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San Marcos

A city of 94,882 people in California
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Around town

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Outdoors in San Marcos

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Map of San Marcos: conserved land, trails and the top places to walk
Conserved land15%2,343 of 15,668 acres
Trails64 mi2.6 mi per sq mi
Parks & preserves2725 conserved acres per 1,000 residents

Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US

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About San Marcos

City in California, United States
1963Established
94,833Population
24.4 sq miArea
581 ftElevation

San Marcos ( SAN MAR-kohs; Spanish for "St. Mark") is a city in the North County region of San Diego County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 94,833. It is the site of California State University San Marcos and Palomar College. The city is bordered by Escondido to the east, Encinitas to the southwest, Carlsbad to the west, and Vista to the northwest. Lake San Marcos is an enclave, or county island, within the southwestern part of the city and its sphere of influence but is an unincorporated community.

Official town website ↗

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)

Town numbers

ZIP code92069, 92078, 92079
Living in San Marcos

Housing in San Marcos

$958K≈ same as a year ago Typical home value · Zillow

The typical San Marcos home is worth about $958,000, about the same as a year ago, 25% above the California typical home.

A seller's market

Buyer’sBalancedSeller’s
Days on market37
Sale-to-list99.5%
Sold in May58
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data CenterHousing market →

Safety in San Marcos

B+

Safety Grade B+

San Marcos reports less crime per resident than 66% of the U.S. towns and cities we grade.

Violent crime per 1,000
San Marcos 1
California 4.3
U.S. 3.3
Property crime per 1,000
San Marcos 3.9
California 18.2
U.S. 15.5
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to policeCrime & safety →

Schools in San Marcos

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B+

School Grade B+

The public schools San Marcos’s kids attend, from kindergarten through graduation, outperform 69% of California’s districts on state tests and graduation. Among towns with similar incomes, they rank near the top.

DistrictSan Marcos UnifiedSchools22

School data from the U.S. Department of Education (NCES, EDFacts). The School Grade is our own summary of state test results and graduation rates, graded within CA. Ratings are from neighbors.

Famous people from San MarcosWriters, athletes, leaders and more who were born in San Marcos.Meet them →

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San Marcos

California · CA
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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01