San Diego/Compare
Pacific Beach vs Uptown
Pacific Beach and Uptown are two official community planning areas in San Diego. Pacific Beach is the calmer Part I map (42 vs 26). Uptown wins the errand count. Uptown has the lower ACS median ($2,117).
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 | Uptown |
|---|---|---|
| Safety | 42 | 26 |
| Schools | 50 | 50 |
| Walk | 13 | 22 |
| Cost fit | 100 | 100 |
| Vibe | 13 | 13 |
| Median rent | $2,427 | $2,117 |
| Median home | $1,372,211 | $1,135,056 |
| Population | 42,671 | 41,741 |
| Commute to Downtown | 24 min | 10 min |
| Commute to UTC | 14 min | 26 min |
| Commute to Mission Valley | 18 min | 12 min |
Living numbers
Who rents, how old, how much crime, how many shops — beside the scores.
| Fact | Pacific Beach | Uptown |
|---|---|---|
| Renters | 69% | 66% |
| Median age | 34.4 | 42.2 |
| Median income | $130K | $109K |
| Part I per 1k | 22.7 | 25.6 |
| Groceries / 800m | 15 | 17 |
| Transit stops / 800m | 47 | 118 |
| Parks / 800m | 18 | 22 |
| 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. Uptown is 8% 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 Pacific Beach if the quieter map matters more than the scene. Safety is 42 vs 26. Read both pages before you decide.
Pick Uptown if the shorter ride to Downtown is the point and the rent gap is the point. 10 vs 24 minutes to Downtown. ACS median rent is $2,117 vs $2,427. Walk is 22 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
Uptown
Hillcrest, Mission Hills, and Bankers Hill are searches inside one plan. The official name is Uptown. Hillcrest is the night; the west side is houses. Median age is 42.2 and the home median is $1,135,056. Violent Part I is 5.7 per 1,000. Property is 19.9.
$2,117 median rent · safety 26 · walk 22
Common questions
Same pair, said in questions. The numbers are in the tables.
Which is cheaper, Pacific Beach or Uptown?
Uptown is the lower ACS median: $2,427 vs $2,117. About 66% rent in Uptown vs 69% in Pacific Beach. Survey medians, not a listing you can message tonight.
Is Pacific Beach more walkable than Uptown?
Uptown wins the errand count (walk 13 vs 22). Groceries inside 800 meters: 15 vs 17. Not a Walk Score license.
Which is safer on this map, Pacific Beach or Uptown?
Pacific Beach is the calmer Part I read (42 vs 26). Combined rate 22.7 vs 25.6 per 1,000. Visitors count in those numbers.
Which scores higher for families, Pacific Beach or Uptown?
Pacific Beach leads the school axis (50 vs 50). Nearby rating is thin vs thin. Median age 34.4 vs 42.2. Uptown has more of the night. Neither number is a school assignment.
Which has the shorter commute to Downtown?
24 minutes from Pacific Beach to Downtown, 10 from Uptown. Uptown is the shorter weekday. Not this hour's traffic.
If you drop both
Closest official community planning area that is not Pacific Beach or Uptown: 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.