The growing availability of more housing in San Diego has helped lower costs by a little. (Photo by Frank Sabatini Jr.)

Did You Know…

By Frank Sabatini Jr.

…that contrary to popular assumption, San Diego’s housing costs are around 25 to 30 percent lower than San Francisco’s, and nearly 7 percent lower than housing in Los Angeles?

The data stems from 2026 surveys compiled by government agencies and analytics firms such as the U.S. Census Bureau, the San Diego Housing Federation, and RentCafe, a national search engine of property managers and economic data.

In addition, RentCafe ranks San Diego as the safest metropolitan area in California, showing that its metro areas are 41 percent safer compared to other cities throughout the Golden State. And compared to San Francisco and Los Angeles, San Diegans generally face shorter urban commutes by about 15 minutes less in comparison—something to keep in mind while anxiously inching through rush hour on a morning you overslept for work and still haven’t had your coffee.