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Compare towns

Coronado vs Imperial Beach

Next-door neighbors. The biggest differences: home values (2.3× in Coronado) and jobs per worker (6.3× in Coronado).

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Coronado, CAHomes around $2.56MCalifornia · 19,015 people
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Imperial Beach, CAAn outdoors townCalifornia · 25,764 people
Where each one shines

Two towns, two different strengths

What each town does better than most of its state (not better than each other). Tap one to see the page behind it.

The biggest differences

Where they part ways

The rows below where the towns are furthest apart, beyond the Census margin of error. The full table is further down.

★ What stands out · Monthly cost

A typical home costs $9,720 more a month in Coronado

A typical home in each town, bought with 20% down at 6.3% for 30 years, plus property tax at the town’s own rate and insurance. Change the numbers to fit you.

Coronado$14,480/mo
Typical home $2.56M (Zillow) · tax rate 0.50%+ · or rent about $3,257/mo · Housing →
Imperial Beach$4,770/mo
Typical home $835K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.55% · or rent about $2,011/mo · Housing →

The difference: $9,720 a month, about $116,600 a year, between Coronado and Imperial Beach.

Estimates, not a quote: your price, rate, tax bill and insurance will differ. Tax rate = the Census median tax bill over the median home value; “+” means the Census top-codes that town’s bill at $10,000, so its real rate is higher.

Report cards

Coronado places higher on 13 of 22 CA lists

Our letter grades for safety, schools and health, then every California ranking list both towns are on. A grade is one measure; read the page behind it.

Where they are

Coronado and Imperial Beach share a border

And the people who already live in one and work in the other.

CoronadoImperial BeachCoronadoImperial Beach
Coronado ↔ Imperial Beach6.8 miles apart · They share a border
Who commutes between them
502 Imperial Beach residents work in Coronado (4.3% of its workers)
Work & commute in Imperial Beach →
Life in each

What daily life feels like in each

The weather, the land, the history and the people, row by row. None of it is a grade: more snow is a plus to a skier.

Seasons
CoronadoImperial Beach
Snow a year0″0″
January low49°F47°F
July high74°F75°F
Growing season (days)365d365d
Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)80th83rd
Outdoors & history
CoronadoImperial Beach
Conserved land9%37.4%
Settled18901887
National Register places41
Archive photos318
Famous people born here351
Community
CoronadoImperial Beach
Library hours a week64 hrs45 hrs
Posts this month00
Neighbors joined00

A dot marks the most on each row. Climate: NOAA 1991–2020 normals at the nearest station. Hazard risk: FEMA National Risk Index, expected yearly damage vs U.S. towns.

Everything, side by side

What matters to you?

Pick a few. Those rows jump to the top and the best fit on each is marked. There’s no overall score: what matters is up to you.

CoronadoImperial Beach
People
Population 19,015Lowest 25,764Highest
Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +6.8%Highest CA: +6.1% -0.7%Lowest CA: +6.1%
Median age 42±3Highest 11% above CA 35.1±1.2Lowest 7% below CA
Kids under 18 17.8%±2Lowest CA: 22% 21.9%±2.8Highest CA: 22%
Imperial Beach and Coronado are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+ 22.1%±2Highest CA: 15.7% 12.3%±1.5Lowest CA: 15.7%
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 65.5%Highest CA: 37.1% 26.7%Lowest CA: 37.1%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 6.2%±1.8Lowest CA: 7.6% 6.6%±1.3Highest CA: 7.6%
Imperial Beach and Coronado are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian $134,534±$12kHighest 36% above CA $86,111±$10kLowest 13% below CA
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $2,000,001Highest 172% above CA $857,000±$22kLowest 17% above CA
Rentmedian gross, monthly $3,257±$172Highest 60% above CA $2,011±$85Lowest about the CA average
Property taxmedian, yearly $10,000+Highest at least 95% above CA $4,745Lowest 7% below CA
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 61.7%±8.1Highest CA: 55.3% 60%±6.7Lowest CA: 55.3%
Coronado and Imperial Beach are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line 4.7%Lowest CA: 12% 14.8%Highest CA: 12%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes 54.6%Highest CA: 55.9% 31.3%Lowest CA: 55.9%
Typical home builtmedian year 1974Highest 2 yrs older than CA 1971Lowest 5 yrs older than CA
Getting to work
Average commuteone way 18 minLowest 37% below CA 27 minHighest 6% below CA
Work from home 18.6%±3Highest CA: 17.2% 10.9%±2.5Lowest CA: 17.2%
Work in townworking residents 14.8%Highest 4.7%Lowest
Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 12.8 miLowest 14.3 miHighest
Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 1.51Highest 0.24Lowest
Top workplaceoutside town San Diego (41%)San Diego (44%)
Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in Imperial Beach4% work in Coronado
Outdoors
Conserved landshare of the town 9%Lowest 37.4%Highest
Trailsmapped miles 13.7 miHighest 10.3 miLowest
Trail densitymiles per sq mi 1.0 miLowest 2.3 miHighest
Parks & preservesnamed on the map 16Highest 11Lowest
Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 43.2Lowest 86.7Highest
Schools
Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #39 of 574 in CA#429 of 574 in CA
School district Coronado UnifiedSouth Bay Union · Sweetwater Union High
High school in town Coronado HighMar Vista Senior High
Students per teacherat that high school 18.0Lowest 22.2Highest
California average“±” Census margin of errorACS 2020–2024
Deciding?

Ask the people who live there

The numbers stop at the town line. Neighbors can tell you about the commute at 7am, the schools, the winters and the feel of the place.

Coronado neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Coronado’s Town Square.

Imperial Beach neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Imperial Beach’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Coronado and Imperial Beach

One tap adds it. Up to 4 towns at once.

Bordering Coronado

Towns like Coronado

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2010 & 2020 censuses, LEHD commute flows; Zillow Home Value Index; NCES Common Core of Data; FBI crime reporting; CDC PLACES; FEMA National Risk Index; NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020; USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. “±” is the Census margin of error; differences inside it are never called. Property tax is top-coded by the Census at $10,000+. There is no overall score: which town is better depends on what matters to you.

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