San Diego/Compare
Linda Vista vs Pacific Beach
Linda Vista and Pacific Beach are two official community planning areas in San Diego. Pacific Beach is the calmer Part I map (42 vs 21). Walk is a wash (13 vs 13). Linda Vista has the lower ACS median ($2,267).
Data period. ACS 2024 5-year (2020-2024) · SDPD Oct 2025 – Sep 2026 · OSM Oct 2026. ACS and SDPD retrieved 2026-10-14; OSM retrieved 2026-10-14. Editorial copy last revised Sep 2026.
Scores
Fit axes among official San Diego community planning areas.
| Axis | Linda Vista | Pacific Beach |
|---|---|---|
| Safety | 21 | 42 |
| Schools | 50 | 50 |
| Walk | 13 | 13 |
| Cost fit | 100 | 100 |
| Vibe | 7 | 13 |
| Median rent | $2,267 | $2,427 |
| Median home | $717,082 | $1,372,211 |
| Population | 35,468 | 42,671 |
| Commute to Downtown | 16 min | 24 min |
| Commute to UTC | 16 min | 14 min |
| Commute to Mission Valley | 10 min | 18 min |
Living numbers
Who rents, how old, how much crime, how many shops — beside the scores.
| Fact | Linda Vista | Pacific Beach |
|---|---|---|
| Renters | 57% | 69% |
| Median age | 34.6 | 34.4 |
| Median income | $87K | $130K |
| Part I per 1k | 30.2 | 22.7 |
| Groceries / 800m | 9 | 15 |
| Transit stops / 800m | 80 | 47 |
| Parks / 800m | 40 | 18 |
| 311 last 14 days | — | — |
Rent
Rent since 2014
ACS 5-year median gross rent for San Diego city. Up 70% since 2014. Linda V. is 2% below the 2024 city median. Pac. Beach is 5% above the 2024 city median.
Overlapping 5-year ACS windows (B25064), not asking rent. Census does not publish a rent series for each official neighborhood, so the line is the city place. Dashed marks are each area’s ACS 2024 median.
Which to pick
The same numbers as the table, in sentences. Nobody wins the city.
Pick Linda Vista if the shorter ride to Downtown is the point and the rent gap is the point. 16 vs 24 minutes to Downtown. ACS median rent is $2,267 vs $2,427. Read both pages before you decide.
Pick Pacific Beach if you want the cafes and the night and the quieter map matters more than the scene. Vibe is 13 vs 7. Safety is 42 vs 21. Read both pages before you decide.
Linda Vista
USD is a search on the west side of this plan. The official name is Linda Vista. Home median is $717,082. Property Part I is 25.7 per 1,000, high for a plan that is mostly houses — the commercial edge is inside the same line. Violent is 4.5.
$2,267 median rent · safety 21 · walk 13
Pacific Beach
Garnet Avenue is the search. The official plan is Pacific Beach. Rent is $2,427 and the home median is $1,372,211. Violent Part I is 4.5 per 1,000. Property is 18.2. Garnet is the night. The bay side of the same plan is quieter.
$2,427 median rent · safety 42 · walk 13
Common questions
Same pair, said in questions. The numbers are in the tables.
Which is cheaper, Linda Vista or Pacific Beach?
Linda Vista is the lower ACS median: $2,267 vs $2,427. About 57% rent in Linda Vista vs 69% in Pacific Beach. Survey medians, not a listing you can message tonight.
Is Linda Vista more walkable than Pacific Beach?
Walk is basically a tie (13 vs 13). Count groceries if you care: 9 in Linda Vista vs 15 in Pacific Beach, inside 800 meters.
Which is safer on this map, Linda Vista or Pacific Beach?
Pacific Beach is the calmer Part I read (42 vs 21). Combined rate 22.7 vs 30.2 per 1,000. Visitors count in those numbers.
Which scores higher for families, Linda Vista or Pacific Beach?
Linda Vista leads the school axis (50 vs 50). Nearby rating is thin vs thin. Median age 34.6 vs 34.4. Pacific Beach has more of the night. Neither number is a school assignment.
Which has the shorter commute to Downtown?
16 minutes from Linda Vista to Downtown, 24 from Pacific Beach. Linda Vista is the shorter weekday. Not this hour's traffic.
If you drop both
Closest official community planning area that is not Linda Vista or Pacific Beach: Mission Beach. One census tract and 1,774 residents. Belmont Park and the boardwalk sit on that small base, so violent Part I is 33.8 per 1,000 and property is 86.2 — the highest rates in this set, and not a score for every cottage. The ACS home figure is $2,000,001, the survey's top code, so it means at least $2 million rather than an exact price. Rent is $2,767.
Scores are relative among official San Diego community planning areas with the same editorial weights. Read the method.