La Mesa

Population & Demographics

La Mesa, CA

La Mesa is home to 60,797 people. Explore its demographics, housing, and economy — plus how its 29,929 resident workers commute each day.

CaliforniaCensus ACS 5-Year · LODES 2023
60,797
people
Population

60,797 residents

Median age 37.4 · U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year (2024).

La Mesa population & demographics

Who lives in La Mesa — population, age, housing, and income, from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Population
60,797
Median age
37.4yrs
Median household income
$95,028
Median home value
$812,000
Median gross rent
$2,049/mo
Bachelor’s degree or higher
40.6%
Poverty rate
11.5%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 2024 5-Year Estimates. Values shown as “—” are suppressed or unavailable for this place.

Race & ethnicity in La Mesa

How La Mesa breaks down by race and ethnicity — each bar is that group’s share of the population, from the U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year (2024).

White50.8%
Hispanic or Latino27.9%
Black7.7%
Two or more races6.9%
Asian5.9%
Some other race0.7%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander0.1%
American Indian / Alaska Native0.1%

Race across La Mesa

Each dot is a group of people, placed in their 2020 Census block and colored by race or ethnicity — the pattern shows where groups live across La Mesa.

La Mesa at a glance
Employed Residents
29,929
Fewer than the city’s total population
Median home–work distance
7.2mi
Straight-line, not road distance
Work Locally
8.1%
Share working within the area
Work from home
17.8%
Residents who work from home (ACS)
Top destination outside city
San Diego
Excludes local — most work in-city

These figures are for La Mesa proper — the Census place within its city limits — not the surrounding metro area. Metro-wide totals you’ll see elsewhere are larger because they bundle in neighboring cities and suburbs.

How La Mesa commutes

Every dot is a worker moving between home and job. Trace where the area pulls people in from — and where its residents head each day.

61
Commute Score

61 / 100

How short the typical commute is here, on an absolute 0–100 scale (higher is shorter). How it’s calculated.

La Mesa

29,929 commutes, one dot at a time

La Mesa

Where 29,929 workers commute

Each dot ≈ 75 workers

Where residents work

Top destinations for people who live in La Mesa, by worker count.

1San Diego7.2 mi15,631
2La Mesa0.0 mi2,418
3El Cajon4.2 mi1,435
4Chula Vista9.7 mi864
5Santee5.6 mi588
6Los Angeles119.7 mi554
7Poway14.0 mi508
8National City8.0 mi359

Who commutes in

Top origin places for workers who travel into La Mesa.

1San Diego7.2 mi8,888
2La Mesa0.0 mi2,418
3Chula Vista9.7 mi2,343
4El Cajon4.2 mi1,846
5Santee5.6 mi948
6Spring Valley3.0 mi701
7La Presa4.2 mi630
8Lemon Grove2.6 mi525

Top industries

The sectors that employ La Mesa’s workforce. Each bar is scaled to that sector’s share of all local jobs — the top sectors shown don’t add up to 100%.

Bar length = each sector’s share of all local jobs (0–100%)
HCHealth Care and Social Assistance33.1%
RTRetail Trade15.6%
AFAccommodation and Food Services13.9%
EDEducational Services10.9%
PTProfessional, Scientific, and Technical Services4.6%
COConstruction4.2%
ADAdministrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services3.9%
OSOther Services (except Public Administration)3.8%
REReal Estate and Rental and Leasing3.0%
Connectivity

Internet options for La Mesa

The biggest home-internet providers in the area — tap any to compare local plans.

2 providers · 1 with fiber
Speed availabilityshare of homes a plan reaches
1 Gbps~all homes
2 Gbps100%
5 Gbps100%
8 Gbps
See all internet providers in La Mesa

FindBetterInternet is a CensusFlow partner site — we link out so you can compare local plans, and CensusFlow’s Census data stays independent. Provider data is from the FCC National Broadband Map (satellite + fixed wireless excluded).