Elevation of Escondido
648ft
above sea level · 198 m
Escondido is a city in California with 146,030 people, the 40th most populous in the state. Of the 249 US cities with 100,000 to 250,000 people, it’s the 98th highest.
By the Mapsfera Team
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Place facts
- Coordinates
- 33.12° N · 117.09° W
- In degrees, minutes and seconds: 33° 7′ 9″ N · 117° 5′ 11″ W
- UTM coordinates
- 11S · 491,938 E · 3,664,506 N
- Zone 11 · NAD83, the official US datum
- Time zone
- Pacific Time
- UTC−8 · UTC−7 in summer (daylight saving time)
- Population (2025)
- 146,030 people
- 37.3 sq mi of land · 3,910 people/sq mi
- Elevation model
- USGS 3DEP, 1 m grid
- Lidar from December 2023: the ground height at the city’s reference point.
Population
Escondido had 146,030 residents on July 1, 2025, according to Census Bureau estimates, 3.3% fewer than in April 2020, when it had 151,034. Its 37.3 sq mi of land work out to 3,910 people/sq mi; the state average is 253 people/sq mi.
It’s the 40th most populous of the 1,617 places the Census counts in California (cities, towns and CDPs), after Los Angeles (3,869,089), and holds 0.4% of the state’s population.
It lies entirely within San Diego County. Its reference point in the USGS gazetteer is 1.2 mi from the geographic center the Census gives for the city.
Compared with US cities of 100,000 to 250,000
Escondido sits at 648 ft (198 m) above sea level. Of the 249 US cities with 100,000 to 250,000 people, the highest is Lakewood (5,520 ft) and the lowest is Fort Lauderdale (3 ft). The average is 862 ft: Escondido is 214 ft below it.
The state capital, Sacramento, is 451 mi away in a straight line and 621 ft lower than Escondido.
The nearest city with more than 250,000 people is San Diego, 28 mi away in a straight line and 585 ft lower.
Of the 75 cities in California with a page, Escondido is the 21st highest: the highest is Hesperia (3,178 ft) and the lowest is Stockton (12 ft).
The highest point in California is Mount Whitney, at 14,494 ft according to the USGS: 13,846 ft above Escondido, 249 mi away in a straight line.
- 98 Escondido 648 ft
Each color band is 500 m (1,640 ft), the same colors as the map. See the full list
Nearest cities with a page
Tools for this place
Frequently asked questions
What people most often ask about the elevation of Escondido.
What is the elevation of Escondido?
Escondido is 648 feet (198 m) above sea level. That’s the ground height from the USGS 3DEP elevation model at the city’s reference point in the official gazetteer (GNIS). The city doesn’t have a single elevation: it rises and falls from one neighborhood to another.
What are the coordinates of Escondido?
Latitude 33.11921 and longitude -117.08642, in decimal degrees (33° 7′ 9″ N · 117° 5′ 11″ W). In UTM, zone 11: 491,938 E and 3,664,506 N, on NAD83.
How does Escondido rank among the highest US cities of its size?
It’s the 98th highest of the 249 US cities with 100,000 to 250,000 people. The highest is Lakewood (5,520 ft) and the lowest is Fort Lauderdale (3 ft).
What county is Escondido in?
San Diego County, California.
Which is higher, Escondido or Sacramento?
Escondido. Escondido sits at 648 ft and Sacramento at 27 ft: a difference of 621 ft, 451 mi apart in a straight line.
How is elevation measured?
Elevation is the height above mean sea level. In the US the official reference is the NAVD88 vertical datum. Summits are surveyed on the ground, with leveling and precise GPS. The USGS 3DEP is an elevation model of the whole country, largely from 1-meter lidar: it gives the ground height at every point. That’s why it can differ by a few feet from the official figure of a sharp summit.
Sources
- USGS 3DEP (EPQS service) The elevation: the ground height at the reference point. Public domain.
- USGS GNIS (official gazetteer) The city’s reference point (“Populated Place”). Public domain.
- U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 estimates Population, land area (2025 Gazetteer) and counties. Public domain.
- TIGERweb (U.S. Census Bureau) Which county and city the point falls in. Public domain.
- timezone-boundary-builder The point’s time zone (ODbL, © OpenStreetMap contributors).
- Terrain Tiles, OpenStreetMap and OpenFreeMap The relief shading and the base map (ODbL).
Methodology and sources · Spotted a mistake? Let us know