Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Santee grades B overall, 142nd among California's 841 graded towns. The median household earns $113K and residents are healthier than 78% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. What holds it back is price: the typical home is worth about $795K, 7.5 years of the San Diego metro’s $106K median household income. Santee’s trail density is 3.9 miles per square mile, against 1.0 in California’s towns and 0.4 across U.S. towns. Santee is home to San Diego Christian College. Santee is more walkable than 83% of U.S. towns.
Where Santee beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
53,413 counted in 2010 and 60,037 in 2020; an estimated 58,205 in 2025.
Since 2020 the trend has turned: down 3.1%, after 12.4% growth in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Santee is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 21,107 in 1970, 60,037 in 2020. The archive holds 1 old photo or paper and 8 maps from 1893 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Santee. Close and well known come first.
Big draw24 mi LandmarkMexico–United States border wall
Big draw9 mi Stadium & arenaSnapdragon Stadium
14 mi Stadium & arenaPetco Park
13 mi Zoo & aquariumSan Diego Zoo4.0M visitors a year
13 mi Park & preserveBalboa Park
15 mi Theme parkSeaWorld San Diego4.0M visitors a yearMexico–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 · SeaWorld San Diego: ZooFari, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Santee, 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 Santee.
Santee fares better on crime within California than nationally, has milder winter nights than nearly all U.S. towns and has less no health insurance than most of California.
65 miles of trail in 13 parks and preserves. Santee Lakes Recreation Preserve, at 183 acres with 1.4 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. San Diego River | 2.9 mi | 103 |
| 2. Santee Lakes Recreation Preserve | 1.4 mi | 183 |
| 3. Walker Preserve Trail | 1.2 mi | 9 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Santee school district. Three of its 12 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rio Seco ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–8 | Grades K–8 | 913 | A− |
| West Hills HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,624 | A− |
| Sycamore Canyon ElementaryTop results in townGrades K–6 | Grades K–6 | 373 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 86% of U.S. communities. Since 1993, 5 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Santee.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its widest gap with California is no health insurance: 6.8% of those 18–64 have no health insurance, against 10.6% statewide. Against the 6,691 U.S. towns with household incomes like Santee’s, it is healthier than 57%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
26% of Santee adults have obesity, below both the California town median (29%) and the median of U.S. towns (35%). 20% of Santee adults get no exercise outside work. Santee beats the California average on 10 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 2.
| Santee | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 29% | 35% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 24% | 25% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 9.5% | 12% | 12% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 73% | 72% | 79% |
| What stands out | Santee | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 6.8% | 10.6% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 13.3% | 17.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 8% | 6.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Most working residents leave Santee for work: only 8% work in town. Since 2013, Santee has added 2,754 jobs, to 16,573 in 2023. 17% of workers work from home in Santee.
| Santee | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $113,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 17% | 14% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 7.9% | 10% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 27 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
January nights average 42.2°, milder than in 95% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 86.2°.
Santee has warm winters and warm summers, with very little rain. Santee’s January low is 42°F. Snow is almost unheard of.
| Santee | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 42°F | 40°F | 22°F |
| July high | 86°F | 89°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Adults 18 to 34 are 19% of residents (24% statewide). Santee has lost 3.1% of its people since 2020, down to 58,205 in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 35% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 37% across California.
| Santee | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 35% | 29% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 23% | 22% | 22% |
50% women, 50% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±1.1 points. Across California, 50.1% of residents are women. Median age: women 41.7, men 38.2.
| Santee | CA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 12.9% | 11.4% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.2% | 10.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 5.5% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 13.7% | 14.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 15.3% | 13.9% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12.8% | 12.5% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 13.2% | 12.1% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10.4% | 9.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6.1% | 6.5% | 7% |
| No diploma | 7.4% | 15.3% | 10.4% |
| High school | 20.3% | 20.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 27.4% | 19.3% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 9.9% | 7.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 23.7% | 22.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 11.3% | 14.4% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
At 16.1 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 85% of California’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 732 to 373 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The property crime rate in Santee is 4.7 per 1,000 residents.
| Santee | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4.7 per 1,000 residents | 13.4 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.6 per 1,000 residents | 2.9 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The typical Santee home is worth about $795,000, down 1% in a year, close to the California typical home.
| Santee | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,250 a month | $1,895 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 65% | 55% | 48% |
| Households that own their home | 72% | 64% | 73% |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
26 within 15 miles of the center of Santee
About 7 of every 100 Santee residents are enrolled in college, about the same as California.
10.7% of the town is conserved land, across 13 parks and preserves.
City in California, United States
Santee is a city in San Diego County, California, United States. The population was 60,037 at the 2020 census. It is a part of the East County region. The city is bisected by the San Diego River, a linear greenbelt that includes parks, trails and more than 1,100 acres (450 ha) of natural habitat.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Santee.
It grades higher overall than all 5 graded towns on its borders; Eucalyptus Hills (B−) comes closest.
| Town | CA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Santee | #142 | B | D− | B | B+ | A− |
| San Diego | #249 | C+ | D− | C− | B+ | A |
| El Cajon | #644 | D | D | C− | C+ | C+ |
| Winter Gardens | #382 | C | D | — | C+ | B |
| Bostonia | #399 | C | C− | — | B− | B− |
| Eucalyptus Hills | #194 | B− | C− | — | B | A− |
Winter Gardens, Bostonia and Eucalyptus Hills report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Santee with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Santee grades B overall, better than 59% of U.S. towns and #142 of 841 in California. It grades A− for health, B for safety and B+ for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D−.
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−.
2 notable people were born here, including Anders Tolhurst and Kalyn Schwartz.
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