civic
Neighborhood · City of San Diego neighborhood
San Ysidro
The busiest land border crossing in the Western Hemisphere, and a community that lives on both sides of it.
Population
29,703
Median home value
$720,457
Aug high / Jan low
77° / 47°
To downtown
16 mi
Latest from San Ysidro
See all news
San Ysidro is the City of San Diego's southernmost neighborhood, a dense community of about 30,000 people pressed against the Mexican border and home to the San Ysidro Port of Entry, the busiest land crossing in the Western Hemisphere. Before COVID, more than 53 million people and nearly 15 million vehicles crossed northbound in a single year. Tijuana is a walk across the pedestrian bridges, and daily life here moves in both directions. The neighborhood's history predates the modern crossing. A settlement grew after the 1885 railroad connection, and from 1908 to 1916 William Ellsworth Smythe's Little Landers colony farmed two-acre plots here until a flood destroyed it. San Diego annexed San Ysidro in 1957, and residents tried and failed to undo that in the 1970s. The population is about 94 percent Latino, and the neighborhood is bilingual in practice, with San Ysidro Boulevard lined with money exchanges, pharmacies, taco shops and clothing stores serving crossers. Recent change has come with a $625 million-plus expansion of the port completed in 2019, the PedWest crossing, and the Las Americas Premium Outlets on the border. Nonprofit Casa Familiar runs arts programming and community projects from its civic center and gallery. Home values sit below the city median, but household incomes are also lower, and air quality and freeway traffic around the port remain long-running concerns.
Living here
Draws
- Direct access to Tijuana for work, family and dining
- Trolley service to downtown San Diego
- Home values below the San Diego city median
- A tight-knit bilingual community with active nonprofits
Tradeoffs
- Freeway and border traffic, with related air-quality concerns
- Lower incomes and fewer amenities than much of the city
- Crowded parking near the port
- Distance of about 16 miles from downtown and further to the coast
Good for: Cross-border families and commuters who value being close to both San Diego and Tijuana.
Weather
San Ysidro sits about five miles from the ocean in the Tijuana River valley, close enough for regular May Gray and June Gloom and mild summers similar to Chula Vista. Cool air settles in the valley on winter nights, and Santa Ana winds in fall can push temperatures into the 90s. Rain falls mostly from December through March, and heavy storms have historically flooded the valley.
Aug avg high
77°F
Jan avg low
47°F
Annual rain
9.2"
Best time to visit: September through November and March through May bring the most comfortable weather, though border wait times matter more than weather for most visitors.
Housing
Typical home value $720,457 (+5.2% year over year) · median rent $1,707
Small older single-family houses on narrow lots near the historic village, 1970s-1990s tract homes and condos on the hills, and a large share of apartments and mobile home parks near the freeways.
Facts
- San Diego annexed San Ysidro in 1957, and a 1973 effort to reverse the annexation failed.
- The Little Landers colony, founded by William Ellsworth Smythe, farmed two-acre plots in San Ysidro from 1908 until a 1916 flood.
- A border inspection station has operated at San Ysidro since 1906; the current facility was built in 1973.
- In 2019, about 53.3 million people and 14.98 million vehicles entered the United States through the San Ysidro Port of Entry.
- The port's roughly $625 million three-phase modernization was completed in December 2019, leaving 34 northbound vehicle lanes with 62 booths.
- The PedWest pedestrian crossing opened northbound in July 2016.
- ZIP code 92173 counted 29,703 residents in the 2020 census, about 94 percent Hispanic or Latino.
- Commercial trucks do not use San Ysidro; they cross at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry.
Fun facts
- The Blue Line trolley ends steps from the border, so riders can go from downtown San Diego to Tijuana with a short walk.
- The PedEast crossing opened in 2015 alongside Mexico's Puerta Este building, and PedWest followed in 2016, giving the port two pedestrian gateways.
- Roberto's, now a chain across the Southwest, traces its start to a San Ysidro tortilla factory.
- The Little Landers motto was that a little land and a living is better than desperate struggle and wealth possibly.
Getting around
Freeways: I-5, I-805, SR-905
Transit: The UC San Diego Blue Line trolley serves Beyer Boulevard, Iris Avenue and the San Ysidro Transit Center at the border, with MTS buses and the Virginia Avenue transit center by PedWest.
Parking: Paid border lots fill early and charge by the day; street parking near San Ysidro Boulevard is scarce.
Walkability: The historic core near the border is walkable, with Redfin giving San Ysidro a Walk Score of 55 and Transit Score of 53.
Frequently asked
Is San Ysidro a good place to live?
It works best for people with ties on both sides of the border. Homes are valued around $720,000 per Zillow in July 2026, the trolley runs to downtown, and Tijuana is a walk away, but traffic, air quality near the port and fewer amenities are real tradeoffs.
What is the average home price in San Ysidro?
Zillow's home value index put the typical home at $720,457 in July 2026, up 5.2% over a year. Redfin's June 2026 median sale price was $735,000 on 14 sales, and median gross rent in ZIP 92173 is about $1,707 per Census survey data.
What is the weather like in San Ysidro?
Mild and coastal-influenced. The nearest NOAA normals station in Chula Vista averages January highs near 67.5 F, August highs near 76.9 F and about 9.2 inches of rain a year, with morning clouds common in May and June.
What is San Ysidro known for?
The San Ysidro Port of Entry, which handled about 53 million people in 2019, the Las Americas Premium Outlets on the border, and a mostly Latino, bilingual community that is part of the City of San Diego.
Is San Ysidro part of the City of San Diego?
Yes. San Diego annexed San Ysidro in 1957, and it is represented on the San Diego City Council, though its schools are run by the San Ysidro and Sweetwater Union districts.
Nearby neighborhoods
Sources
- Wikipedia: San Ysidro, San Diego
- Wikipedia: San Ysidro Port of Entry
- zip-codes.com: ZIP 92173 (2020 Census, ACS)
- NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, Chula Vista station USC00041758
- Zillow San Ysidro home values
- Redfin San Ysidro housing market
- The FRONT Arte y Cultura: Dia de los Muertos Festival
- Roberto's Taco Shop: Our Story
- San Diego Magazine South Bay guide