San Diego/Compare
Ocean Beach vs Point Loma
Ocean Beach and Point Loma are two official community planning areas in San Diego. Point Loma is the calmer Part I map (89 vs 37). Point Loma wins the errand count. Ocean Beach has the lower ACS median ($2,266).
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 | Ocean Beach | Point Loma |
|---|---|---|
| Safety | 37 | 89 |
| Schools | 50 | 50 |
| Walk | 5 | 51 |
| Cost fit | 100 | 99 |
| Vibe | 6 | 56 |
| Median rent | $2,266 | $2,521 |
| Median home | $949,333 | $1,451,440 |
| Population | 15,467 | 42,761 |
| Commute to Downtown | 18 min | 16 min |
| Commute to UTC | 22 min | 26 min |
| Commute to Mission Valley | 18 min | 20 min |
Living numbers
Who rents, how old, how much crime, how many shops — beside the scores.
| Fact | Ocean Beach | Point Loma |
|---|---|---|
| Renters | 80% | 46% |
| Median age | 35.3 | 39.3 |
| Median income | $100K | $139K |
| Part I per 1k | 23.5 | 11.4 |
| Groceries / 800m | 5 | 18 |
| Transit stops / 800m | 22 | 88 |
| Parks / 800m | 14 | 328 |
| 311 last 14 days | — | — |
Rent
Rent since 2014
ACS 5-year median gross rent for San Diego city. Up 70% since 2014. Ocean B. is 2% below the 2024 city median. Pt Loma is 9% 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 Ocean Beach if the rent gap is the point and you want the cafes and the night. ACS median rent is $2,266 vs $2,521. Vibe is 6 vs 56. Read both pages before you decide.
Pick Point Loma if the quieter map matters more than the scene and you want the cafes and the night. Safety is 89 vs 37. Vibe is 56 vs 6. Walk is 51 vs 5. Read both pages before you decide.
Ocean Beach
Newport Avenue and the pier. The official plan is Ocean Beach. 80% of households rent. Rent is $2,266. Violent Part I is 7.1 per 1,000, higher than the beach plan to the north, and property is 16.4. A small grid with a loud end.
$2,266 median rent · safety 37 · walk 5
Point Loma
Point Loma and Liberty Station are searches. The official plan is Peninsula. Sunset Cliffs is the same polygon, not a second one. Home median is $1,451,440. Violent Part I is 2.2 per 1,000 and property is 9.2, a calmer read than the beach grids. The high park count is the point and the shoreline mapped as parks. 46% rent.
$2,521 median rent · safety 89 · walk 51
Common questions
Same pair, said in questions. The numbers are in the tables.
Which is cheaper, Ocean Beach or Point Loma?
Ocean Beach is the lower ACS median: $2,266 vs $2,521. About 80% rent in Ocean Beach vs 46% in Point Loma. Survey medians, not a listing you can message tonight.
Is Ocean Beach more walkable than Point Loma?
Point Loma wins the errand count (walk 5 vs 51). Groceries inside 800 meters: 5 vs 18. Not a Walk Score license.
Which is safer on this map, Ocean Beach or Point Loma?
Point Loma is the calmer Part I read (89 vs 37). Combined rate 11.4 vs 23.5 per 1,000. Visitors count in those numbers.
Which scores higher for families, Ocean Beach or Point Loma?
Ocean Beach leads the school axis (50 vs 50). Nearby rating is thin vs thin. Median age 35.3 vs 39.3. Point Loma has more of the night. Neither number is a school assignment.
Which has the shorter commute to Downtown?
18 minutes from Ocean Beach to Downtown, 16 from Point Loma. Point Loma is the shorter weekday. Not this hour's traffic.
If you drop both
Closest official community planning area that is not Ocean Beach or Point Loma: 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.