Lemon Grove, California

Area Profile

27,686 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Lemon Grove, in San Diego County.

42out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 5% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 16 sources
Opportunity3,707th of 4,199 cities measured36
Schools3,512th of 4,162 cities measured23
GrowthTop 29% of 4,224 cities measured60
Housing affordability4,053rd of 4,218 cities measured31
ClimateTop 4% of 4,225 cities measured100
Physical resilience4,074th of 4,226 cities measured9
Access4,023rd of 4,226 cities measured55
Economic stabilityTop 45% of 4,226 cities measured61
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable cities measured: unemployment is 5.3% and the Opportunity signal places Lemon Grove in the bottom 12%.

In the public schools here, 33% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 22.6 students for every teacher.

Housing costs more relative to local incomes than in most cities measured: rent takes 36% of renter income and the median home is 6.3 times what its owners earn.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
27,686
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$88,009
Top 26% nationally
Density
7,137/sq mi
3.9 sq mi of land
Median age
37.1
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
California
Nearest major airport
TRM
80 mi · Jacqueline Cochran Rgnl
Median home value
$705,400
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 5.3% — higher than in all but 17% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment fell 2.0% over the past year, to 12,861 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsSan Diego County, CA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$90,05074th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftSan Diego County, CA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$86,13271st percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$6,7402024 ACS 5-Year$88,009Top 26%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,0962024 ACS 5-Year$36,672Top 41%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year9.1%Top 43%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.7 min2024 ACS 5-Year29.9 minBottom 34%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year20.2%Bottom 49%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year75.5%44th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202612,861Bottom 8%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−1.5%Bottom 31%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−2.0%Bottom 20%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202613,5838th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year79.2%Top 47%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageSan Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$79,060Top 19%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageSan Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$58,690Top 26%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year1.9%90th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−0.3%Top 38%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20265.3%Bottom 17%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year11.4%65th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/078.13.3
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 5.3% in July 2026. It has been rising for the last 2 months, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202488k71k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $88,009 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Home Health and Personal Care Aides57,080$35,300
Fast Food and Counter Workers42,550$42,190
Retail Salespersons34,390$37,810
Cashiers30,420$37,020
Registered Nurses28,680$139,520
Office Clerks, General28,470$49,920

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

33% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 44% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 22.6 students for every full-time teacher across 7 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
7
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
22.6
across all schools here
Math proficiency
32.9%
Bottom 32% in California
Reading proficiency
43.6%
Bottom 20% in California
All 7 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Lemon Grove Academy for the Sciences and HumanitiesLemon Grove51620.641%52%
San Miguel ElementaryLemon Grove43522.933%42%
Lemon Grove Academy ElementaryLemon Grove39926.6——
Mt. Vernon ElementaryLemon Grove35922.420%42%
Monterey Heights ElementaryLemon Grove34126.235%41%
San Altos ElementaryLemon Grove33821.132%37%
Lemon Grove Early Childhood Education CenterLemon Grove14217.8——

74.9% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against California’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 11% above the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 110.7, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA Metro Area is up 41% over five years, and up 2.5% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $4,752 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.67% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $2,462, some 30% above the $1,893 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $2,462 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $98,500 a year, about 112% of the median household income here of $88,009.

The typical renter household here spends 36% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,893 a month.

A median home at $705,400 costs 6.3 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $111,726, well above the historic benchmark, at a level conventionally described as seriously unaffordable.

Cost of living
110.7

Prices here run about 11% above the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
36.1%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
6.3×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$2,462
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,893
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$705,400
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Lemon Grove’s median household income of $88,009, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA Metro Area’s figure2023110.7Bottom 20%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+2.5%38th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+40.8%45th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+96.1%53rd percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.82024 ACS 5-Year6.3Bottom 4%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year52.5%11th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±4262024 ACS 5-Year9,39194th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$2,022Bottom 18%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$3,283Bottom 15%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$2,462Bottom 17%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$1122024 ACS 5-Year$1,893Bottom 9%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$30,8972024 ACS 5-Year$705,40095th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$4472024 ACS 5-Year$4,75288th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$12,9572024 ACS 5-Year$111,726Top 19%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.07%2024 ACS 5-Year0.67%27th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year36.1%Bottom 18%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±1042024 ACS 5-Year12091st percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year1.3%64th percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year2.3%23rd percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±1572024 ACS 5-Year34085th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

60/ 100
Top 29% of 4,224 published city profiles
The most recent move in permitting was downward, in a series running from 2020 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has been broadly flat since 2020, at 27,867 in 2024.

Permitting has turned downward after moving the other way the year before: 92 units authorized in 2025, 21% below the prior year.

Population is still rising but the pace is easing: 27,867 residents in 2024, up 0.5% over the year, a smaller gain than the year before.

Federal tax returns show San Diego County, which contains Lemon Grove, lost about 0.7% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $90,050, close to the $86,132 of households that moved out.

At 3.6 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
100
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
3.6
Top 39% nationally
Year over year
+355%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
55.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202428k28k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been rising for the last 3 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
−0.7%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
58%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$90,050
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$86,132
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Los Angeles County, CA 9,296 people · 8.8% of arrivals
  2. Riverside County, CA 8,425 people · 8.0% of arrivals
  3. Orange County, CA 5,810 people · 5.5% of arrivals
  4. San Bernardino County, CA 2,928 people · 2.8% of arrivals
  5. Maricopa County, AZ 2,636 people · 2.5% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Riverside County, CA 12,708 people · 10% of departures
  2. Los Angeles County, CA 6,906 people · 5.6% of departures
  3. Orange County, CA 4,787 people · 3.8% of departures
  4. Maricopa County, AZ 3,877 people · 3.1% of departures
  5. Clark County, NV 3,142 people · 2.5% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for San Diego County, CA. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

20202021202220232024202511622
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2020 (+318%).

Weather & climate

12 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 80°F and January a low of 46°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 11.0 inches.

Air quality measures a median index of 71, in the Moderate band, and about 52 days a year pass 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.

30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station SAN DIEGO MONTGOMERY FLD, 8.4 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND2.6"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year1052024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals11.0"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals46°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals80°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals121991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year522024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year712024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals17°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
71
Moderate on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
105
90th percentile index
Days above 100
52
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

9 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, wildfire and earthquake, with inland flooding alone responsible for 42% of it.

WildfireHigh
Inland floodingModerate
EarthquakeHigh
Heat waveModerate
AvalancheModerate

Low or minimal exposure: landslide, lightning, hail, coastal flooding, tornado, drought, tsunami, strong wind, winter weather, volcanic activity, hurricane, cold wave, ice storm.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Violent crime
344
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
767
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

Lemon Grove's police department reported 344 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, near the middle of places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 767.

San Diego County records 1.9 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, lower than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 5.4 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 18.7 per 100,000 residents in San Diego County.

Homicide
1.9
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
5.4
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
18.7
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
10.0
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by Lemon Grove’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around Lemon Grove (San Diego County) rather than Lemon Grove itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

6 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Jacqueline Cochran Rgnl at 80 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year94.2%Top 28%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle80 miBottom 4%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle6Top 27%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year3.9%Top 30%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Jacqueline Cochran RgnlTRM80 mi8,500 ft
March ARBRIV80 mi13,302 ft
Palm Springs IntlPSP82 mi10,000 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
42
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Other cities in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
San DiegoSan Diego County1,389,52651San Diego vs Lemon Grove
Chula VistaSan Diego County276,37549Chula Vista vs Lemon Grove
OceansideSan Diego County172,24243Oceanside vs Lemon Grove
EscondidoSan Diego County149,66841
CarlsbadSan Diego County114,37351
El CajonSan Diego County104,44940
VistaSan Diego County99,11444
San MarcosSan Diego County94,88250
EncinitasSan Diego County61,48054
La MesaSan Diego County60,79748
SanteeSan Diego County59,33244
National CitySan Diego County58,89332

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Compare

Put Lemon Grove side by side with a similar place.

Lemon Grove vs La PresaLemon Grove vs Imperial Beach

Moving to Lemon Grove from somewhere else?

You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

ZIP codes in Lemon Grove

1 ZIP area

Every ZIP area in Lemon Grove with census figures of its own, largest first. The ones linked below diverge enough from the city as a whole to carry a full profile; the rest track Lemon Grove closely, so their figures are here rather than on a page that would repeat this one. An Area Score is calculated for published profiles only, which is why it is blank on those rows.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
9194527,745$88,016$704,900—