Ranking the most beautiful city in the U.S. for everything from school systems to gas prices, real estate to debt levels, and even credit scores.
If you live in San Diego, then you’re probably incredibly proud of your scenic SoCal city, and vacationers flock to experience its beautiful bay and temperate climate. But is life in San Diego really all sunshine, sports, and sea breezes?
Let’s dig into the data and see where San Diego ranks for just about everything, from school systems to gas prices, real estate to debt levels, and even credit scores.
#2 Most Playful Cities
San Diego was voted the second most playful city in the U.S., including the most active residents and the best number and quality of attractions, events, concerts, restaurants, and the like. By the way, Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN was #1, calling into question the validity of this whole list!
#3 City with the most comfortable weather
With average day time temperatures in the high 70s most of the year and plenty of sunshine, it’s no wonder why San Diego is near the top for best weather!
#3 Best city for dating
Plenty of fit, attractive, young people and plenty to do and see = the perfect place to go out on a date!
#3 Best real estate market
Factoring in price appreciation, total home sales, market stability, availability of listings, and the luxury market, Trulia named San Diego the third-best real estate market in the country. That may not be the case if you’re a renter, as San Diego also has some of the highest rents in the country.
With average home prices nearing the mid-700k range and rents sky-high, it’s more important than ever for San Diego residents to maintain a great credit score!
#5 Worst city for risk of identity theft
Apparently, San Diego is rife with data hacks, identity theft, credit fraud, and more. In fact, it’s behind only San Francisco, Seattle, Denver, and San Jose as the worst cities for credit and ID theft in the entire U.S.
#9 Largest population
Surprisingly, San Diego holds nearly 1.4 million residents, making it the eighth-largest city by population in the entire U.S.
#14 Riskiest online cities
Following up on San Diego’s unfavorable ranking as the 5th most prevalent city for ID theft, it’s also #14 on the list for cybercrime. The lesson here is to watch your Ps and Qs online and protect your data with credit monitoring and frequent credit checks!
#14 Best place to retire
San Diego and surrounding counties are a haven for retirees…as long as they can afford the good life!
#19 Best city for young professionals
San Diego’s population skews much younger than the U.S. average. Add in a robust economy and a thriving tech community, and San Diego is a pretty good place to be if you’re a young professional.
#23 Quality of public schools
San Diego ranks as the 23rd best city in the entire U.S. for the quality of public schools, a notable accomplishment considering the city’s considerable population and California’s stretched-thin budget.
#27 Highest gas prices
San Diego may be a fun and scenic place to live, but that comes at a cost – especially if you’re on the roads a lot. In fact, San Diego has some of the highest gas prices out of any major city in the U.S. and tied for the highest in California.
#35 Highest debt levels
San Diego may be a relatively affluent city, but how much of that SoCal Instagram-able lifestyle is financed by debt? Quite a lot, if this data holds true since San Diego has the #35th highest average debt out of any city in the country. In fact, San Diegans average about $8,655 each just for credit card debt, and the total (non-mortgage) household debt is a whopping $28,240 in San Diego!
#36 Best place to live
Only #36?! Take out the high cost of living, real estate, and renting, and San Diego would probably rank as the best place to live in the entire U.S.!
#225 Credit scores
Oh, no! San Diego may rank high for a lot of positive reasons, but the news isn’t so good when it comes to credit scores. Actually, San Diegans rank way down the list for average credit scores among the largest metropolitan areas in America.
In fact, Padres and Chargers fans (and the rest of San Diegans) have nothing to boast about with an average 696 FICO Score, which is 18th as a city…just out of California, not the entire U.S.! And for Vantage Score, the San Diego average is even lower at only 678 (based on a scale of 300 to 850).
And while San Diego scores high for diversity (#4 in the entire nation), their non-egalitarian spread of credit scores is notable. In fact, the majority (53.5%) of San Diego residents have Very Poor (350-550) or Poor (550-649) credit scores. Only 36.2% of San Diegans have Excellent credit of 750 and above.
Obviously, San Diego falls short on the list of cities with the best credit scores. If you live or work in San Diego and need some help with your credit score, contact the #1 trusted credit repair firm in all of San Diego, Blue Water Credit!
