City comparison
Long Beach, CA is about 90 miles (150 km) from San Diego, CA in a straight line. By road, the drive is roughly 100 miles, or about 1 h 45 min behind the wheel at highway speeds.
Driving distance is a rough estimate (great-circle × 1.25); driving time assumes a 60 mph blended average. Real trips run 10–20% longer with stops.
A direct flight from Long Beach, CA to San Diego, CA takes about 11 min, covering roughly 90 miles in a straight line. Connecting itineraries with a layover typically add 1–3 hours.
Block-to-block estimate at ~500 mph cruise, including taxi, climb, and descent — what an airline would publish, not pure airborne time.
San Diego has a population of 1,383,987, vs 462,293 in Long Beach — about 3.0× larger by population. By land area, San Diego covers about 325 sq mi vs 51 sq mi for Long Beach.
Population from US Census ACS. Land area from the Census Gazetteer (city proper, excluding inland water).
Cost indices by category, with the US city average (100) marked.
Index: 100 = US city average. Lower is more affordable.
Side-by-side costs, salaries, and sub-category indices.
| Metric | Long Beach | San Diego | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,698/mo | $2,080/mo | 22.5% higher in San Diego |
| Median home value | $709,700 | $783,300 | 10.4% higher in San Diego |
| Median household income | $78,995 | $98,657 | 24.9% higher in San Diego |
| Groceries index | 106.4 | 107.6 | 1.1% higher in San Diego |
| Utilities index | 151.7 | 169.8 | 11.9% higher in San Diego |
| Transportation index | 104.0 | 100.0 | 4.0% higher in Long Beach |
| Healthcare index | 104.3 | 100.0 | 4.3% higher in Long Beach |
How much you'd need to earn in the other city to keep the same standard of living.
If you earn $100,000 in Long Beach, you'd need $103,736 in San Diego to maintain your standard of living.
Climate, safety, and demographics side by side.
Long Beach, CA is about 3.6% cheaper overall than San Diego, CA, based on our cost-of-living index. Housing costs are roughly 6% higher in San Diego than in Long Beach. If you earn $80,000 in Long Beach, you'd need about $82,989 in San Diego to keep the same standard of living.