Population

50,636

US Census estimate, July 2025

Median home value

$935,100

Owner-occupied units

San Luis Obispo, CA

California · 35.266° N, 120.668° W · 14 sq mi

San Luis Obispo is a city in California, with a population of 50,636 and about 3,712 residents per square mile. The median household earns $73,685 a year, and the median home is worth $935,100.

Conditions

Humidity & wind

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UV index

—

Sunrise & sunset

—

Local time

—

Size & density

Land area

14 sq mi

Water excluded

Population density

3,712

People per square mile

Rank by population

#881

Of cities on this site

Rank by area

#762

Of cities on this site

Money & housing

Median household income

$73,685

US median ≈ $78,538

Median gross rent

$1,965

Per month

Homeownership

40.3%

US ≈ 65%

Average commute

16.1 min

One way

People

Median age

26.3

US median 39.1

Bachelor's degree +

54.4%

Age 25 and over

Foreign born

8.2%

Households

20,441

2.31 people each

What people here do for work

Education & health care 26.1^%

Arts, food & hospitality 17^%

Professional & business services 15.1^%

Retail trade 12.3^%

Top four industries · share of all workers · ACS 2024

Wealthiest person in California

Name

Mark Zuckerberg

Forbes, Apr 2025

Net worth

$189B

As of 25 Apr 2025 — not live

Lives in

Palo Alto

Source of wealth

Largest employer in California · private sector

Employer

University of California

Sector

Education

Compiled from public reporting, not from an official dataset, and not independently verified. Government employers are excluded.

Largest public company in California

Company

Apple

Revenue

$391.0B

Fiscal year 2024

Headquarters

Cupertino

Ticker

AAPL

Compiled from public reporting, not from an official dataset, and not independently verified.

Forgotten Flicks movie T-shirts on TeePublic

State of California

State bird

California Quail

State flower

California Poppy

State capital

Sacramento

Nickname

The Golden State

Compare San Luis Obispo with

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Cities near San Luis Obispo

Santa Maria, CA26 mi · 111,390
Santa Barbara, CA81 mi · 86,422
Delano, CA86 mi · 52,334
Bakersfield, CA92 mi · 422,165
Hanford, CA93 mi · 62,229
Tulare, CA99 mi · 73,907
Visalia, CA105 mi · 146,541
San Buenaventura (Ventura), CA106 mi · 109,914