Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Imperial Beach's standout: it is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns. Overall it grades C−, ranked 467th of 841 in California. It has 10 miles of trail and 37% conserved land. Its weakest subject is cost of living: homes are expensive, about $830K for a typical one and 7.8 times the San Diego metro’s $106K median household income. Imperial Beach’s July high is 74°F, where California’s towns sit at 89°F and U.S. towns at 85°F. Imperial Beach's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 93% of U.S. towns. The biggest place to walk is Tijuana Slough National Wildlife Refuge, 773 acres with 6.4 miles of trail.
Where Imperial Beach beats most towns.
Initial Point of Boundary Between U.S. and MexicoWhere Imperial Beach’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Imperial Beach is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for walkability (better than 97% of comparable towns) to D− for cost of living (better than 5%), so the C− overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 17,773 in 1960, 26,137 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1918 and 6 maps from 1904 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Imperial Beach. Close and well known come first.
Big drawin town LandmarkMexico–United States border wall
Big draw15 mi Stadium & arenaSnapdragon Stadium
10 mi Stadium & arenaPetco Park
12 mi Zoo & aquariumSan Diego Zoo4.0M visitors a year
12 mi Park & preserveBalboa Park
11 mi MuseumUSS Midway MuseumMexico–United States border wall: Földhegy, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Snapdragon Stadium: Terrible Tim, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Petco Park: Mds08011, CC BY 4.0 · San Diego Zoo: en:User:Cburnett, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Balboa Park: Antoine Taveneaux, CC BY-SA 3.0 · USS Midway Museum: Christian David, CC BY-SA 4.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Imperial Beach, 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 Imperial Beach.
Imperial Beach keeps more of its land conserved than most of California, has fewer 90° days than nearly all U.S. towns and sends most of its workers to San Diego and beyond.
Its 1,061 conserved acres are a larger share of the town than in 95% of California towns.
10 miles of trail in 11 parks and preserves. Imperial Beach’s trail density is 2.3 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Tijuana Slough National Wildlife Refuge | 6.4 mi | 773 |
| 2. Border Field State Park | 2.5 mi | 257 |
| 3. International Friendship Park | 0.7 mi | 14 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the South Bay Union school district. Two of its 7 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Mar Vista Senior High, with 1,216 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Imperial Beach CharterLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–8 | Grades K–8 | 724 | C+ |
| Mar Vista Senior HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,216 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 83% of U.S. communities. Since 1983, 34 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Imperial Beach.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Imperial Beach has 2,782 jobs for its 11,611 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out.
Most working residents leave Imperial Beach for work: only 5% work in town. 15% of Imperial Beach residents live below the poverty line. The top destinations are San Diego (44%), Chula Vista (9%) and Coronado (4%).
| Imperial Beach | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 15% | 10% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 4.7% | 6.6% | 8% |
| Work from home | 11% | 14% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 27 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The Chula Vista weather station, 5 miles away, records that about 5 days a year reach 90°, fewer than in 95% of U.S. towns. January nights average 47.4°, milder than in 98% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 74.3°.
Imperial Beach has warm winters and cool summers, with very little rain. The January low in Imperial Beach is 47°F. Snow is almost unheard of.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Reported crimes fell from 328 to 172 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Within California, it does better than 71% of towns.
| Imperial Beach | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.9 per 1,000 residents | 13.4 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.8 per 1,000 residents | 2.9 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
31% of households own their home in Imperial Beach. The typical Imperial Beach home is worth about $830,000, up 2.5% in a year, 9% above the California typical home.
| Imperial Beach | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 31% | 64% | 73% |
| Median rent | $2,011 a month | $1,895 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Imperial Beach beats the California average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 11.
| Imperial Beach | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 70% | 72% | 79% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 36% | 33% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 16% | 14% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 9% | 8.1% |
| What stands out | Imperial Beach | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 5.8% | 6.4% |
| More adults facing housing insecurity | 19.2% | 14.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
18 within 15 miles of the center of Imperial Beach
About 7 of every 100 Imperial Beach residents are enrolled in college, about the same as California.
City in California, United States
Imperial Beach is a beach city in San Diego County, California, United States, with a population of 26,137 as of the 2020 census. It is in the South Bay area of San Diego County, 14.1 miles (22.7 km) south of downtown San Diego and 5 miles (8 km) northwest of downtown Tijuana, Mexico. Imperial Beach is the southernmost city in California and the West Coast of the United States.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Imperial Beach.
| Town | CA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Imperial Beach | #467 | C− | D− | C+ | B− | B− |
| San Diego | #249 | C+ | D− | C− | B+ | A |
| Coronado | #178 | B− | D− | C | B+ | A+ |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Imperial Beach grades C− overall, better than 23% of U.S. towns and #467 of 841 in California. It grades B− for health, C+ for safety and B− for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D−.
Within California, it does better than 71% of towns.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D−.
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