WikiPortallus: San Diego County, California.html

San Diego County is a county located near the Pacific Ocean in the far southwest of the U.S. state of California. It is the southwesternmost county in the contiguous 48 states. The population in 2000 was 2,813,835. A July 2008 estimate placed the population at 3,001,072 people, making it the third most populous county in California, just behind its northern neighbor Orange County.¹ The population in 2009 was 3,208,466 making it the sixth most-populous county in the United States.² The county seat and largest city is San Diego.

The county contains the American metropolitan statistical area San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos. In addition, San Diego County is part of the San Diego – Tijuana metropolitan area, an area with over 5 million people and the largest bi-national metropolitan area shared between the United States and Mexico. San Diego County is also part of the Southern California Southern Border region, also referred to as San Diego-Imperial, the smallest but most economically diverse region in the state.³

History

The area which is now San Diego County has been inhabited for more than 10,000 years by Kumeyaay (also called Diegueño), Luiseño, Cupeño and Cahuilla Indians.⁵

San Diego County became part of the United States as a result of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848, ending the U.S.-Mexican War. This treaty designated the new border as terminating at a point on the Pacific Ocean coast which would result in the border passing one Spanish league south of the southernmost portion of San Diego Bay, thus ensuring that the United States received the natural harbor.

San Diego County was one of the original counties of California, and was created at the time of statehood in 1850.⁶ It was named after San Diego Bay, which had been rechristened in 1602 by Sebastián Vizcaíno in honor of the Franciscan St. Didacus of Alcalá, known in Spanish as San Diego de Alcalá de Henares, and whose name was borne by Vizcaíno's flagship.

As originally created in 1850 San Diego County was quite large and included most of southeastern California south and east of Los Angeles County. As such it included major parts of what are now Inyo, San Bernardino, Riverside, and Imperial counties.⁶

The later part of the 19th century witnessed numerous realignments of county boundaries. The most recent changes were the creation of Riverside County, in 1893,⁷ and Imperial County, in 1907.⁸

Geography

"East County" communities in red. In dark red are the cities of Santee and El Cajon which mark the western edge of East County. Unincorporated communities are in light red, including Lakeside and Alpine. Alpine marks the eastern edge of East County.

"North County" communities. Coastal cities are in dark blue, unincorporated coastal communities are in light blue. Inland cities are in dark yellow, unincorporated inland communities are in light yellow.
*this map does not include neighborhoods of San Diego that are regognized as being part of North County (ex. La Jolla, Sorrento Valley, Rancho Bernardo)
*Areas in white that are in this general region would be considered part of North County, only cities and unincorporated communities are colored on this map.

"South Bay Communities" of San Diego County. The cities of National City, Chula Vista, and Imperial Beach are in dark orange. The unincorporated community of Bonita is in light orange. San Ysidro and Otay Mesa, neighborhoods of the city of San Diego, are in pink.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 4,526 sq mi (11,721 km²). 4,200 sq mi (10,878 km²) of it is land and 326 sq mi (843 km²) of it (7.20%) is water.

San Diego County has a varied topography. On its western side is 70 miles (110 km) of coastline. Most of San Diego between the coast and the Laguna Mountains consists of hills, mesas, and canyons. Snow-capped (in winter) mountains rise to the northeast, with the Sonoran Desert to the far east. Cleveland National Forest is spread across the central portion of the county, while Anza-Borrego Desert State Park occupies most of the northeast.

North San Diego County is known locally as "North County"; the exact geographic definitions of "North County" vary, but it includes the northern suburbs and sometimes certain northern neighborhoods of the city of San Diego.

The eastern suburbs are collectively known as "East County", though most still lie in the western third of the county. The southern suburbs and southern detached portion of the city of San Diego, extending to the Mexican border, are collectively referred to as "South Bay".

Cities and towns in San Diego County

Urban communities of San Diego County

In San Diego County, many of the urban cities and communities are located on the south side of Interstate 8.

Indian reservations

San Diego County has 18 federally-recognized Indian reservations, more than any other county in the United States.⁹ Although they are typical in size to other Indian reservations in California (many of which are termed "Rancherías"), they are relatively tiny by national standards,^{citation needed} and all together total 200.2 square miles (518.5 km²) of area.

Adjacent counties and municipios

National protected areas

State parks and protected areas

Mountains

Lakes

Rivers

Transportation infrastructure

Major highways

Airports

Military facilities

Navy

Marines

Coast Guard

Sites of interest

Politics

San Diego County has historically been a Republican stronghold: 2008 was the first time in decades that a Democratic presidential nominee won a majority of the county's votes (though in 1992 Bill Clinton won a plurality). The city of San Diego itself is more Democratic than the county's average (though fairly moderate for a large city) and has voted for Democrats Clinton, Gore, Kerry, and Obama in the last five presidential elections respectively. The city of San Diego, as well as La Jolla, Coronado and Imperial Beach, is part of the 53rd congressional district which has a Cook Partisan Voting Index (CPVI) of D +12. San Diego's northern and eastern suburbs tend to be very conservative. Northern suburbs including Carlsbad are part of the 50th district with a CPVI of R +5. In the 2004 presidential election, San Diego, Encinitas, National City, Del Mar, and some other areas voted for John Kerry; San Marcos, Escondido, Carlsbad, Oceanside, Coronado, Santee, Poway, El Cajon, and Vista overwhelmingly backed George W. Bush. Chula Vista, La Mesa, Lemon Grove, Solana Beach, and Imperial Beach are considered swing areas of the county – Chula Vista and Imperial Beach narrowly backed Al Gore in 2000 but narrowly voted for Bush in 2004, while Solana Beach switched from Bush in 2000 to Kerry in 2004. La Mesa narrowly voted for Bush both times, and Lemon Grove narrowly went Democratic both times. In 2008, Barack Obama became the first Democrat to win a majority of votes in San Diego County since World War II. Obama captured Chula Vista, Oceanside, and Carlsbad.

One unique feature of the political scene is the use of Golden Hall, a convention facility next to City Hall, as a central elections center. The County Registrar of Voters rents the hall to distribute election results. Supporters and political observers are invited to watch the results come in, candidates give their victory and concession speeches and host parties for campaign volunteers and donors at the site, and television stations broadcast from the floor of the convention center. Golden Hall was scheduled to be closed in 2004, but was reused again for the November 2005 special election. The atmosphere on the evening of election day is often comparable to the voting portion of a political party national convention.¹²

On Nov. 4, 2008 San Diego County voted 53.8 % for Proposition 8 which amended the California Constitution to ban same-sex marriages, thus restoring Proposition 22 which was overturned by a ruling from the California Supreme Court. However the city of San Diego, along with Del Mar, Encinitas, and Solana Beach, voted against Proposition 8.¹³

Demographics

As of 2006, there were 2,941,454 people, 1,067,846 households, and 663,449 families residing in the county. The population density was 670 people per square mile (259/km²). There were 1,118,410 housing units at an average density of 248 per square mile (96/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 69.5% White American, 5.2% Black or African American, 0.7% Native American, 10.2% Asian, 0.4% Pacific Islander, 10.3% from other races, and 3.6% from two or more races. 29.9% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 67.0% spoke English, 21.9% Spanish, 3.1% Tagalog and 1.2% Vietnamese as their first language.

In 2000 there were 994,677 households out of which 33.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.7% were married couples living together, 11.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.3% were non-families. 24.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.73 and the average family size was 3.29.

In the county the population was spread out with 25.7% under the age of 18, 11.30% from 18 to 24, 32.0% from 25 to 44, 19.8% from 45 to 64, and 11.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 101.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.7 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $47,067, and the median income for a family was $53,438. Males had a median income of $36,952 versus $30,356 for females. The per capita income for the county was $22,926. About 8.9% of families and 12.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.5% of those under age 18 and 6.8% of those age 65 or over.

Current estimates

Crime statistics

San Diego County, California.html

Contents