Community Overview

Why is San Diego such a special place? Is it our ideal climate? Perhaps it’s our diversified economy? Is it our world-renowned research institutions? Or is it in the spirit of collaboration that makes us tick?

Clearly one of the world's best climates and an unparalleled quality of life encourages innovation and entrepreneurship. With 70 miles of coastline, 33 beaches, and an average daily temperature of 70.5 degrees Fahrenheit year-round, San Diego is not only a pleasant place to visit, but a rewarding place to live and work. Here you’ll see a wide range of lifestyle choices, from urban chic to rural peace. And there are few regions within the United States that offer as many residential options within a reasonable drive from major employment centers.

Region-wide San Diego offers high quality education in innovative high schools like “High Tech High”, not to mention in our expansive university systems that include California State University, San Marcos, National University, Point Loma Nazarene University, University of California, San Diego, University of San Diego, and San Diego State University. The region provides the highest level of educational opportunities for our residents, and enriches the workforce available to local companies.

In fact, 40% of San Diego’s adult population has a bachelor’s degree or higher. Many of them work at innovative companies like Gen-Probe Inc., Qualcomm, Kyocera America Inc., and General Atomics—to name a few. Others work at world-renowned research institutes including The Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, The Scripps Research Institute, Scripps Institute of Oceanography, and West Wireless Health Institute.

Fueled by the leading-edge research, innovative industries serve as the foundation to the region’s economy. Our biotechnology industry is the third largest in the country. The cross-fertilization of research and ideas emerge between San Diego’s core industry sectors, creating new businesses within the biotechnology, telecommunications, software development, and clean technology sectors. Add to that strong industry associations such as BIOCOM, CleanTECH San Diego, CommNexus, CONNECT, San Diego Software Industry Council and TechAmerica, and San Diego excels as a platform for business development opportunities.