hispanic (49.3%) — excludes (11% White Hispanic)
• Hispanic/Latino of any race (25.4%)
• Asian (13.6%)
• Black/African American (7.6%)
• Two or more races (3.1%)
• Hawaiian and Pacific Islander alone (0.4%)
• American Indian/Alaska Native alone (0.4%)
• Other Race alone (0.2%)

Economy

The three largest sectors of San Diego's economy are defense, manufacturing, and tourism respectively.

Several areas of San Diego (in particular La Jolla and surrounding Sorrento Valley areas) are home to offices and research facilities for numerous biotechnology companies. Major biotechnology companies like Neurocrine Biosciences and Nventa Biopharmaceuticals are headquartered in San Diego, while many biotech and pharmaceutical companies, such as BD Biosciences, Biogen Idec, Integrated DNA Technologies, Merck, Pfizer, Élan, Genzyme, Cytovance, Celgene and Vertex, have offices or research facilities in San Diego. There are also several non-profit biotech institutes, such as the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, the Scripps Research Institute and the Burnham Institute. The presence of University of California, San Diego and other research institutions helped fuel biotechnology growth. In June 2004, San Diego was ranked the top biotech cluster in the U.S. by the Milken Institute.

San Diego is home to companies that develop wireless cellular technology. Qualcomm Incorporated was founded and is headquartered in San Diego; Qualcomm is the largest private-sector technology employer (excluding hospitals) in San Diego County. The largest software company in San Diego (according to the San Diego Business Journal) is security software company Websense Inc.

The economy of San Diego is influenced by its port, which includes the only major submarine and shipbuilding yards on the West Coast, as well as the largest naval fleet in the world. The cruise ship industry, which is the second largest in California, generates an estimated $2 million annually from the purchase of food, fuel, supplies, and maintenance services.

Due to San Diego's military influence, major national defense contractors, such as General Atomics and Science Applications International Corporation are headquartered in San Diego.

Tourism is also a major industry owing to the city's climate. Major tourist destinations include Balboa Park, the San Diego Zoo, Seaworld, nearby Wild Animal Park and Legoland, the city's beaches and golf tournaments like the Buick Invitational.

Income-Housing-Taxes

	City stats
Median family income (per year)	$59,775
Family purchasing power (annual, cost-of-living adjusted)	$38,001
Sales tax	7.75%
State income tax rate (highest bracket)	9.30%*
State income tax rate (lowest bracket)	1.00%*
Auto insurance premiums (Average for the state)	$2,186
Job growth % (2000-2005)	8.07%
Median home price	$493,000

Education

The San Diego Unified School District, also known as San Diego City Schools, is the school district that serves the majority of the city, it includes 113 elementary schools, 23 middle schools, 4 atypical schools, 10 alternative schools, 27 high schools and 25 charter schools. In the northern part of the county, Poway Unified School District and San Dieguito Union High School District are districts outside city limits, but serve several schools within city limits. In the southern part of the county, Sweetwater Union High School District serves multiple schools within city limits, although it is headquartered outside city limits.

According to education rankings released by the U.S. Census Bureau, 40.4 percent of San Diegans ages 25 and older hold bachelor's degrees. The census ranks the city as the ninth most educated city in the United States based on these figures.

Public colleges and universities in the city include University of California, San Diego (UCSD), San Diego State University (SDSU), California State University San Marcos (CSUSM) and the San Diego Community College District, which includes San Diego City College, San Diego Mesa College, and San Diego Miramar College.

Private colleges and universities in the city include Alliant International University (AIU), Coleman University, Design Institute of San Diego (DISD), Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising's San Diego campus, John Paul the Great Catholic University, National University, NewSchool of Architecture and Design, Pacific Oaks College, The Art Institute of California, San Diego, Point Loma Nazarene University (PLNU), San Diego Christian College, Southern States University (SSU), Woodbury University School of Architecture's satellite campus, and University of San Diego (USD).

There is one medical school in the city, the UCSD School of Medicine. There are three ABA accredited law schools in the city, which include California Western School of Law, Thomas Jefferson School of Law, and University of San Diego School of Law. There is also one unaccredited law school, Western Sierra Law School.

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