Size is relative, as we know. Without a point of comparison, we cannot say that anything is either “big” or “little.” But we’ve seen the city and county of San Diego alternately described as a “big city with a small town feel,” a “small town vibe in a big package” and a “big small town.” I thought we’d have some fun with the numbers this week as we explore concepts of big and little and all that San Diego has to offer.
Let’s start with the big numbers. The land area of San Diego County is 4,206.62 square miles. That’s pretty big, but the state of California comprises 155,779 square miles and that makes San Diego only 2.6 percent of the state. That’s relatively little. The population (in 2012) of San Diego County is listed at 3,177,063 out of 37,999,878 total California residents, a little over 8 percent. You might say that’s pretty big for just one small town. An interesting little tidbit I found is that San Diego has the seventh highest percentage of gay residents in the entire U.S. And Nerdwallet named it the ninth most LGBT friendly city in the U.S. We don’t know quite how they came to that conclusion, but it sounds right.
The Farmer’s Almanac named San Diego as a city with one of the top 10 best climates and the Weather Channel designated it as having one of the two best summer climates in the U.S. The average temperature is gloriously 70 degrees and 75 percent of the year the sun is shining. This is 20 percent more than the U.S. average. Precipitation drops into the little category with an average of only 12 inches. New York City, in comparison, has an average of 46 inches, almost four times the amount. We cannot deny these are numbers that make a big, big difference in the quality of life in our fair city.
I found some other intriguing facts about San Diego while scouring the Web. Did you know, for instance that there are more than 1,000 taco shops in town, 660 happy hour locations and more beer breweries than 40 U.S. states? You certainly will be impressed with the one of the biggest numbers associated with our home – it produces 160 million avocados per year, a full 54 percent of the U.S. harvest. 94 percent of the businesses are locally owned, and this accounts for the friendly atmosphere of San Diego’s great neighborhoods, many of which sport those giant illuminated signs. We love those, don’t we?
A health site on the Internet called Prevention selected San Diego as one of the happiest and healthiest cities in America. It was chosen because supposedly the city has the highest percentage of folks who work out regularly. The availability of 50 miles of coastline to jog on, not to mention the myriad of mountain, desert and canyon hiking trails, cannot be overlooked as the genesis of all this activity. Since regular exercise promotes happiness, San Diego is considered a winner in the happiness division too. One other statistic bolsters this claim: the number of dogs in residence. It is noted that we have more than 700,000 dogs and 16 dog parks to accommodate them.
Yes, San Diego is the eighth largest city in the U.S. and the second largest in California. It’s big indeed, but when you are enjoying one of the little neighborhoods, one of the cool bars, lovely scenic spots and warm weather, it feels cozy and small. Big city amenities, small town pace. Like Baby Bear’s rocking chair, it feels just right!
Del Phillips is a California Licensed Real Estate agent. He is a member of the National, California and San Diego Association of Realtors. You can reach Del at Ascent Real Estate at 619-298-6666 or at Del@DelPhillips.com DRE LIC #01267333.
