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.

Down paymentRate%

Encinitas$10,870/mo

Typical home $1.92M (Zillow) · tax rate 0.50% · or rent about $2,886/mo · Housing →

Carlsbad$9,200/mo

Typical home $1.59M (Zillow) · tax rate 0.64% · or rent about $2,808/mo · Housing →

The difference: $1,670 a month, about $20,000 a year, between Encinitas and Carlsbad.

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.

Where they are

Encinitas and Carlsbad share a border

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

EncinitasCarlsbad

Encinitas ↔ Carlsbad5.5 miles apart · They share a border

Who commutes between them

2,375 Carlsbad residents work in Encinitas (5.2% of its workers)

2,316 Encinitas residents work in Carlsbad (9.5% of its workers)

Work & commute in Carlsbad →

Report cards

Encinitas places higher on 12 of 21 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.

Safety

BEncinitasSafer than 58% of U.S. towns C+CarlsbadSafer than 43% of U.S. towns

Schools

A−EncinitasBetter than 77% of districts in the state A−CarlsbadBetter than 75% of districts in the state

Health

A+EncinitasHealthier than 96% of U.S. towns A+CarlsbadHealthier than 96% of U.S. towns

12Encinitas

6Carlsbad

Lists won, of 21 where both are ranked. Ties go to nobody.

Closest to a top hospitalHealth · 844 towns #61#350 Rent easiest to affordCost of living · 422 towns #95#229 Fastest growingGrowth · 816 towns #426#226 Most new homesHousing · 438 towns #97#179 Shortest commuteGetting around · 843 towns #245#369 SafestSafety · 411 towns #66#121 Most conserved landOutdoors · 777 towns #130#69 Most walkableOutdoors · 841 towns #392#331

Left end = #1 in California. Showing the lists where the towns are furthest apart. All of Encinitas’s rankings →

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

EncinitasCarlsbad

Snow a year0″0″

January low47°F 47°F

July high70°F 70°F

Growing season (days)365d 365d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)50th 59th

Outdoors & history

EncinitasCarlsbad

Trails84 mi 136 mi

Conserved land18.9%29.7%

Settled1986 —

National Register places3 2

Archive photos14 13

Famous people born here31 26

Community

EncinitasCarlsbad

Library hours a week51 hrs 50 hrs

Posts this month0 0

Neighbors joined0 0

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.

Only big differences vs California average

EncinitasCarlsbad

People

Population 61,480Lowest 114,373Highest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +4.2%Lowest CA: +6.1% +8.9%Highest CA: +6.1%

Median age 43.1±1.3Highest 14% above CA 42.5±1Lowest 12% above CA

Encinitas and Carlsbad are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Kids under 18 20.7%±1.6Lowest CA: 22% 23.4%±1.4Highest CA: 22%

Carlsbad and Encinitas are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Age 65+ 19.9%±1.2Highest CA: 15.7% 18.8%±0.9Lowest CA: 15.7%

Encinitas and Carlsbad are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 67.7%Highest CA: 37.1% 62.1%Lowest CA: 37.1%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 5%±0.8Lowest CA: 7.6% 5.2%±0.6Highest CA: 7.6%

Carlsbad and Encinitas are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $162,229±$10kHighest 64% above CA $142,748±$8kLowest 44% above CA

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $1,646,800±$53kHighest 124% above CA $1,257,000±$36kLowest 71% above CA

Rentmedian gross, monthly $2,886±$115Highest 42% above CA $2,808±$100Lowest 38% above CA

Encinitas and Carlsbad are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Property taxmedian, yearly $8,293Highest 62% above CA $8,020Lowest 57% above CA

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 51%±6.4Lowest CA: 55.3% 56.6%±4.5Highest CA: 55.3%

Carlsbad and Encinitas are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Below poverty line 7.4%Highest CA: 12% 6.9%Lowest CA: 12%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 66.5%Highest CA: 55.9% 62.9%Lowest CA: 55.9%

Typical home builtmedian year 1980Lowest 4 yrs newer than CA 1989Highest 13 yrs newer than CA

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 25 minLowest 14% below CA 27 minHighest 6% below CA

Work from home 32.7%±2.2Highest CA: 17.2% 31.9%±2Lowest CA: 17.2%

Encinitas and Carlsbad are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Work in townworking residents 14.8%Lowest 22.4%Highest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 11.8 miLowest 13.8 miHighest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.99Lowest 1.64Highest

Top workplaceoutside town San Diego (31%)San Diego (25%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others 10% work in Carlsbad5% work in Encinitas

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 18.9%Lowest 29.7%Highest

Trailsmapped miles 84.2 miLowest 135.7 miHighest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 4.2 miHighest 3.5 miLowest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 19Lowest 32Highest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 74.7Lowest 84.8Highest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #61 of 574 in CA—

School district JCS - Mountain Oaks District · Cardiff ElementaryCarlsbad Unified · Encinitas Union Elementary

High school in town San Dieguito HS AcademyCarlsbad High

Students per teacherat that high school 24.4Highest 23.8Lowest

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.

Encinitas neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Encinitas’s Town Square.

Carlsbad neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Carlsbad’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Encinitas and Carlsbad

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

Bordering Encinitas

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Solana Beach12,823 people · $2M homes

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San Marcos94,882 people · $868K homes

Towns like Encinitas

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Pleasanton76,960 people · $1.54M homes

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San Ramon85,993 people · $1.51M homes

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Walnut Creek70,088 people · $1.06M homes

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Dublin70,803 people · $1.32M homes

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.

Encinitas vs Carlsbad

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they part ways

A typical home costs $1,670 more a month in Encinitas

Encinitas and Carlsbad share a border

Encinitas places higher on 12 of 21 CA lists

What daily life feels like in each

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Encinitas and Carlsbad

Bordering Encinitas

Towns like Encinitas

Post to Encinitas

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