San Diego/Compare
Pacific Beach vs University
Pacific Beach and University are two official community planning areas in San Diego. Pacific Beach is the calmer Part I map (42 vs 32). University wins the errand count. Pacific Beach has the lower ACS median ($2,427).
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 | Pacific Beach | University |
|---|---|---|
| Safety | 42 | 32 |
| Schools | 50 | 50 |
| Walk | 13 | 100 |
| Cost fit | 100 | 92 |
| Vibe | 13 | 100 |
| Median rent | $2,427 | $2,728 |
| Median home | $1,372,211 | $1,169,730 |
| Population | 42,671 | 67,653 |
| Commute to Downtown | 24 min | 26 min |
| Commute to UTC | 14 min | 6 min |
| Commute to Mission Valley | 18 min | 16 min |
Living numbers
Who rents, how old, how much crime, how many shops — beside the scores.
| Fact | Pacific Beach | University |
|---|---|---|
| Renters | 69% | 63% |
| Median age | 34.4 | 31.7 |
| Median income | $130K | $112K |
| Part I per 1k | 22.7 | 23.8 |
| Groceries / 800m | 15 | 21 |
| Transit stops / 800m | 47 | 254 |
| Parks / 800m | 18 | 554 |
| 311 last 14 days | — | — |
Rent
Rent since 2014
ACS 5-year median gross rent for San Diego city. Up 70% since 2014. Pac. Beach is 5% above the 2024 city median. UTC is 18% 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 Pacific Beach if you want the cafes and the night and the rent gap is the point. Vibe is 13 vs 100. ACS median rent is $2,427 vs $2,728. Safety is 42 vs 32. Read both pages before you decide.
Pick University if you want the errands on foot and you want the cafes and the night. Walk is 100 vs 13. Vibe is 100 vs 13. Read both pages before you decide.
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
University
UTC and University City are the searches. UCSD sits in this plan, not in the coast village. The official name is University. Median age is 31.7, so this is not a dorm census. Bachelor's share is 76% and rent is $2,728. Cafes are 51 and bars are 3. Property Part I is 22.3 per 1,000 — the malls and the offices write a lot of that. The park count is canyon and campus pieces, not a shop on every block. Violent is 1.5.
$2,728 median rent · safety 32 · walk 100
Common questions
Same pair, said in questions. The numbers are in the tables.
Which is cheaper, Pacific Beach or University?
Pacific Beach is the lower ACS median: $2,427 vs $2,728. About 69% rent in Pacific Beach vs 63% in University. Survey medians, not a listing you can message tonight.
Is Pacific Beach more walkable than University?
University wins the errand count (walk 13 vs 100). Groceries inside 800 meters: 15 vs 21. Not a Walk Score license.
Which is safer on this map, Pacific Beach or University?
Pacific Beach is the calmer Part I read (42 vs 32). Combined rate 22.7 vs 23.8 per 1,000. Visitors count in those numbers.
Which scores higher for families, Pacific Beach or University?
Pacific Beach leads the school axis (50 vs 50). Nearby rating is thin vs thin. Median age 34.4 vs 31.7. Neither number is a school assignment.
Which has the shorter commute to Downtown?
24 minutes from Pacific Beach to Downtown, 26 from University. Pacific Beach is the shorter weekday. Not this hour's traffic.
If you drop both
Closest official community planning area that is not Pacific Beach or University: La Jolla. Prospect and the coves. Oldest median age in this set, 52.2, and only 29% of households rent. The home median is $1,908,428. Violent Part I is 1.6 per 1,000. Property is 16.9, which is the shops as much as the side streets. The inland campus is a different plan.
Scores are relative among official San Diego community planning areas with the same editorial weights. Read the method.