Imperial Beach, California Demographics
Population trends, housing costs, income, commuting, and health, all on one page.
Imperial Beach, 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 | Imperial Beach | California Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 25,196 | 39,245,658 | 337,468,954 |
| Population density (per sq mi) | 5716.0 | 239.4 | 86.4 |
| Population growth (%/yr) | -0.46% | 0.19% | 0.59% |
| Median age | 35.1 | 35.5 | 37.3 |
| Households | 9,134 | 13,531,619 | 130,235,071 |
Population in Imperial Beach grew by 0.5% from 2009 to 2024, reaching 25,196 in 2024.
Population Growth 2009–2024
Race & Ethnicity
Age & Sex
The largest generation in Imperial Beach is Gen Z, aged 13–28, at 25.4% of residents. That is 3.7 points above California as a whole.
- Gen Z 13–28 6,411 25.4% +3.7 pts
- Millennials 29–44 5,955 23.6% on par
- Gen X 45–60 4,945 19.6% -0.2 pts
- Boomers 61–79 2,781 11.0% -4.2 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 49.5% of the people living in Imperial Beach and men 50.5%.
- Women 49.5% California 49.9%
- Men 50.5% California 50.1%
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Economy
Imperial Beach has a the economy index of D, which means it is barely prosperous.
| Metric | Imperial Beach | California Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $84,067 | $99,161 | $80,455 |
| Income growth (%/yr) | 7.37% | 5.57% | 4.80% |
| Unemployment rate | 6.5% | 6.6% | 5.2% |
The median household income in Imperial Beach is about 15% lower than in California.
Housing
| Metric | Imperial Beach | California Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median home price | $528,248 | $650,794 | $248,835 |
| Median rent | $1,999 | $2,036 | $1,407 |
| Homeownership rate | 31.1% | 55.9% | 65.2% |
The median home price in Imperial Beach is about 22.0 years' worth of rent — buying at the median price costs roughly as much as paying the median rent of $1,999 per month for that long.
Commute Time & Mobility
Commuters in Imperial Beach spend about 52 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 219 hours, about 9.1 full days, spent commuting.
| Metric | Imperial Beach | California Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| One-way commute (min) | 26.2 | 23.5 | 22.4 |
| Round-trip commute (min) | 52.5 | 47.0 | 44.8 |
| Yearly time spent (hours) | 219 | 196 | 187 |
| Estimated yearly cost | $6,777 | $6,065 | $5,790 |
| Work from home | 10.6% | 17.2% | 15.0% |
| Highway traffic (vehicles/day) | 27,145 | 16,509 | 8,813 |
| Local road traffic (vehicles/day) | 7,401 | 2,449 | 1,355 |
The average commute time in Imperial Beach is 26 minutes, longer than the 23 minutes 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
Imperial Beach has a education index of D, which means it is barely educated.
| Metric | Imperial Beach | California Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 20.4% | 33.0% | 31.6% |
| Average household size | 2.69 | 2.84 | 2.53 |
Health
Imperial Beach has a health index of B, which means it is quite healthy.
| Metric | Imperial Beach | California Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Life expectancy (years) | 79.3 | 79.6 | 78.3 |
| Self-rated poor health | 17.0% | 16.4% | 16.3% |
| Smokers | 13.5% | 13.9% | 19.0% |
Imperial Beach, CA Compared With Nearby Cities
Imperial Beach, CA is the smallest of the 4 cities compared here, 25,196 residents against a local median of 57,784. Imperial Beach, CA's median home price, at $528,248, runs 25% below the $704,019 typical of the cities around it.
The cities themselves sit within $75,811 of each other on median home price, a tighter band than the gap between any of them and Imperial Beach, CA, which makes it a genuine outlier here rather than one end of a wide local spread. Imperial Beach, CA has the 4th highest median home price of the 4 areas compared here.
| Area | Population | Median household income | Median home price | Commute |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Imperial Beach, CA | 25,196 | $84,067 #3/4 | $528,248 #4/4 | 26.2 min #4/4 |
| National City, CA | 57,784 | $67,172 | $732,876 | 22.4 min |
| Chula Vista, CA | 265,525 | $105,666 | $704,019 | 25.6 min |
| La Presa, CA | 34,750 | $96,192 | $657,064 | 23.6 min |
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Imperial Beach, California.
What is the population of Imperial Beach, California?
About 25,196 people live in Imperial Beach, California, in 9,134 households of 2.7 people on average. The median age is 35.1, so residents are younger than the U.S. median of 37.3 by about 2 years.
How densely populated is Imperial Beach, California?
Averaged over its land area, Imperial Beach, California has 5,716 people per square mile, a density typical of a city. That is about 66 times the U.S. average of 86.
Is Imperial Beach, California an affordable place to live?
The median home costs 6.3 times the median household income ($528,248 against $84,067), compared with 3.1 times nationally. A ratio of about 3 is traditionally considered affordable. Median rent of $1,999 a month takes about 29% of the median household's income, below the 30% level at which HUD considers renters cost-burdened.
How educated are people in Imperial Beach, California?
20.4% of adults in Imperial Beach, 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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