San Diego/Compare
Mission Valley vs North Park
Mission Valley and North Park are two official community planning areas in San Diego. North Park is the calmer Part I map (53 vs 5). Mission Valley wins the errand count. North Park has the lower ACS median ($2,034).
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 | Mission Valley | North Park |
|---|---|---|
| Safety | 5 | 53 |
| Schools | 50 | 50 |
| Walk | 34 | 21 |
| Cost fit | 88 | 100 |
| Vibe | 24 | 13 |
| Median rent | $2,831 | $2,034 |
| Median home | $631,490 | $922,235 |
| Population | 24,121 | 47,597 |
| Commute to Downtown | 14 min | 12 min |
| Commute to UTC | 16 min | 24 min |
| Commute to Mission Valley | 6 min | 10 min |
Living numbers
Who rents, how old, how much crime, how many shops — beside the scores.
| Fact | Mission Valley | North Park |
|---|---|---|
| Renters | 72% | 72% |
| Median age | 33.8 | 35.8 |
| Median income | $98K | $101K |
| Part I per 1k | 88.0 | 19.7 |
| Groceries / 800m | 8 | 24 |
| Transit stops / 800m | 177 | 93 |
| Parks / 800m | 121 | 15 |
| 311 last 14 days | — | — |
Rent
Rent since 2014
ACS 5-year median gross rent for San Diego city. Up 70% since 2014. Msn Valley is 22% above the 2024 city median. N. Park is 12% below 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 Mission Valley if you want the errands on foot and you want the cafes and the night. Walk is 34 vs 21. Vibe is 24 vs 13. Read both pages before you decide.
Pick North Park if the quieter map matters more than the scene and you want the cafes and the night. Safety is 53 vs 5. Vibe is 13 vs 24. ACS median rent is $2,034 vs $2,831. Read both pages before you decide.
Mission Valley
Fashion Valley and the stadium are searches inside Mission Valley. Rent is $2,831 and the home median is $631,490 — more condo than house. Property Part I is 77.0 per 1,000, second only to the beach spit, because the malls and the hotels are in the count. Violent is 11.0. Not a score for every new building.
$2,831 median rent · safety 5 · walk 34
North Park
30th Street is the search. The official plan is North Park. Cafes and houses on the same grid. Rent is $2,034. Violent Part I is 3.2 per 1,000, calmer than the plan to the west. Median age is 35.8.
$2,034 median rent · safety 53 · walk 21
Common questions
Same pair, said in questions. The numbers are in the tables.
Which is cheaper, Mission Valley or North Park?
North Park is the lower ACS median: $2,831 vs $2,034. About 72% rent in North Park vs 72% in Mission Valley. Survey medians, not a listing you can message tonight.
Is Mission Valley more walkable than North Park?
Mission Valley wins the errand count (walk 34 vs 21). Groceries inside 800 meters: 8 vs 24. Not a Walk Score license.
Which is safer on this map, Mission Valley or North Park?
North Park is the calmer Part I read (53 vs 5). Combined rate 19.7 vs 88.0 per 1,000. Visitors count in those numbers.
Which scores higher for families, Mission Valley or North Park?
Mission Valley leads the school axis (50 vs 50). Nearby rating is thin vs thin. Median age 33.8 vs 35.8. North Park has more of the night. Neither number is a school assignment.
Which has the shorter commute to Downtown?
14 minutes from Mission Valley to Downtown, 12 from North Park. North Park is the shorter weekday. Not this hour's traffic.
If you drop both
Closest official community planning area that is not Mission Valley or North Park: Normal Heights. Adams Avenue is the search. The official plan is Mid-City: Normal Heights. Rent is $1,888, one of the lower central medians, and the home median is $778,085. Violent Part I is 4.6 per 1,000. A small grid, not a campus.
Mission Valley vs Normal HeightsNorth Park vs Normal Heights
Scores are relative among official San Diego community planning areas with the same editorial weights. Read the method.