2024 population: 281,843 ( 605 from 2020)
Land area: 3300.8 square miles
Population density: 85.4 persons per square mile

2024 Census data
White:	183,976	65.28%	3.5%
Black:	3,971	1.41%	13.4%
Indian:	1,283	0.46%	4.1%
Asian:	11,861	4.21%	11.7%
2+ races:	7,926	2.81%	7.4%
Hispanic:	72,826	25.84%	7.4%

Total non-White:	97,867	34.72%	6.7%

2020-2024 Components	Number	Rate
Births:	9,990	8.8
Deaths:	11,223	9.9
Net Migration:	-1,625	-1.4
Net Immigration:	2,158	1.9

Change in White population:	-6,717	-2.4
Change in Non-White pop.:	6,112	2.2

Race Breakdown with Components of Population Change

[Display all years]

Year:

Total population:

White:

Black:

Indian:

Asian:

2+ races:

Hispanic:

Total non-White:

2020
282,448
190,693	67.51%
4,584	1.62%
1,338	0.47%
10,620	3.76%
7,380	2.61%
67,833	24.02%
91,755	32.49%

2010
269,637
191,696	71.09%
5,128	1.90%
1,367	0.51%
8,452	3.13%
6,237	2.31%
55,973	20.76%
77,941	28.91%

2000
246,681
187,840	76.15%
4,743	1.92%
1,490	0.60%
6,569	2.66%
5,478	2.22%
40,196	16.29%
58,841	23.85%

1990
217,162
177,116	81.56%
5,066	2.33%
1,904	0.88%
6,207	2.86%
n/a
26,869	12.37%
40,046	18.44%

1980
155,435
132,885	85.49%
2,631	1.69%
1,510	0.97%
3,454	2.22%
n/a
14,755	9.49%
22,550	14.51%

1970
105,690
88,553	83.79%
2,029	1.92%
459	0.43%
1,762	1.67%
n/a
11,736	11.10%
17,137	16.21%

Decade:

Components:

Births:

Deaths:

Net Migration:

Net Immigration:

Change in White population:

Change in Non-White pop.:

Number	Rate
2010's
24,056	8.9
21,698	8.0
10,309	3.8
925	0.3

-1,003	-0.4
13,814	5.1

Number	Rate
2000's
24,628	10.0
19,136	7.8
11,947	4.8
4,353	1.8

3,856	1.6
19,100	7.7

Number	Rate
1990's
26,127	12.0
18,658	8.6
10,693	4.9
4,437	2.0

10,724	4.9
18,795	8.7

Number	Rate
1980's
25,389	16.3
15,101	9.7
51,955	33.4
n/a

44,231	28.5
17,496	11.3

Number	Rate
1970's
n/a
n/a
43,792	41.4
n/a

44,332	41.9
5,413	5.1

Age, Family & Household Data for San Luis Obispo County, CA

[Display all years]

Year:

Median Age:

Under 18:

Voting Age Population:

Over 65:

Households:

Persons Per HH:

Families (%HH):

Married Couples (%Fams):

Single Mothers (%Fams):

Non-Family (%HH):

2022
Number	Percent
40.0
49,037	8.7%
515,254	91.3%
59,439	10.5%

108,099
2.47

67,907	62.8%
53,577	78.9%
4,239	6.2%
40,192	37.2%

2010
Number	Percent
39.4
50,841	18.9%
218,796	81.1%
41,022	15.2%

102,016
2.48

63,691	62.4%
49,731	78.1%
4,922	7.7%
38,325	37.6%

2000
Number	Percent
37.2
53,068	21.5%
193,613	78.5%
35,679	14.5%

92,732
2.49

58,954	63.6%
47,424	80.4%
4,828	8.2%
33,778	36.4%

1990
Number	Percent
33.2
47,673	22.0%
169,489	78.0%
30,612	14.1%

80,195
2.53

52,703	65.7%
43,507	82.6%
4,068	7.7%
27,492	34.3%

1980
Number	Percent
30.3
33,767	21.7%
121,668	78.3%
20,677	13.3%

58,166
2.51

39,324	67.6%
33,489	85.2%
2,914	7.4%
18,842	32.4%

2022 Housing Data for San Luis Obispo County, CA

Household Income
Range	Number	%
Less than $10,000	4,749	4.4%
$10,000 to $14,999	3,186	2.9%
$15,000 to $19,999	3,361	3.1%
$20,000 to $24,999	2,659	2.5%
$25,000 to $29,999	3,771	3.5%
$30,000 to $34,999	3,013	2.8%
$35,000 to $39,999	3,206	3.0%
$40,000 to $44,999	3,430	3.2%
$45,000 to $49,999	3,131	2.9%
$50,000 to $59,999	6,448	6.0%
$60,000 to $74,999	9,293	8.6%
$75,000 to $99,999	12,838	11.9%
$100,000 to $124,999	12,152	11.2%
$125,000 to $149,999	8,802	8.1%
$150,000 to $199,999	12,578	11.6%
$200,000 or more	15,482	14.3%

Median Household Income	90,158
Per Capita Income	47,390

Cost of Living Index (100 = average)
Compared to state	104
Compared to U.S.	130

Welfare Households
	Number	%
SSI	4,760	4.4%
Public Assistance	2,183	2.0%
Public Asst. or Food Stamps	7,436	6.9%

Labor Force, Ages 25-64
	Number	%
Employed	90,874	67.2%
Unemployed	4,898	3.6%
In Armed Forces	1,141	0.8%

Total Labor Force	96,913	71.7%
Not in Labor Force	38,241	28.3%

Real Unemployment Rate		31.9%

Class of Worker
	Male	Female	% Male
Private Sector	47,446	35,160	57.4%
Non-Profit	2,243	4,805	31.8%
Self-Employed	10,412	7,293	58.8%

Local Government	4,271	6,967	38.0%
State Government	5,142	5,650	47.6%
Federal Government	1,123	681	62.3%

Total Private + Self	57,858	42,453	57.7%
Total Non-Profit + Govt.	12,779	18,103	41.4%
Total	70,637	60,556	53.8%

Pct. Govt.	18.2%

Occupation
	Number	%
Management, Business, Science, Arts	21,833	16.6%
Sales and Office Occupations	27,393	20.8%
Professional, Technical	31,840	24.2%
Service Occupations	25,579	19.5%
Farming, Forestry, Fishing	2,639	2.0%
All others	24,861	18.9%

White Collar		61.6%

Industry
	Number	%
Health care and social assistance	15,795	12.0%
Retail trade	14,193	10.8%
Educational services	13,289	10.1%
Accommodation and food services	13,089	10.0%
Professional, scientific, technical	10,833	8.2%
Manufacturing	10,537	8.0%
Construction	10,196	7.8%
Public administration	7,645	5.8%
Other services	6,324	4.8%
Administrative, support, waste mgmt.	4,349	3.3%
Agriculture, forestry, fishing, hunting	4,292	3.3%
Transportation and warehousing	4,064	3.1%
Finance and insurance	3,415	2.6%
Utilities	2,988	2.3%
Real estate and rental and leasing	2,667	2.0%
Arts, entertainment, recreation	2,614	2.0%
Wholesale trade	2,405	1.8%
Information	2,327	1.8%
Mining, quarrying, oil/gas extraction	316	0.2%
Management	168	0.1%

Hispanic Breakdown
Country	Number	%
Mexican	56,093	19.91%
Puerto Rican	1,236	0.44%
Cuban	411	0.15%
Dominican	23	0.01%

Total Central American	1,851	0.66%
Costa Rican	70	0.02%
Guatemalan	724	0.26%
Honduran	253	0.09%
Nicaraguan	178	0.06%
Panamanian	44	0.02%
Salvadoran	582	0.21%
Other Central American	0	0.00%

Total South American	1,316	0.47%
Argentinean	264	0.09%
Bolivian	0	0.00%
Chilean	47	0.02%
Colombian	468	0.17%
Ecuadorian	106	0.04%
Paraguayan	0	0.00%
Peruvian	286	0.10%
Uruguayan	0	0.00%
Venezuelan	46	0.02%
Other South American	99	0.04%

Other Hispanic	5,016	1.78%

Asian Breakdown
Country	Number	%
Filipino	2,390	0.85%
Chinese	2,338	0.83%
Japanese	1,315	0.47%
Vietnamese	1,047	0.37%
Indian	1,034	0.37%
Korean	904	0.32%
Taiwanese	150	0.05%
Cambodian	144	0.05%
Thai	115	0.04%

Language Spoken at Home
Language	Number	%
English	223,942	83.2%
Spanish	32,662	12.1%
Other Indo-European	2,150	0.8%
Chinese	1,913	0.7%
German, other Germanic	1,553	0.6%
Other Asian	1,518	0.6%
French, Haitian, Cajun	1,033	0.4%
Other	925	0.3%
Tagalog	918	0.3%

Ancestry
Country	Number	%
German	42,780	15.2%
English	38,204	13.6%
Irish	33,713	12.0%
Italian	19,198	6.8%
European	9,172	3.3%
French	8,679	3.1%
American	8,236	2.9%
Scottish	8,184	2.9%
Portuguese	6,244	2.2%
Polish	5,001	1.8%
Norwegian	4,642	1.6%
Swedish	4,545	1.6%
Dutch	4,140	1.5%
Russian	2,945	1.0%
Scotch-Irish	2,586	0.9%

Citizenship & Nativity
	Number	%
U.S. citizen	268,906	95.5%
Not a citizen	12,806	4.5%

Native	254,991	90.5%
Foreign-born	26,721	9.5%

Educational Attainment, Population 25 Years and Older
6,383	3.4%	8,683	4.6%	35,358	18.7%	67,136	35.4%	45,318	23.9%	26,649	14.1%
Average years of education: 13.9

Population 25 Years and Older
< 9 Years	6,383	3.4%
9-12 Years	8,683	4.6%
H.S. Grad or GED	35,358	18.7%
Some College	67,136	35.4%
Bach. Degree	45,318	23.9%
Grad Degree	26,649	14.1%
Average years of education: 13.9

Labor Force Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics
Year	Labor Force	Employed	Unemployed	Unemp. Rate	State Avg.
1990	99,740	95,134	4,606	4.6%	5.8%
1991	96,383	90,498	5,885	6.1%	7.8%
1992	99,563	92,075	7,488	7.5%	9.4%
1993	101,239	92,946	8,293	8.2%	9.5%
1994	99,813	92,546	7,267	7.3%	8.7%
1995	100,893	94,279	6,614	6.6%	7.9%
1996	101,821	96,015	5,806	5.7%	7.3%
1997	105,368	100,328	5,040	4.8%	6.4%
1998	108,281	103,749	4,532	4.2%	5.9%
1999	111,416	107,765	3,651	3.3%	5.3%

2000	122,394	117,520	4,874	4.0%	4.9%
2001	125,832	120,737	5,095	4.0%	5.5%
2002	128,300	122,275	6,025	4.7%	6.8%
2003	127,885	121,801	6,084	4.8%	6.9%
2004	129,513	123,591	5,922	4.6%	6.2%
2005	131,505	125,914	5,591	4.3%	5.4%
2006	132,589	127,377	5,212	3.9%	4.9%
2007	134,219	128,525	5,694	4.2%	5.3%
2008	136,469	128,561	7,908	5.8%	7.3%
2009	136,937	124,356	12,581	9.2%	11.5%

2010	133,590	119,904	13,686	10.2%	12.5%
2011	134,066	121,031	13,035	9.7%	11.9%
2012	137,013	125,533	11,480	8.4%	10.5%
2013	137,727	128,206	9,521	6.9%	9.0%
2014	139,919	132,020	7,899	5.6%	7.6%
2015	138,913	132,302	6,611	4.8%	6.3%
2016	139,484	133,438	6,046	4.3%	5.5%
2017	140,345	135,263	5,082	3.6%	4.8%
2018	140,099	135,867	4,232	3.0%	4.3%
2019	139,591	135,508	4,083	2.9%	4.2%

2020	132,690	122,495	10,195	7.7%	10.1%
2021	135,428	128,208	7,220	5.3%	7.3%
2022	137,203	133,048	4,155	3.0%	4.2%
2023	136,314	131,600	4,714	3.5%	4.8%
2024	132,326	126,927	5,399	4.1%	5.3%

Housing Data
	Number	%
Housing Units	123,968
Median Value	$726,700

Occupied	108,099	87.2%
Vacant	15,869	12.8%

Owned	67,031	62.0%
Rented	41,068	38.0%
Median Rent	$1,800

Single-Family Units	92,053	74.3%
Detached	84,548	68.2%
Attached	7,505	6.1%
Buldings with 5+ Units	12,269	9.9%
Mobile Homes	9,314	7.5%

San Luis Obispo County, CA

Race Breakdown with Components of Population Change

Age, Family & Household Data for San Luis Obispo County, CA

2022 Housing Data for San Luis Obispo County, CA

2022 Income & Employment Data for San Luis Obispo County, CA

2022 Ancestry, Citizenship & Language Data for San Luis Obispo County, CA

2022 Educational Attainment Data for San Luis Obispo County, CA

Historical Labor Force Data for San Luis Obispo County, CA