Moving to San Luis Obispo, California

San Luis Obispo is located at 275km northwest of Los Angeles. It is located between Los Angeles and San Francisco, it is convenient stop-off for travelers on Highway 1, the scenic coast highway. It’s the home of California State Polytechnic University and is known for its Thursday Night Farmers Market downtown -one of the best anywhere. One of the most interesting is the Estuary at Morro Bay, which includes 930 hectares of mudflats, tidal wetland and open bay. A wide array of plant species are found on the southwestern shore of the bay, in the pedestrian-only Elfin Forest Natural Area.

Population: 44,174. Estimated population in July 2024: 43,509 (-1.5% change)
Males: 22,705 (51.4%), Females: 21,469 (48.6%)

San Luis Obispo County

Zip codes: 93401, 93405.

Demographics

Median resident age: 26.2 years
Median household income: $31,926
Median house value: $278,800

Population by Race

Races in San Luis Obispo:

• White Non-Hispanic (78.7%)
• Hispanic (11.7%)
• Other race (4.8%)
• Two or more races (3.6%)
• Chinese (1.6%)
• American Indian (1.5%)
• Black (1.5%)
• Filipino (1.1%)
• Japanese (0.7%)
• Asian Indian (0.5%)

(Total can be greater than 100% because Hispanics could be counted in other races)

Ancestries: German (17.4%), Irish (13.5%), English (12.9%), Italian (7.4%), United States (4.6%), French (4.4%).

Elevation: 234 feet

Land area: 10.7 square miles

Population by Education

For population 25 years and over in San Luis Obispo

• High school or higher: 91.1%
• Bachelor’s degree or higher: 40.9%
• Graduate or professional degree: 15.3%
• Unemployed: 7.4%
• Mean travel time to work: 15.4 minutes

For population 15 years and over in San Luis Obispo city

• Never married: 49.8%
• Now married: 35.0%
• Separated: 1.4%
• Widowed: 5.2%
• Divorced: 8.6%

9.5% Foreign born (3.5% Asia, 3.3% Latin America, 2.0% Europe).

Population change in the 1990s: +2,038 (+4.8%).

Hospitals

Hospitals/medical centers in San Luis Obispo:

• FRENCH HOSPITAL MEDICAL CENTER (1911 JOHNSON AVE)
• SAN LUIS OBISPO GENERAL HOSPITAL (2180 JOHNSON AVE)
• SIERRA VISTA REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER (1010 MURRAY ST)

Airports

Airports certified for carrier operations nearest to San Luis Obispo:

• SAN LUIS COUNTY REGIONAL (about 4 miles; SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA; Abbreviation: SBP)
• PASO ROBLES MUNI (about 28 miles; PASO ROBLES, CA; Abbreviation: PRB)
• SANTA MARIA PUB/CAPT G ALLAN HANCOCK FLD (about 31 miles; SANTA MARIA, CA; Abbreviation: SMX)

Other public-use airports nearest to San Luis Obispo:

• OCEANO COUNTY (about 13 miles; OCEANO, CA; Abbreviation: L52)
• VANDENBERG AFB (about 39 miles; LOMPOC, CA; Abbreviation: VBG)
• LOMPOC (about 45 miles; LOMPOC, CA; Abbreviation: LPC)

Amtrak stations:

• SAN LUIS OBISPO (RAILROAD AVE & SANTA ROSA ST.). Services: ticket office, fully wheelchair accessible, enclosed waiting area, public restrooms, public payphones, vending machines, free short-term parking, free long-term parking, call for car rental service, call for taxi service, public transit connection.
• SAN LUIS OBISPO-CAL POLY (GRAND AVE.) – Bus Station. Services: fully wheelchair accessible, public payphones, full-service food facilities, call for car rental service, call for taxi service.

Colleges and Universities

Colleges/Universities in San Luis Obispo:

• CALIFORNIA POLYTECHNIC STATE UNIV-SAN LUIS OBISPO (Full-time enrollment: 15,985; Public; Website: www.calpoly.edu; Offers Master’s degree)
• CUESTA COLLEGE (Full-time enrollment: 6,121; Location: PO BOX 8106; Public; Website: WWW.CUESTA.CC.CA.US)
• CENTRAL CALIFORNIA SCHOOL (Full-time enrollment: 206; Location: 3195 MCMILLAN STE F; Private, for-profit)

Other colleges/universities with over 2000 students near San Luis Obispo:

• ALLAN HANCOCK COLLEGE (about 34 miles; SANTA MARIA, CA; Full-time enrollment: 6,037)
• WEST HILLS COMMUNITY COLLEGE (about 68 miles; COALINGA, CA; Full-time enrollment: 2,406)
• UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-SANTA BARBARA (about 82 miles; SANTA BARBARA, CA; Full-time enrollment: 19,420)
• TAFT COLLEGE (about 86 miles; Taft, CA; Full-time enrollment: 2,801)
• SANTA BARBARA CITY COLLEGE (about 89 miles; SANTA BARBARA, CA; Full-time enrollment: 8,137)
• CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY-BAKERSFIELD (about 104 miles; BAKERSFIELD, CA; Full-time enrollment: 5,273)
• BAKERSFIELD COLLEGE (about 117 miles; BAKERSFIELD, CA; Full-time enrollment: 7,978)

Schools

Public high schools in San Luis Obispo:

• SAN LUIS OBISPO HIGH (Students: 1,544; Location: 1350 CALIFORNIA BLVD.; Grades: 09 – 12)
• GRIZZLY CHALLENGE CHARTER SCHOOL (Students: 126; Location: HIGHWAY ONE CAMP SAN LUIS OBIS; Grades: 10 – 12)
• PACIFIC BEACH CONT. HIGH (Students: 59; Location: 11950 LOS OSOS VALLEY ROAD; Grades: 09 – 12)

Biggest public primary/middle schools in San Luis Obispo:

• LAGUNA MIDDLE (Students: 845; Location: 11050 LOS OSOS VALLEY ROAD; Grades: 06 – 09)
• SINSHEIMER ELEMENTARY (Students: 484; Location: 2755 AUGUSTA ST.; Grades: KG – 06)
• PACHECO ELEMENTARY (Students: 476; Location: 261 CUESTA DR.; Grades: KG – 06)
• LOS RANCHOS ELEMENTARY (Students: 416; Location: 5785 LOS RANCHOS ROAD; Grades: KG – 06)
• SMITH (C. L.) ELEMENTARY (Students: 345; Location: 1375 BALBOA ST.; Grades: KG – 06)
• BISHOP’S PEAK ELEMENTARY (Students: 299; Location: 451 JAYCEE DR.; Grades: KG – 06)
• HAWTHORNE ELEMENTARY (Students: 291; Location: 2125 STORY ST.; Grades: KG – 06)
• SPECIAL EDUCATION (Students: 291; Location: RANCHO EL CHORRO, HWY. 1; Grades: KG – 12)
• SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY COMMUNITY (Students: 270; Location: 1981 VICENTE DR.; Grades: KG – 12)
• BELLEVUE-SANTA FE CHARTER (ELEM) (Students: 144; Location: 1401 SAN LUIS BAY DR.; Grades: KG – 06)

Libraries

Library in San Luis Obispo:

• SAN LUIS OBISPO CITY-COUNTY LIBRARY (Operating income: $5,354,900; Location: 995 PALM ST.; 408,054 books; 17,159 audio materials; 19,761 video materials; 1,005 serial subscriptions)