Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 31,969, settled in 1909.
Homes are expensive, about $771K for a typical one and 7.3 times the San Diego metro’s $106K median household income. Overall it grades C, 348th of 841 graded towns in California. It has 10 miles of trail and 28% conserved land and it is more walkable than 78% of U.S. towns. 28% of the land in Spring Valley is conserved, above both California’s towns (4.2%) and U.S. towns (4.3%). On hazard risk, just 105 of California’s 1,064 towns do better. San Diego National Wildlife Refuge, at 711 acres with 4.8 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
Where Spring Valley beats most towns.
Where Spring Valley’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 Spring Valley is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Bancroft, Hubert H., Ranchhouse is a National Historic Landmark, the National Register’s top tier.
Census counts: 29,742 in 1970, a peak of 55,331 in 1990, 30,998 in 2020. The archive holds 2 maps from 1904 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Spring Valley. Close and well known come first.
Big draw16 mi LandmarkMexico–United States border wall
Big draw9 mi Stadium & arenaSnapdragon Stadium
11 mi Stadium & arenaPetco Park
10 mi Zoo & aquariumSan Diego Zoo4.0M visitors a year
10 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
Spring Valley is unincorporated, so San Diego County and regional agencies provide most services.
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 Spring Valley.
Spring Valley carries less natural-hazard risk than most of California (mostly inland flooding), has milder winter nights than nearly all U.S. towns and sends most of its workers to San Diego and beyond.
In Spring Valley, the concentration of trails is 1.3 miles per square mile, above both the California town median (1.0) and the median of U.S. towns (0.4). 9.7 miles of trail in 7 parks and preserves. Parks and preserves in the town: 7, covering 736 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. San Diego National Wildlife Refuge | 4.8 mi | 711 |
| 2. Lamar County Park | 0.7 mi | 9 |
| 3. Del Parque County Park | 0.3 mi | 4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The largest public high school is Monte Vista High, with 1,543 students. Public schools: the Grossmont Union High school district. Of its 7 schools, two are listed below, each with the reason.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sweetwater Springs ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 378 | – |
| Monte Vista HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,543 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
Spring Valley has 3,675 jobs for its 13,180 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out.
Spring Valley: 2.9% of working residents work locally. Employers in Spring Valley added 441 jobs between 2013 and 2023, to 3,675. In Spring Valley, the income of the median household is $109,000. The top destinations are San Diego (45%), El Cajon (6%) and La Mesa (5%).
| Spring Valley | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $109,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 2.9% | 6.6% | 8% |
| Work from home | 11% | 14% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 26 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Against the 7,274 U.S. towns with household incomes like Spring Valley’s, it is less healthy than 56%: its national edge comes with its incomes.
The share of adults in Spring Valley who smoke cigarettes: 11%. This California town tracks California closely on all 32 CDC measures. Two figures for adults in the town: 73% had a checkup this year, 30% have high blood pressure.
| Spring Valley | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 36% | 33% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 73% | 72% | 79% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 31% | 35% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 16% | 14% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
January nights average 44°, milder than in 96% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 83.7°.
The town’s January low is 44°F. Snowfall is close to zero.
| Spring Valley | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 44°F | 40°F | 22°F |
| July high | 84°F | 89°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk lower than 89% of California towns, with expected losses of about $209 per resident a year; that rating is what its C+ for hazard risk is built on.
26 flood insurance claims have been paid in Spring Valley since 1979. In Spring Valley, the FEMA risk score is 57 of 100. FEMA puts 67% of the town’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding, and 19% to earthquakes.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
College graduates make up 32% of adults 25 and older, against 37% across California. By age, Spring Valley looks like California: each broad group is within 4 points. 14% of residents are 65 or older in the town.
| Spring Valley | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 14% | 16% | 18% |
| Median age | 37.9 years | 39.1 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 32% | 29% | 29% |
50% women, 50% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±1.8 points. Across California, 50.1% of residents are women. Median age: women 37.9, men 37.8.
| Spring Valley | CA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10.1% | 11.4% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 12.1% | 10.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8.8% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 14.6% | 14.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 14.2% | 13.9% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 14.5% | 12.5% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 12.2% | 12.1% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 8.4% | 9.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 5.2% | 6.5% | 7% |
| No diploma | 9.9% | 15.3% | 10.4% |
| High school | 19.5% | 20.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 26.9% | 19.3% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 11.3% | 7.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 21.6% | 22.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 10.8% | 14.4% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
A home in Spring Valley typically sold within 27 days of listing. The typical home value in the town is about $771,000, up 1% in a year, close to the California typical home. For Spring Valley, the typical rent is $2,166 a month.
| Spring Valley | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,166 a month | $1,895 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 64% | 64% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
26 within 15 miles of the center of Spring Valley
About 7 of every 100 Spring Valley residents are enrolled in college, about the same as California.
3 notable people were born in Spring Valley.
Census-designated place in California, United States
Spring Valley is a census-designated place (CDP) in the East County region of San Diego County, California. The population was 30,998 at the 2020 census, up from 28,205 at the 2010 census. From 1970 through 1990, Spring Valley included what is now the La Presa CDP to the south; La Presa is still popularly considered to be a part of Spring Valley. Extended definitions of Spring Valley may also include the Casa de Oro neighborhood to the north, which belongs to the Casa de Oro-Mount Helix CDP. Locations in both La Presa and Casa de Oro use Spring Valley addresses. Spring Valley is served by the 91977 and 91978 ZIP Codes.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Spring Valley.
| Town | CA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring Valley | #348 | C | D− | — | B− | B+ |
| La Presa | #283 | C+ | D | — | B | B |
| Casa de Oro-Mount Helix | #157 | B | D | — | B− | A |
| Lemon Grove | #432 | C | D | C | B− | B |
| Rancho San Diego | #369 | C | D− | — | C+ | A |
| La Mesa | #277 | C+ | D− | C | B | A− |
Spring Valley, La Presa, Casa de Oro-Mount Helix and Rancho San Diego report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Spring Valley with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Spring Valley grades C overall, better than 34% of U.S. towns and #348 of 841 in California. It grades B+ for health 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−.
3 notable people were born here, including Cory Littleton and Michael Wiley.
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