Warm-summer Mediterranean
San Luis Obispo, California
San Luis Obispo County, California · Population 48k · 243 ft elevation
Living in San Luis Obispo
San Luis Obispo has a warm-summer mediterranean climate: pleasantly warm summers (July highs around 78°F) and mild winters (January lows around 41°F).
Precipitation is dry at about 18″ a year, and it essentially never sees snow.
Skies are exceptionally sunny (83% of possible sunshine). It never gets truly muggy.
Air quality is moderate: a median AQI of 50, with about 7 unhealthy-air days in the latest year.
There is plenty to explore outdoors around San Luis Obispo: about 15% of the land within 30 miles is public (parks, national forest and the like), and the terrain rises and falls about 2,200 ft around town.
San Luis Obispo at a glance
- Population
- 48k
- Elevation
- 243 ft
- Average daily high
- 72°F67th percentile
- Average daily low
- 47°F57th percentile
- Annual precipitation
- 18″12th percentile
- Annual snowfall
- 0″0th percentile
- Sunshine hours per year
- 3,729 hrs96th percentile
- Median AQI
- 5084th percentile
- Median home value
- $897k96th percentile
- Median rent
- $1,906/mo84th percentile
- Median household income
- $67k39th percentile
- Property tax rate
- 0.62%18th percentile
- Top state income-tax rate
- 13.3%
- Sales tax (state + local)
- 8.8%
- Unemployment rate
- 6.7%
- Homes with broadband
- 92%55th percentile
- Walkability index
- 14.494th percentile
- Average commute
- 16 min
- Math proficiency (8th grade)
- 61%73th percentile
- Reading proficiency (8th grade)
- 71%
- Violent crime rate
- 347 per 100k76th percentile
- Property crime rate
- 2,054 per 100k
- Overall natural-hazard risk
- 9668th percentile
- Outdoor access
- 8988th percentile
- Public land within 10 miles
- 13%
- Public land within 30 miles
- 15%
- Mountain relief within 30 miles
- 2,165 ft
Climate by month
| Month | High | Low | Precipitation | Snow | Sunshine |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 65°F | 41°F | 3.9″ | — | 228 hrs |
| Feb | 65°F | 42°F | 3.5″ | — | 219 hrs |
| Mar | 67°F | 44°F | 3.2″ | — | 284 hrs |
| Apr | 69°F | 46°F | 1.1″ | — | 319 hrs |
| May | 72°F | 48°F | 0.5″ | — | 380 hrs |
| Jun | 75°F | 51°F | 0.1″ | — | 401 hrs |
| Jul | 78°F | 54°F | 0.1″ | — | 407 hrs |
| Aug | 79°F | 55°F | 0.0″ | — | 384 hrs |
| Sep | 79°F | 53°F | 0.0″ | — | 341 hrs |
| Oct | 77°F | 50°F | 0.9″ | — | 301 hrs |
| Nov | 71°F | 45°F | 1.4″ | — | 247 hrs |
| Dec | 65°F | 40°F | 3.3″ | — | 216 hrs |
Near San Luis Obispo
- California Polytechnic State University, CA · 7.5k
- Pismo Beach, CA · 8k
- Los Osos, CA · 15k
- Grover Beach, CA · 13k
- Arroyo Grande, CA · 18k
- Oceano, CA · 7.1k
- Morro Bay, CA · 11k
- Atascadero, CA · 30k
Largest places in California
- Los Angeles, CA · 3.9M
- San Diego, CA · 1.4M
- San Jose, CA · 990k
- San Francisco, CA · 836k
- Fresno, CA · 544k
- Sacramento, CA · 525k
- Long Beach, CA · 458k
- Oakland, CA · 438k
Sources: NOAA climate normals, NASA POWER, EPA air quality, U.S. Census Bureau, FEMA, FBI, EPA walkability and EDFacts. Methodology