Elevation of San Diego
63ft
above sea level · 19 m
San Diego is a city in California with 1,406,106 people, the 2nd most populous in the state. Of the 91 US cities with more than 250,000 people, it’s the 25th lowest.
By the Mapsfera Team
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Place facts
- Coordinates
- 32.72° N · 117.16° W
- In degrees, minutes and seconds: 32° 42′ 55″ N · 117° 9′ 26″ W
- UTM coordinates
- 11S · 485,263 E · 3,619,740 N
- Zone 11 · NAD83, the official US datum
- Time zone
- Pacific Time
- UTC−8 · UTC−7 in summer (daylight saving time)
- Population (2025)
- 1,406,106 people
- 326 sq mi of land · 4,313 people/sq mi
- Elevation model
- USGS 3DEP, 1 m grid
- Lidar from December 2023: the ground height at the city’s reference point.
Population
San Diego had 1,406,106 residents on July 1, 2025, according to Census Bureau estimates, 1.6% more than in April 2020, when it had 1,384,481. Its 326 sq mi of land work out to 4,313 people/sq mi; the state average is 253 people/sq mi.
It’s the 2nd most populous of the 1,617 places the Census counts in California (cities, towns and CDPs), after Los Angeles (3,869,089), and holds 3.6% of the state’s population.
It lies entirely within San Diego County. Its reference point in the USGS gazetteer is 8.2 mi from the geographic center the Census gives for the city.
Compared with other big cities
San Diego sits at 63 ft (19 m) above sea level. Of the 91 US cities with more than 250,000 people, the highest is Colorado Springs (6,009 ft) and the lowest is New Orleans (0 ft). The average is 858 ft: San Diego is 795 ft below it.
The state capital, Sacramento, is 473 mi away in a straight line and 36 ft lower than San Diego.
Of the 15 cities in California with a page, San Diego is the 7th lowest: the highest is Riverside (829 ft) and the lowest is Stockton (12 ft).
The highest point in California is Mount Whitney, at 14,494 ft according to the USGS: 14,431 ft above San Diego, 275 mi away in a straight line.
- 67 San Diego 63 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 San Diego.
What is the elevation of San Diego?
San Diego is 63 feet (19 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 San Diego?
Latitude 32.71533 and longitude -117.15726, in decimal degrees (32° 42′ 55″ N · 117° 9′ 26″ W). In UTM, zone 11: 485,263 E and 3,619,740 N, on NAD83.
How does San Diego rank among the highest big cities?
It’s the 25th lowest of the 91 US cities with more than 250,000 people. The highest is Colorado Springs (6,009 ft) and the lowest is New Orleans (0 ft).
What county is San Diego in?
San Diego County, California.
Which is higher, San Diego or Sacramento?
San Diego. San Diego sits at 63 ft and Sacramento at 27 ft: a difference of 36 ft, 473 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