Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A city of 146,030, settled in 1884.
Escondido earns a D, ranked 551st of 841 in California. One bright spot: it is more walkable than 85% of U.S. towns. 26% of the land in Escondido is conserved, against 4.2% in California’s towns and 4.3% across U.S. towns. The biggest place to walk is Daley Ranch, 3,204 acres with 27.2 miles of trail. The typical home is worth about $839K, 7.9 years of the San Diego metro’s $106K median household income.
Where Escondido beats most towns.
| College | Students |
|---|---|
| John Paul the Great Catholic University | 298 |
| Westminster Theological Seminary in California | 101 |
2 colleges in town.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Escondido is from typical.
Its grades run from A for walkability (better than 85% of comparable towns) to D− for cost of living (better than 5%), so the D overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 541 in 1890, 151,038 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1896 and 6 maps from 1893 on.
5 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Escondido. Close and well known come first.
Big draw24 mi Stadium & arenaSnapdragon Stadium
30 mi Stadium & arenaPetco Park
5 mi Zoo & aquariumSan Diego Zoo Safari Park
28 mi Zoo & aquariumSan Diego Zoo4.0M visitors a year
14 mi Theme parkLegoland California
27 mi Theme parkSeaWorld San Diego4.0M visitors a yearSnapdragon Stadium: Terrible Tim, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Petco Park: Mds08011, CC BY 4.0 · San Diego Zoo Safari Park: Flickr user: Olivier Bruchez https://www.flickr.com/photos/bruchez/, CC BY-SA 2.0 · San Diego Zoo: en:User:Cburnett, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Legoland California: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jdigger/, CC BY 2.0 · SeaWorld San Diego: ZooFari, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Escondido, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Escondido.
Escondido has milder winter nights than nearly all U.S. towns and has seen reported crime fall beyond ordinary swings, but it scores below San Marcos and its other neighbors on health.
53 miles of trail in 16 parks and preserves. At 1.4 miles per square mile, Escondido’s trail density is where California’s towns sit at 1.0 and U.S. towns at 0.4.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Daley Ranch | 27.2 mi | 3,204 |
| 2. Kit Carson Park | 4.7 mi | 295 |
| 3. Dixon Lake Park | 3.4 mi | 310 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Escondido Union school district. Three of its 43 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Classical AcademyLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–8 | Grades K–8 | 1,581 | – |
| San Pasqual HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,846 | B |
| Del Lago Academy - Campus of Applied ScienceTop results in townGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 765 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 78% of U.S. communities. Since 1980, 28 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Escondido.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Reported crimes fell from 2,958 to 2,582 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The violent crime rate in Escondido is 3.3 per 1,000 residents. Within California, it does better than 48% of towns.
| Escondido | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.3 per 1,000 residents | 2.9 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 14.1 per 1,000 residents | 13.3 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
January nights average 42°, milder than in 95% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 87.1°.
Escondido has warm winters and warm summers, with very little rain. Escondido’s January low is 42°F. Snow is almost unheard of.
| Escondido | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 42°F | 40°F | 22°F |
| July high | 87°F | 89°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Most working residents leave Escondido for work: only 17% work in town. Since 2013, Escondido has added 8,450 jobs, to 49,089 in 2023. The top destinations are San Diego (24%), San Marcos (7%) and Carlsbad (6%).
| Escondido | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 17% | 6.6% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 12% | 10% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 28 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 14% | 14% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the California average. 14% of Escondido residents are 65 or older. Escondido has lost 3.3% of its people since 2020, down to 146,030 in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Escondido | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 36.9 years | 39.1 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 14% | 16% | 18% |
50% women, 50% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±1 point. Across California, 50.1% of residents are women. Median age: women 38.1, men 35.9.
| Escondido | CA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 12.2% | 11.4% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.5% | 10.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8.7% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 15.5% | 14.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 14.4% | 13.9% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12.2% | 12.5% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 12.2% | 12.1% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 8.5% | 9.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6% | 6.5% | 7% |
| No diploma | 19.3% | 15.3% | 10.4% |
| High school | 23% | 20.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 20.7% | 19.3% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8.1% | 7.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 19% | 22.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 9.8% | 14.4% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
53% of households own their home in Escondido. The typical Escondido home is worth about $839,000, up 1% in a year, 10% above the California typical home. 62% of renter households spend 30% or more of their income on rent in Escondido.
| Escondido | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 53% | 64% | 73% |
| Median rent | $2,046 a month | $1,895 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 62% | 55% | 48% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
All 3 graded neighbors score healthier than its B−, from San Marcos (A−) to San Diego (A).
Escondido beats the California average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 8.
| Escondido | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 71% | 72% | 79% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 16% | 14% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 9% | 8.1% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 36% | 33% |
| What stands out | Escondido | CA |
|---|---|---|
| More uninsured adults | 14.1% | 10.6% |
| More adults facing housing insecurity | 18.9% | 14.9% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 22.5% | 17.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
6 within 15 miles of the center of Escondido
About 7 of every 100 Escondido residents are enrolled in college, about the same as California.
5 places in Escondido on the National Register of Historic Places.
40 notable people were born in Escondido.
City in California, United States
Escondido (Spanish for 'hidden') is a city in San Diego County, California, United States. Located in the North County region, it was incorporated in 1888, and is one of the oldest cities in San Diego County. It has a population of 151,038 as of the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Escondido.
All 3 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its D; Harmony Grove (C+) is closest.
| Town | CA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Escondido | #551 | D | D− | C | C+ | B− |
| San Diego | #249 | C+ | D− | C− | B+ | A |
| San Marcos | #100 | B+ | D− | B | A− | A− |
| Harmony Grove | #276 | C+ | D− | — | C+ | A |
| Del Dios | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Harmony Grove reports no FBI crime data of its own. Del Dios isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Escondido with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Escondido grades D overall, better than 15% of U.S. towns and #551 of 841 in California. It grades B− for health, C for safety and C+ for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D−.
Within California, it does better than 48% of towns.
40 notable people were born here, including Lester Bangs and Sarah Attar.
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