Neighborhood · City of San Diego neighborhood
City Heights
The most linguistically diverse square miles in the county, with El Cajon Boulevard and University Avenue running through.
Population
Median home value
Aug high / Jan low
City Heights is one of San Diego's most international neighborhoods, a dense grid of bungalows, apartment buildings and small storefronts east of North Park along University Avenue and El Cajon Boulevard. It began as its own municipality: East San Diego incorporated in 1912 and voted 1,344 to 1,109 to join the City of San Diego in 1923. Through the 1950s it was a commercial center for middle-class white residents while discriminatory housing practices kept people of color out. Construction of Interstate 15 through the neighborhood in the late 1950s accelerated white flight and disinvestment. Low rents drew new arrivals from the 1970s onward, and City Heights became home to large Vietnamese, Somali, Cambodian, Laotian and Latino communities. SANDAG estimated its population at 68,514 in 2022, the majority Hispanic and many households low-income. The Little Saigon Cultural District along El Cajon Boulevard, established in 2013, the refugee-run New Roots Community Farm and the resident-made mosaics of the Azalea Park Arts District reflect that history. Investment has been steady but uneven. Price Philanthropies has invested or leveraged more than $212 million in City Heights since 1998, including the City Heights Urban Village, and the Chollas Creek restoration has received grant funding. The neighborhood holds almost 60% of Mid-City's deed-restricted affordable homes. Freeway-level Rapid bus stations opened along I-15 in 2018, and rising prices, with a Redfin median sale of $724,748 in June 2026, have made displacement a central local issue.
Living here
Draws
- Among the lowest home prices in central San Diego
- Frequent bus service including Rapid lines
- Deep immigrant food and business culture
- Walkable commercial corridors
Tradeoffs
- Lower household incomes and fewer amenities than neighboring North Park
- Crowded housing and limited parking
- Freeway barriers from I-15 and I-805
- Rising prices raise displacement pressure
Good for: Buyers and renters who want an urban, multicultural neighborhood with strong transit and are comfortable with an area still seeing uneven investment.
Weather
City Heights sits on the mesas several miles inland, so summer afternoons run warmer than at the coast and winter nights cooler. The marine layer usually covers the neighborhood on May and June mornings before clearing, and Redfin's climate data rates heat risk as moderate for 96% of properties.
Aug avg high
Jan avg low
Best time to visit: Late fall through spring is the most comfortable time to walk the neighborhood's commercial corridors and markets.
Housing
Typical home value $724,748 (+2.1% year over year)
Early 20th-century bungalows and small cottages on narrow lots mixed with 1960s-80s apartment buildings and newer affordable housing developments; values vary sharply by sub-neighborhood, from Zillow's $412,982 in Colina del Sol to $798,354 in Islenair (August 2026).
Facts
- East San Diego incorporated as a city in 1912.
- East San Diego voters approved annexation to the City of San Diego in 1923, 1,344 to 1,109.
- SANDAG estimated City Heights' population at 68,514 on Jan. 1, 2022.
- The Little Saigon Cultural District on El Cajon Boulevard was established in 2013.
- Price Philanthropies has directly invested or leveraged more than $212 million in City Heights since 1998.
- As of February 2026, 2,148 of Mid-City's 3,406 deed-restricted affordable homes, almost 60%, were in City Heights.
- Construction of Interstate 15 through City Heights in the late 1950s accelerated white flight and disinvestment.
- City Heights has 12 public elementary schools, three middle schools and two high schools.
Fun facts
- City Heights was once its own city, East San Diego, for 11 years.
- The 1923 annexation vote passed by just 235 votes.
- Michelle Obama visited New Roots Community Farm in 2010.
- The Rapid bus line along I-15 stops at stations built at freeway level.
- Mid-City as a whole had about 135,172 residents in 2024, 8% fewer than its 2000 peak, while the city overall grew 14%.
Getting around
Freeways: I-15, I-805, SR-94
Transit: Rapid 215 runs along El Cajon Boulevard, freeway-level Rapid stations serve I-15, and MTS routes 1, 7, 10 and 13 cross the neighborhood.
Parking: Street parking is tight on apartment-dense blocks, and many older buildings have few or no off-street spaces.
Walkability: Redfin rates City Heights 77 (very walkable), with shops, schools and transit on the main corridors.
Frequently asked
Is City Heights a good place to live?
City Heights offers relatively affordable central housing, a walk score of 77 and frequent Rapid bus service. It also has lower incomes, crowding and uneven public investment, so experiences vary block to block.
What is the average home price in City Heights?
Redfin's median sale price was $724,748 in June 2026, up 2.1% from a year earlier. Zillow sub-neighborhood values range from about $413,000 in Colina del Sol to about $798,000 in Islenair.
What is the weather like in City Heights?
Using Montgomery Field as the nearest mesa reference, averages run about 66°F highs and 48°F lows in January and about 80°F highs in August. It is warmer than the coast in summer.
What is City Heights known for?
Its refugee and immigrant communities, including Vietnamese, Somali, Cambodian, Laotian and Latino residents, plus the Little Saigon Cultural District and New Roots Community Farm.
Was City Heights ever its own city?
Yes. It incorporated as East San Diego in 1912 and voted 1,344 to 1,109 to join San Diego in 1923.
Nearby neighborhoods
Sources
- Wikipedia: City Heights, San Diego
- City of San Diego Community Planning Group Demographic Data (SANDAG estimates, Jan. 1, 2022)
- Redfin: City Heights housing market
- Zillow: San Diego home values (nearby-neighborhood list)
- City of San Diego: Mid-City Atlas, Chapter 1
- City of San Diego: Mid-City Communities Plan Update workshop staff report (March 2026)
- WeatherSpark: Average Weather at Montgomery Field Airport