San Diego

San Diego named after Saint Didacus (Spanish: Diego de Alcal), is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California, after Los Angeles, with a population of 1,307,402 (2010 Census) within its administrative limits on a land area of 372.1 square miles (963.7 km²). The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California. The urban area of San Diego extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 2,880,000, making it the third-largest urban area in California. San Diego is also the county seat of San Diego County, the 5th largest county, by population, in the United States. San Diego is the 33rd richest city in the world.

The city is the economic center of the San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos metropolitan area, which the federal government defines as congruent with San Diego County; and San Diego-Tijuana, a critical commercial link to the North American Free Trade Agreement, and third richest region in California after Greater Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area with a 2005 GDP of $136.3 Billion. The city was rated the fifth-best place to live in the United States in 2006 by Money magazine. According to Forbes magazine, San Diego was the fifth-wealthiest city in the United States in 2005, and the 9th safest city in the top 10 list of safest cities in the U.S. in 2010.

San Diego's top four industries are manufacturing, defense, tourism, and agriculture. San Diego's economy is largely composed of agriculture, biotechnology/biosciences, computer sciences, electronics manufacturing, defense-related manufacturing, financial and business services, ship repair, ship construction, software development, telecommunications, wireless research, and tourism. The presence of the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), with the affiliated UCSD Medical Center, promotes research in biotechnology. San Diego is also designated as an iHub Innovation Center by former Gov. SchwarzeneggerÕs Office of Economic Development.

Real Estate

Prior to 2006, San Diego experienced a dramatic growth of real estate prices, to the extent that the situation was sometimes described as a "housing affordability crisis". Median house prices more than tripled between 1998 and 2007. According to the California Association of Realtors, in May 2007, a median house in San Diego cost $612,370. Growth of real estate prices has not been accompanied by comparable growth of household incomes: Housing Affordability Index (percentage of households that can afford to buy a median-priced house) fell below 20% in early 2000s. The San Diego metropolitan area had the second worst median multiple (ratio of median house price to median household income) of all metropolitan areas in the United States. As a consequence, San Diego had experienced negative net migration since 2004, with significant numbers of people moving to Baja California and Riverside county, with many residents commuting daily from Tijuana, Temecula, and Murrieta, to their jobs in San Diego. Others are leaving the state altogether and moving to more affordable regions

San Diego home prices peaked in 2005, then declined as part of a nationwide trend. As of December 2010, home prices were 60% higher than in 2000, but down 36% from the peak in 2005. The median home price declined by more than $200,000 between 2005 and 2010, and sales dropped by 50%

Primary and Secondary Schools

The San Diego Unified School District, also known as San Diego City Schools, is the school district that serves the majority of the city, it includes 113 elementary schools, 23 middle schools, 4 atypical schools, 10 alternative schools, 27 high schools, and 25 charter schools. In the northern part of the county, Poway Unified School District, the Del Mar Union School District and San Dieguito Union High School District are districts outside city limits, but serve several schools within city limits. In the southern part of the county, Sweetwater Union High School District serves multiple schools within city limits, although it is headquartered outside city limits.

Colleges and Universities

According to education rankings released by the U.S. Census Bureau, 40.4 percent of San Diegans ages 25 and older hold bachelor's degrees. The census ranks the city as the ninth most educated city in the United States based on these figures.

Public colleges and universities in the city include San Diego State University (SDSU), University of California, San Diego (UCSD), and the San Diego Community College District, which includes San Diego City College, San Diego Mesa College, and San Diego Miramar College. Private colleges and universities in the city include University of San Diego (USD), Point Loma Nazarene University (PLNU), Alliant International University (AIU), National University, San Diego Christian College, John Paul the Great Catholic University, Coleman University, University of Redlands School of Business, Design Institute of San Diego (DISD), Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising's San Diego campus, NewSchool of Architecture and Design, Pacific Oaks College San Diego Campus, Chapman University's San Diego Campus, The Art Institute of California- San Diego, Southern States University (SSU), and Woodbury University School of Architecture's satellite campus.

There is one medical school in the city, the UCSD School of Medicine. There are three ABA accredited law schools in the city, which include California Western School of Law, Thomas Jefferson School of Law, and University of San Diego School of Law. There is also one unaccredited law school, Western Sierra Law School.

Libraries

The city has multiple public libraries, including the main San Diego Public Library. The municipal library is headquartered downtown, and has 34 branches throughout the city. The libraries have had reduced operating hours since 2003 due to the city's lack of finances. In 2006 the city increased spending on libraries by $2.1 million. In addition, SDSU features the Malcolm A. Love Library, and at UCSD, the Geisel Library.