Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A city of 170,483, settled in 1883. Home to 62 notable people.
Oceanside is a city of 170,483, and it grades C overall, 404th among California's 841 graded towns. CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 75% of the country and it is more walkable than 87% of U.S. towns. The trade-offs: homes are expensive, about $865K for a typical one and 8.1 times the San Diego metro’s $106K median household income, and FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 73% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. Oceanside’s July high is 78°F, where California’s towns sit at 89°F and U.S. towns at 85°F. Oceanside is home to MiraCosta College.
Where Oceanside beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Oceanside is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
San Luis Rey Mission Church is a National Historic Landmark, the National Register’s top tier.
Census counts: 330 in 1900, 174,068 in 2020. The archive holds 21 old photos and papers going back to 1920 and 6 maps from 1893 on.
5 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Oceanside. Close and well known come first.
Big draw32 mi Stadium & arenaSnapdragon Stadium
7 mi Theme parkLegoland California
37 mi Stadium & arenaPetco Park
35 mi Zoo & aquariumSan Diego Zoo4.0M visitors a year
32 mi Theme parkSeaWorld San Diego4.0M visitors a year
35 mi Park & preserveBalboa ParkSnapdragon Stadium: Terrible Tim, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Legoland California: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jdigger/, CC BY 2.0 · Petco Park: Mds08011, CC BY 4.0 · San Diego Zoo: en:User:Cburnett, CC BY-SA 3.0 · SeaWorld San Diego: ZooFari, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Balboa Park: Antoine Taveneaux, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Oceanside, 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 Oceanside.
Oceanside fares better on crime within California than nationally and has milder winter nights than nearly all U.S. towns, but it has a long record of flood insurance claims.
42 miles of trail in 35 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is SoCal Sports Complex, at 55 acres. Oceanside’s trail density is 1.0 miles per square mile.
| Oceanside | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 15% | 4.2% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.0 miles per square mile | 1.0 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Martin Luther King Jr. Park | 1.1 mi | 16 |
| 2. Luiseño Park | 0.6 mi | 10 |
| 3. Lake Park | 0.4 mi | 10 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Oceanside Unified school district. Three of its 40 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Madison MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 1,158 | D− |
| El Camino HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2,463 | B+ |
| Mission Vista HighTop results in townGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,670 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
At 33.5 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 61% of California’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 3,783 to 3,219 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The violent crime rate in Oceanside is 3.8 per 1,000 residents.
| Oceanside | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.8 per 1,000 residents | 2.9 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 15.1 per 1,000 residents | 13.3 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
26% of Oceanside adults have obesity. Oceanside beats the California average on 4 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 30% of Oceanside adults have high blood pressure.
| Oceanside | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 29% | 35% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 31% | 35% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 36% | 36% | 33% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 11% | 14% |
| What stands out | Oceanside | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who get no exercise | 21.4% | 24.6% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 15.9% | 17.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 7.6% | 6.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Most working residents leave Oceanside for work: only 18% work in town. Jobs based in Oceanside grew to 42,328 in 2023, 7,154 more than in 2013. The top destinations are Carlsbad (15%), San Diego (14%) and Vista (6%).
| Oceanside | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 18% | 6.6% | 8% |
| Work from home | 16% | 14% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 29 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $98,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
101 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 12 properties have flooded more than once.
Since 1980, 101 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Oceanside.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
January nights average 46.6°, milder than in 97% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 78°.
Oceanside has warm winters and pleasant summers, with very little rain.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
58% of households own their home in Oceanside. The typical Oceanside home is worth about $865,000, up 1.6% in a year, 14% above the California typical home. 61% of renter households spend 30% or more of their income on rent in Oceanside.
| Oceanside | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,303 a month | $1,895 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 58% | 64% | 73% |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 61% | 55% | 48% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the California average. Oceanside has lost 2.1% of its people since 2020, down to 170,483 in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 36% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 37% across California.
| Oceanside | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 36% | 29% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 20% | 22% | 22% |
| Median age | 38.9 years | 39.1 years | 40.5 years |
49.6% women, 50.4% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±0.7 points. Across California, 50.1% of residents are women. Median age: women 41.2, men 36.9.
| Oceanside | CA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10.7% | 11.4% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9.5% | 10.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8.7% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 15.8% | 14.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.3% | 13.9% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12% | 12.5% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 13.1% | 12.1% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 9.8% | 9.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7.2% | 6.5% | 7% |
| No diploma | 13.3% | 15.3% | 10.4% |
| High school | 19.2% | 20.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 23.2% | 19.3% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8.2% | 7.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 23.2% | 22.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 12.9% | 14.4% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
5 within 15 miles of the center of Oceanside
About 7 of every 100 Oceanside residents are enrolled in college, about the same as California.
5 places in Oceanside on the National Register of Historic Places.
62 notable people were born in Oceanside.
City in California, United States
Oceanside is a beach city in the North County area of San Diego County, California, United States. The city had a population of 174,068 at the 2020 United States census, making it the most populous city in the North County region of San Diego. The city is a popular tourist destination, owing to its historic landmarks, beaches, and architecture. Oceanside's origins date to 1798, when the Spanish founded the village of San Luis Rey with the establishment of Mission San Luis Rey de Francia by Fermín de Lasuén. During the Spanish period, Mission San Luis Rey grew to be the largest of all the Californian missions, but following the Mexican secularization act of 1833 the mission and its community…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Oceanside.
| Town | CA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oceanside | #404 | C | D− | C− | B | A− |
| Carlsbad | #94 | B+ | D− | C+ | A | A+ |
| Vista | #331 | C | D− | B− | B | B+ |
| Camp Pendleton South | #469 | C− | D− | — | B− | A− |
| Bonsall | #431 | C | D− | — | B+ | A− |
Camp Pendleton South and Bonsall report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Oceanside with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Oceanside grades C overall, better than 29% of U.S. towns and #404 of 841 in California. It grades A− for health, C− for safety and B for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D−.
62 notable people were born here, including Joshua Bassett and Sam Kendricks.
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