San Luis Obispo, California
Area Profile
48,491 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for San Luis Obispo, in San Luis Obispo County.
How this area ranks
Data updated · 16 sourcesUnemployment is 4.0% and median household income $73,685, putting employment conditions in the middle range of cities measured.
In the public schools here, 65% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 22.2 students for every teacher.
Development activity is both elevated and accelerating — 220 housing units permitted over the past twelve months, up 21% on the prior year. That follows a longer stretch moving the other way, through 2025.
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
Jobs & opportunity
Unemployment of 4.0%, lower than in 61% of the 4,226 measured US cities.
Employment fell 3.4% over the past year, to 25,517 employed residents.
54% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 91% of measured US cities.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Income of new arrivalsSan Luis Obispo County, CA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023 | $103,869 | 84th percentileof 4,101 | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Income of those who leftSan Luis Obispo County, CA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023 | $77,011 | 58th percentileof 4,101 | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Median household income ±$7,2622024 ACS 5-Year | $73,685 | Top 41%of 29,223 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Per capita income ±$2,6972024 ACS 5-Year | $48,106 | Top 19%of 31,420 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Poverty rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year | 10.7% | Top 50%of 31,773 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Average commute ±0.9 min2024 ACS 5-Year | 17.0 min | Top 9%of 31,543 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 54.4% | Top 9%of 31,919 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 63.8% | 17th percentileof 31,433 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| EmploymentJuly 2026 | 25,517 | Bottom 31%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (3 years)July 2026 | −1.3% | Bottom 34%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (year over year)July 2026 | −3.4% | Bottom 5%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Labor forceJuly 2026 | 26,577 | 30th percentileof 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 81.1% | Top 39%of 31,513 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Mean annual wageSan Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS | $70,150 | Top 45%of 3,729 | 2025 OEWS |
| Median annual wageSan Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS | $50,770 | Bottom 46%of 3,729 | 2025 OEWS |
| Public transit to work ±0.6%2024 ACS 5-Year | 1.0% | 85th percentileof 31,433 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026 | −0.1% | Bottom 47%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Unemployment rateJuly 2026 | 4.0% | Top 39%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 17.1% | 81st percentileof 31,433 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
Unemployment rate
Median household income, successive ACS releases
Largest occupations — San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA
| Occupation | People employed | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Home Health and Personal Care Aides | 4,160 | $34,320 |
| Retail Salespersons | 3,390 | $37,780 |
| Fast Food and Counter Workers | 3,310 | $42,350 |
| Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse | 3,100 | $36,570 |
| Cashiers | 3,010 | $36,550 |
| Office Clerks, General | 2,860 | $46,110 |
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.
65% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 73% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.
There are 22.2 students for every full-time teacher across 12 public schools, more than in most measured places.
| School | District | Students | Per teacher | Math | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Luis Obispo High | San Luis Coastal Unified | 1,678 | 21.8 | 59% | 81% |
| Laguna Middle | San Luis Coastal Unified | 780 | 20.0 | 70% | 73% |
| C L Smith Elementary | San Luis Coastal Unified | 528 | 23.0 | 45% | 54% |
| Los Ranchos Elementary | San Luis Coastal Unified | 521 | 22.7 | 81% | 81% |
| Pacheco Elementary | San Luis Coastal Unified | 488 | 24.4 | 57% | 55% |
| Hawthorne Elementary | San Luis Coastal Unified | 437 | 23.0 | 60% | 59% |
| Sinsheimer Elementary | San Luis Coastal Unified | 401 | 25.1 | 73% | 75% |
| Bishop's Peak Elementary | San Luis Coastal Unified | 358 | 21.1 | 75% | 76% |
| Teach Elementary | San Luis Coastal Unified | 193 | 32.2 | 92% | 92% |
| Bellevue-Santa Fe Charter · charter | Bellevue-Santa Fe Charter District | 163 | 23.3 | 92% | 87% |
| Pacific Beach High | San Luis Coastal Unified | 62 | 15.5 | 10% | 30% |
| Peep - Prepare | San Luis Coastal Unified | 25 | 8.3 | — | — |
38.6% 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.
Housing & affordability
How it’s calculated — housing affordability →Prices for everything a household buys run about 11% above the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 111.0, 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 Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA Metro Area is up 37% over five years, and up 3.4% 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 $5,847 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.63% of the median home value.
HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $2,671, some 36% above the $1,965 tenants already here pay.
At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $2,671 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $106,800 a year, about 145% of the median household income here of $73,685.
The typical renter household here spends 45% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,965 a month.
A median home at $935,100 costs 7.2 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $130,467, well above the historic benchmark, at a level conventionally described as seriously unaffordable.
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 Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, 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.
The figures above are measured against San Luis Obispo’s median household income of $73,685, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost of living indexthe San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA Metro Area’s figure2023 | 111.0 | Bottom 20%of 3,700 | 2023 |
| Home price change (1 year)the San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2 | +3.4% | 54th percentileof 4,154 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price change (5 years)the San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2 | +36.5% | 34th percentileof 4,154 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price change (10 years)the San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2 | +78.3% | 25th percentileof 4,154 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price to income ±0.72024 ACS 5-Year | 7.2 | Bottom 2%of 26,815 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Homeownership rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 40.3% | 4th percentileof 31,717 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Housing units ±6632024 ACS 5-Year | 22,250 | 97th percentileof 32,177 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Market rent, one bedroomFY2026 | $2,036 | Bottom 18%of 4,072 | FY2026 |
| Market rent, three bedroomFY2026 | $3,584 | Bottom 9%of 4,072 | FY2026 |
| Market rent, two bedroomFY2026 | $2,671 | Bottom 13%of 4,072 | FY2026 |
| Median gross rent ±$822024 ACS 5-Year | $1,965 | Bottom 8%of 23,120 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median home value ±$25,0452024 ACS 5-Year | $935,100 | 98th percentileof 29,111 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median property taxes ±$2962024 ACS 5-Year | $5,847 | 93rd percentileof 26,440 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Owner household income ±$12,1982024 ACS 5-Year | $130,467 | Top 11%of 27,548 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Property tax rate ±0.04%2024 ACS 5-Year | 0.63% | 22nd percentileof 20,543 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Rent as a share of income ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year | 44.7% | Bottom 7%of 22,950 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Seasonal and second homes ±2262024 ACS 5-Year | 388 | 96th percentileof 32,330 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year | 1.7% | 68th percentileof 31,895 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year | 6.4% | 47th percentileof 31,769 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacant housing units ±4182024 ACS 5-Year | 1,809 | 97th percentileof 32,330 | 2024 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.
Growth & development
How it’s calculated — growth →Development Momentum
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 grown 5% since 2020, reaching 49,729 in 2024.
Permit activity fell in each of the 3 calendar years through 2025. Over the twelve months since, it has turned the other way — up 21% on the prior year.
Federal tax returns show that people moving in from elsewhere in the US and people moving out roughly balanced across San Luis Obispo County, which contains San Luis Obispo, in the most recent year. Households that moved in reported an average income of $103,869, above the $77,011 of households that moved out.
At 4.5 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.
Population, annual estimates
People moving in and out
Where newcomers came from
- Santa Barbara County, CA 1,471 people · 15% of arrivals
- Los Angeles County, CA 919 people · 9.2% of arrivals
- Kern County, CA 434 people · 4.3% of arrivals
- Santa Clara County, CA 431 people · 4.3% of arrivals
- Fresno County, CA 390 people · 3.9% of arrivals
Where people who left went
- Santa Barbara County, CA 1,244 people · 13% of departures
- Los Angeles County, CA 489 people · 5.0% of departures
- San Diego County, CA 446 people · 4.5% of departures
- Orange County, CA 311 people · 3.2% of departures
- Kern County, CA 296 people · 3.0% 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 Luis Obispo County, CA. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.
Housing units permitted per year
Weather & climate
9 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 78°F and January a low of 41°F.
Normal annual precipitation is 17.9 inches.
Air quality measures a median index of 49, in the Good band, and about 10 days a year pass 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.
Precipitation
| Metric | Value | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| 90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year | 80 | 2024 calendar year |
| Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals | 17.9" | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average January low1991-2020 Normals | 41°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average July high1991-2020 Normals | 78°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals | 9 | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year | 10 | 2024 calendar year |
| Median air quality index2024 calendar year | 49 | 2024 calendar year |
| Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals | 15°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
Air quality
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
The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, earthquake and drought, with inland flooding alone responsible for 51% of it.
Low or minimal exposure: coastal flooding, lightning, hail, tornado, avalanche, strong wind, winter weather, cold wave, ice storm, hurricane, volcanic activity.
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.
Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.
San Luis Obispo's police department reported 347 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, near the middle of places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 2,054.
San Luis Obispo County has a modeled homicide rate of about 2.7 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.
Firearm deaths of all intents run at 5.7 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.
Drug overdose deaths run at 24.5 per 100,000 residents in San Luis Obispo County.
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 San Luis Obispo’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 San Luis Obispo (San Luis Obispo County) rather than San Luis Obispo 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
2 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Santa Maria Pub/Capt G Allan Hancock Fld at 28 miles.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broadband access ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year | 92.7% | Top 36%of 31,588 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Distance to major airportNASR current cycle | 28 mi | Bottom 30%of 4,226 | NASR current cycle |
| Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle | 2 | Bottom 8%of 4,226 | NASR current cycle |
| No internet access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year | 4.0% | Top 31%of 31,588 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Airport | Code | Distance | Longest runway |
|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Maria Pub/Capt G Allan Hancock Fld | SMX | 28 mi | 8,004 ft |
| Meadows Fld | BFL | 92 mi | 10,849 ft |
| Fresno Yosemite Intl | FAT | 117 mi | 9,539 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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Other cities in San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA
Same metropolitan area, measured the same way| City | County | Population | Area Score | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Paso de Robles (Paso Robles) | San Luis Obispo County | 31,446 | 45 | El Paso de Robles (Paso Robles) vs San Luis Obispo |
| Atascadero | San Luis Obispo County | 29,712 | 47 | Atascadero vs San Luis Obispo |
| Arroyo Grande | San Luis Obispo County | 18,372 | 49 | Arroyo Grande vs San Luis Obispo |
| Nipomo | San Luis Obispo County | 17,516 | 50 | |
| Los Osos | San Luis Obispo County | 14,166 | 53 | |
| Grover Beach | San Luis Obispo County | 12,604 | 48 | |
| Morro Bay | San Luis Obispo County | 10,692 | 48 |
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.
Similar places
Matched on AreaProfile signals, not geographyCompare
Put San Luis Obispo side by side with a similar place.
Moving to San Luis Obispo from somewhere else?
You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.
Data & methodology
| Used for | Source | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| Access | Federal Aviation Administration Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service | NASR current cycle |
| Safety | Federal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency | 2025 calendar year |
| Physical risk | Federal Emergency Management Agency National Risk Index | National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0) |
| Demographics, Income | Internal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county) | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Climate | NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly) | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Housing | U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional price parities and county personal income | 2023 |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics | 2025 OEWS |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Local Area Unemployment Statistics | July 2026 |
| Demographics | U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program | July 1, 2024 estimate |
| Development | U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey | 12 months ending July 2026 |
| Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, Jobs | U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File) | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Safety | U.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 |
| Schools | U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments | 2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year |
| Housing | U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research Fair Market Rents | FY2026 |
| Climate | U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System Daily Air Quality Index by county | 2024 calendar year |
| Housing | U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions) | 2026 Q2 |
| Current conditions | NOAA 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.