San Diego County, California

San Diego County is a located on the  in the far southwest of the  of,  along its border with. According to the 2000 Census, its population was 2,813,833, making it the third largest county by population in the state and the in the country. The state of California estimates its population as of 2007 to be 3,098,269 people, increasing its rank to second place, ahead of. The is the  of.

History
European settlement in what is now San Diego County began with the founding of the by the, in 1769.

San Diego County became part of the United States as a result of the in 1848, ending the. This treaty designated the new border as terminating at a point on the coast which would result in the border passing one Spanish league south of the southernmost portion of San Diego Bay, thus ensuring that the  received this excellent natural harbor.

San Diego County was one of the original counties of California, and was created at the time of statehood in 1850. It was named after, which had been rechristened in 1602 by in honor of the  , known in  as San Diego de Alcalá de Henares, and whose name was borne by Vizcaíno's flagship.

Parts of the county were later divided off to create, in 1893, and , in 1907.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 4,526 (11,721 ). 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 varied topography. On its western side is seventy miles of coastline. Snow-capped mountains rise to the northeast, with the to the far east. The is in the northeast portion of the county.

is known locally as "North County", including the northern suburbs and some northern neighborhhods of the City of.

The eastern suburbs are collectively known as "East County", though they are in fact closer to the center of the county. The southern suburbs and southern detached portion of the City of San Diego, extending to the Mexican border, is collectively referred to as "South Bay".

Cities and towns in San Diego County
Incorporated Cities





Unincorporated Communities

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

Adjacent counties

 * , -  (east)
 * , -  (northwest)
 * , -  (north)

Airports

 * Lindbergh Field, (SAN) a.k.a.
 * , (MYF)
 * , (CLD or CRQ) a.k.a. Palomar Airport, Carlsbad Airport
 * , (SEE) located in El Cajon
 * Agua Caliente Airport
 * Borrego Valley Airport
 * Fallbrook Airport
 * Jacumba Airport
 * Lake Wohlford (private, tiny)
 * Ocotillo Airport
 * Pauma Valley (private)
 * , (RNM)
 * Brown Field, (SDM) (former East Field, NAAS Otay Mesa, and NAAS Brown Field)
 * Brown Field, (SDM) (former East Field, NAAS Otay Mesa, and NAAS Brown Field)

Sites of interest

 * - owned and primarily operated by
 * - owned and primarily operated by
 * The wine-producing region is located 28 s (45 ) northeast of
 * The, 35 miles north of the and east of Escondido
 * of San Diego is located on Mission Bay. It is owned by.
 * Mission Bay Recreation Area, including Fiesta Island, is a sheltered bay popular for watersports and known for the annual Over the Line tournament.
 * Mission San Diego de Alcala, the first of California's 21 Spanish missions, is located in the city. It is an operating Roman Catholic parish and also is open for historical interest tours during the week. It is located near the interchange of Interstates 8 and 15.
 * , with several museums and other cultural locations, is located adjacent to . This large park extends from 6th Avenue to 28th Street west to east, and through the entire area occupied on the west and east sides by west-east streets alphabetically named after trees. (Ash, Beech, Cedar, etc. to Redwood, Spruce, Thorn, Upas).
 * is located between Mission Valley and.

Politics
San Diego County is somewhat politically divided, though it remains more conservative than most of, with in  being the last Democrat to have won a majority in the county. The city of San Diego itself, including, and  are part of the 53rd congressional district which has a Cook Partisan Voting Index (CPVI) of D +12. Northern suburbs including Carlsbad were 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 ; San Marcos, Escondido, Carlsbad, Oceanside, Coronado, Santee, Poway, El Cajon, and Vista overwhelmingly backed. 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 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.

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.

In the, all of California's , , and districts and parts of the  and  districts are in the county. In order of district number, they are held by Republican, Republican , Democrat , Republican , and Democrat.

In the, parts of the 66th and 73rd districts, and all of the 74th-79th districts are in the county. Districts 76 and 79 are held by Democrats, and  respectively; the others are held by Republicans; in number order they are, , , , , and.

In the, all of the 39th district and parts of the 36th, 38th, and 40th districts are in the county and are held by, in number order, Republicans and , and Democrats  and.

Demographics
As of 2006, there were 2,941,454 people, 1,067,846 households, and 663,449 families residing in the county. The was 259/km² (670/sq mi). There were 1,118,410 housing units at an average density of 96/km² (248/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 52.3%, 5.6% or , 0.86% , 10.2% , 0.78% , 13% from , and 5% from two or more races. 29.9% of the population were or  of any race. 67.0% spoke, 21.9% , 3.1% and 1.2%  as their first language.

There were 994,677 households out of which 33.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.7% were 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 for the county was $22,926. About 8.9% of families and 12.4% of the population were below the, including 16.5% of those under age 18 and 6.8% of those age 65 or over.

Current estimates
According to estimates by the, the of San Diego County in 2005 was $64,273 (not adjusted for ). When adjusted for (1999 dollars; comparable to  data above), the median household income was $52,192.

ZIP Codes
See