San Diego’s Population Will Grow 9% in the Next Decade

San Diego has a high percentage of young people. In fact, according to research from Cushman & Wakefield, more than half of the market population is made up of millennials and gen-Z. As a result, San Diego is a leader in changing workplace, retail and housing trends—and it isn’t slowing down. The population is expected to continue to grow over the next decade.

“Over the next 10 years, total population is forecasted to grow 9% or 335,000 people, with the most growth based on a forecasted number of people added to the submarkets of North City with 73,850-plus people, Central with 67,000-plus people and East Suburban with 57,700-plus people,” Jolanta Campion, director of research in San Diego for Cushman & Wakefield, tells GlobeSt.com.”

For the younger professional groups, the numbers are even greater and widespread throughout the market. “Total population representing a 20-39 age group is forecasted to grow 10% or by 96,300 people countywide from 974,000 people in 2020 to 1.07 million people in 2030,” says Campion. Based on the total number of people added to each area, Central County is forecasted to see the highest growth with 23,536-plus people, followed by North City with 19,278-plus people and North County East with 18,406-plus people. These three areas combined will account for 64% growth with 61,220-plus people of 96,224 in this age group countywide.”

All of this will mean an average annual growth of .6%, which San Diego has seen consistently in the past. “San Diego’s population is forecasted to grow on average 0.6% per year over the next five years, consistent with the 0.6% growth rate of the U.S. population,” says Campion. “This compares to a 0.9% growth rate over the last 20 years from 2000 to 2019 in San Diego and 0.8% nationwide.”

Overall, this will mean a similar innovative trends in terms of workplace changes, retail shifts and new housing that San Diego has seen recently. “With a large proportion of younger people, San Diego will continue to be at the forefront of changing workplace trends,” says Campion.