San Marcos CA may not be next to the water or even a famous tourist destination, but you shouldn't discount this area for that reason. It's a relatively cheap place to live in Southern California, even if this may be rapidly changing. With a rising real estate market and plenty of amenities for families, Movoto would like to give you some friendly facts so you better understand the neighborhood in case you're thinking of living here.
Numbers will tell you a lot (and we'll give you all of them), but you also need to see how it all works together. The average home price was $460,000 in January of 2015, and now the prices stand at $550,000. In November, the market was at almost $580,000. The city is 20 minutes from Oceanside for easy trips to the beach and 40 minutes from San Diego for practically anything you could ever want. The highest percentage of people living in zip code 92069 are married couples with children at 29 percent, with 21 percent being married couples without children and 21 percent living in non-family households. This zip code has average home prices of about $500,000 while the more affluent zip code 92078 has prices of $659,500. This zip code see fewer families with more non-family and 1-person households. There are 67 percent of people who own in the more expensive zip code versus 58 percent in 92069. You can expect 79 percent of the population to be white, 7 percent Asian, 3 percent African American and 1 percent Indian. The average age and income is 36.5 and $56,377 respectively, so you'll find mainly young and motivated people living here. You'll find that 78 percent of those living here have their high school diploma and about 26% having their Bachelors degree or higher. Most people work in construction, manufacturing and sales.
Currently San Marcos is probably best know for its suburban amenities, like family parks, greenspaces and activities. Take the kids to Jack's Pond Park and Nature Center on the weekends, an open expanse that looks like the basis of every nursery rhyme. You can also find fun and interesting classes or hobbies to pursue here from pottery to Pilates. The community has an impressive array of services, and the local government is dedicated to keeping up the appearances of the city from the grass to commercial and municipal buildings.
There are a variety of people living here, and this can bring grouping within certain neighborhoods. Whether people separate themselves out through income levels, ethnicities or family and lifestyle choices, you can expect there to be some degree of insulation depending on where you live. This is common in any community, but simply something to be aware of given the different types of people living here. However, this is not to say there isn't plenty of opportunity for growth. With the city taking care of people's needs, it leaves the residents with time and energy to continue improving upon what they already have. You can see this in the rising home values as well as the options offered when it comes to goods and services. Most people here want to make the effort to become a better city where everyone wants to be. It doesn't have to be a tourist destination with bright lights and over-the-top festivals and extravaganzas, just beautiful streets, excellent schools and wonderful places to eat and shop.
Again, you'll get different answers about this depending on where you are in the community. However, the overall crime rate has declined over the past few years with an average far lower than the national rate, and the schools generally have high ratings. The commute is about 26.8 minutes on average which isn't outrageous given the area. The air quality index score is about double the national average (which indicates smoggy air), however it should be noted that if you want to live anywhere in California the numbers are about the same.
When there's this much profit to be had due to the location and existing infrastructure, there's a need to maintain a realistic view on what will happen within the community. Given the demographics, especially considering the high amount of home owners in certain areas, it does not look like it will be over developed (regardless what investors see in the land values.) Despite the huge rise in home prices, it's important for the families who do live here to preserve what they have for the sake of their children and the community.
