El Cajon, California Demographics
Population trends, housing costs, income, commuting, and health, all on one page.
El Cajon, CA Population Density Map and Area Scores
Area Score
Health, income and education, each graded from F to A+. Explore interactive maps for deeper analysis.
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B
Health Around average
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D
Income Well below average
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D
Education Well below average
Source: Map AI Methodology
Population
| Metric | El Cajon | California Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 97,437 | 39,245,658 | 337,468,954 |
| Population density (per sq mi) | 6715.4 | 239.4 | 86.4 |
| Population growth (%/yr) | 0.43% | 0.19% | 0.59% |
| Median age | 36.6 | 35.5 | 37.3 |
| Households | 32,146 | 13,531,619 | 130,235,071 |
Population in El Cajon grew by 14.2% from 2009 to 2024, reaching 97,437 in 2024.
Population Growth 2009–2024
Race & Ethnicity
Age & Sex
The largest generation in El Cajon is Millennials, aged 29–44, at 23.1% of residents. That is 0.5 points below California as a whole.
- Gen Z 13–28 21,678 22.2% +0.5 pts
- Millennials 29–44 22,554 23.1% -0.5 pts
- Gen X 45–60 17,867 18.3% -1.5 pts
- Boomers 61–79 13,605 14.0% -1.3 pts
Residents by birth cohort, from the 2025 age distribution. The right-hand figure is how far each cohort's share sits above or below California, in percentage points. Children younger than Gen Z and the generations before the Boomers are counted in the population but not shown here, so these shares do not add up to 100%.
Male and female share
Women are 50.8% of the people living in El Cajon and men 49.2%.
- Women 50.8% California 49.9%
- Men 49.2% California 50.1%
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100% of everyone living in El Cajon
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Economy
El Cajon has a the economy index of D, which means it is barely prosperous.
| Metric | El Cajon | California Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $66,977 | $99,161 | $80,455 |
| Income growth (%/yr) | 4.82% | 5.57% | 4.80% |
| Unemployment rate | 9.8% | 6.6% | 5.2% |
The median household income in El Cajon is about 32% lower than in California.
Housing
| Metric | El Cajon | California Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median home price | $749,540 | $650,794 | $248,835 |
| Median rent | $1,855 | $2,036 | $1,407 |
| Homeownership rate | 40.8% | 55.9% | 65.2% |
The median home price in El Cajon is about 33.7 years' worth of rent — buying at the median price costs roughly as much as paying the median rent of $1,855 per month for that long.
Commute Time & Mobility
Commuters in El Cajon spend about 46 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 190 hours, about 7.9 full days, spent commuting.
| Metric | El Cajon | California Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| One-way commute (min) | 22.8 | 23.5 | 22.4 |
| Round-trip commute (min) | 45.6 | 47.0 | 44.8 |
| Yearly time spent (hours) | 190 | 196 | 187 |
| Estimated yearly cost | $5,888 | $6,065 | $5,790 |
| Work from home | 11.6% | 17.2% | 15.0% |
| Highway traffic (vehicles/day) | 32,892 | 16,509 | 8,813 |
| Local road traffic (vehicles/day) | 4,076 | 2,449 | 1,355 |
The average commute time in El Cajon is about the same as in California.
Estimated yearly cost applies a single national wage rule of thumb (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics average hourly earnings), not a measurement of wages in this area. Traffic volume figures come from proprietary Ticon and TrafficZoom data.
Education & Households
El Cajon has a education index of D, which means it is barely educated.
| Metric | El Cajon | California Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 20.8% | 33.0% | 31.6% |
| Average household size | 2.93 | 2.84 | 2.53 |
Health
El Cajon has a health index of B, which means it is quite healthy.
| Metric | El Cajon | California Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Life expectancy (years) | 76.9 | 79.6 | 78.3 |
| Self-rated poor health | 17.8% | 16.4% | 16.3% |
| Smokers | 15.6% | 13.9% | 19.0% |
El Cajon, CA Compared With Nearby Cities
El Cajon, CA is the largest of the 4 cities compared here, 97,437 residents against a local median of 22,051. El Cajon, CA's median household income, at $66,977, runs 41% below the $114,248 typical of the cities around it. That is the weaker end of the local range on this measure.
The cities themselves sit within $23,247 of each other on median household income, a tighter band than the gap between any of them and El Cajon, CA, which makes it a genuine outlier here rather than one end of a wide local spread. El Cajon, CA has the 4th highest median household income of the 4 areas compared here.
| Area | Population | Median household income | Median home price | Commute |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Cajon, CA | 97,437 | $66,977 #4/4 | $749,540 #3/4 | 22.8 min #1/4 |
| Casa de Oro-Mount Helix, CA | 22,051 | $125,144 | $924,446 | 25.6 min |
| Winter Gardens, CA | 20,903 | $101,897 | $655,333 | 24.0 min |
| Rancho San Diego, CA | 22,945 | $114,248 | $805,097 | 25.7 min |
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about El Cajon, California.
What is the population of El Cajon, California?
About 97,437 people live in El Cajon, California, in 32,146 households of 2.9 people on average. The median age is 36.6, close to the U.S. median of 37.3.
Is El Cajon, California urban or rural?
Averaged over its land area, El Cajon, California has 6,715 people per square mile, a density typical of a city. That is about 78 times the U.S. average of 86.
Is El Cajon, California an affordable place to live?
The median home costs 11.2 times the median household income ($749,540 against $66,977), compared with 3.1 times nationally. A ratio of about 3 is traditionally considered affordable. Median rent of $1,855 a month takes about 33% of the median household's income, above the 30% level at which HUD considers renters cost-burdened.
How strong is the job market in El Cajon, California?
Unemployment in El Cajon, California is 9.8%, well above the U.S. rate of 5.2%, so job seekers may face more competition than elsewhere.
How educated are people in El Cajon, California?
20.8% of adults in El Cajon, California hold a bachelor's degree or higher (about 1 in 5), well below the U.S. share of 31.6%.
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