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San Diego County, CA — Clothing stores Saturation

How many clothing stores exist per person present — residents plus daytime workers — by ZIP code, compared with the U.S. average. Establishment data: Census ZBP 2023. Population: ACS 2024 5-year. 166 ZIP codes analyzed.

Includes: Family clothing stores · General apparel shops. Counted together because official statistics use one 448140 code.

Measured density: Range spans bands — 1.11× the U.S. rate (between 1.11× and 1.69× once withheld ZIP cells are counted)

Why a range: Census does not publish a ZIP-by-industry count when that ZIP has 0–2 businesses. 135 ZIP cells in this county are withheld, 79 of them with residents. Each could hold 0, 1, or 2 businesses: counting them all as 0 gives the low end, counting them all as 2 gives the high end — the data cannot say where the truth sits. The density range uses only the populated cells, since ZIPs without residents are excluded from per-person rates. How ranges work

Range spans the U.S. rate   San Diego County clothing stores — 111–169% of the U.S. rate

306 clothing stores are counted in San Diego County — 0.8 per 10,000 people present (residents + daytime workers), 111% of the U.S. rate of 0.7.

On the comparable ZIP set (ZIPs with a published count in every year), the total has stayed roughly flat between 2015 and 2023 (294 → 289).

Measured supply density is highest in 92173 (San Ysidro), 92008 (Carlsbad), 92122 (San Diego) — well above the national rate. On measured density alone, the lowest-density residential ZIPs with a published count are 92154 (San Diego), 92105 (San Diego), 92126 (San Diego).

Census County Business Patterns (2023) puts the county-wide count at 337 establishments, including locations in ZIP codes that do not map to a ZCTA — so it can run slightly above the sum of the ZIP rows on this page. It is annual, so it lags more than QCEW.

Measured density: San Diego County sits at 111% of the U.S. rate for clothing stores. 79 ZIPs with population have no published count (each 0–2 businesses), so the true per-capita rate is between 111% and 169% of the U.S. rate. Why. The highest measured density is in 92173 and 92008; the lowest measured density is in 92154 and 92105.

This is a supply-side read: it counts existing clothing stores and the people present, not foot traffic, income, rent, or whether locals want more. Treat low density as a question to check, not an answer.

Clothing stores
306–576
published count; upper bound counts each withheld ZIP cell as 2 (135 cells) (2023)
Per 10,000 present
0.8
residents + daytime workers
U.S. average
0.7
per 10,000 present
County index
1.11×
vs. U.S.
Latest year (CBP)
337
2023 — $294M annual payroll
Residents
3,282,423
110 ZIPs with data
Workers
1,385,217
jobs located in county

Is the area growing?

Population
3,298,799
Census PEP, July 1 2024
Change since 2020
−0.1%
−2,383 people
Net migration 2024
+292
international +24,226, domestic −23,934
Jobs located here
1,490,975
LODES 2022, +2.8% since 2019

San Diego County had an estimated 3,298,799 residents on July 1, 2024 — 0.1% fewer than in 2020 (−2,383). In the latest year it gained 12,909 people: births minus deaths +12,667, international migration +24,226, domestic migration −23,934. Components are published separately and may not sum exactly.

1,490,975 jobs were located in the county in 2022 (+2.8% since 2019), and 1,505,114 employed residents lived there (+2.6% since 2019). LODES counts wage and salary jobs covered by unemployment insurance plus federal jobs; it excludes the self-employed and military, and counts jobs rather than unique people. 2019→2022 spans the pandemic, so read it as one change, not a trend.

Population and migration say whether the customer base is growing. They do not say whether people want another business of this type. Definitions and limits →  ·  Full county detail →

ZIP gaining residents
2015–19 → 2020–24
Change
92101 San Diego
+25.9%
92108 San Diego
+20.2%
92071 Santee
+3.3%
ZIP losing residents
2015–19 → 2020–24
Change
92140 San Diego
−45.5%
92113 San Diego
−17.5%
92118 Coronado
−16.1%

ACS 5-year estimates for 2015–2019 and 2020–2024. Only ZIPs with at least 2,000 residents in both windows and a change larger than the survey margin of error (90%) are listed — small ZIPs move a lot on paper without a real signal.

Nonemployer businesses

Not shown. Census now groups clothing with clothing accessories (NAICS 45811); a family-clothing-only nonemployer count is not published.

Census Nonemployer Statistics 2024 (NAICS 2022). We do not approximate this figure.

Saturation map

Each ZIP area is shaded by its density of this business type per person present (residents + workers) vs. the U.S. average. Click any ZIP to zoom to its boundary, see its numbers, and switch to aerial imagery. Individual mapped shops appear as dots at street level — Show locations zooms you in to them (scroll or double-click to zoom).

Basemap:
Under 50% 50–100% 100–150% 150–250% 250%+ 0–2 (not published) / no data ZIP total (dot size) Mapped shop (OpenStreetMap, street level)

Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors, tiles by OpenFreeMap.

White dots are ZIP totals from the official Census count — the bigger the dot, the more clothing stores in that ZIP. They are aggregated, not individual shops. Turquoise dots are individual locations mapped in OpenStreetMap, shown only at street level; they are crowd-sourced and indicative, may be incomplete, and do not equal the official counts. Only the official ZIP totals feed the saturation index.

Market trend — down 2% since 2015

Number of clothing stores in San Diego County across 2015–2023, on a consistent set of ZIP codes present in every year — so changes are real, not ZIP-boundary artifacts. 2015/2018 are pre-pandemic baselines; 2020/2021 are COVID-distorted.

294
2015
294
2018
282
2020
264
2021
263
2022
289
2023

Highest measured density

ZIP
vs. U.S. average
Index
92173 San Ysidro
1613%
92008 Carlsbad
753%
92122 San Diego
522%
91950 National City
405%
92025 Escondido
351%
91915 Chula Vista
338%
91901 Alpine
281%
92020 El Cajon
277%
92118 Coronado
251%
92037 La Jolla
240%
92101 San Diego
224%
92054 Oceanside
221%
92029 Escondido
189%
92109 San Diego
182%
92009 Carlsbad
165%

Lowest measured density

ZIP
vs. U.S. average
Index
92154 San Diego
47%
92105 San Diego
58%
92126 San Diego
67%
91977 Spring Valley
67%
92024 Encinitas
70%
92130 San Diego
76%
92071 Santee
85%
91911 Chula Vista
105%
92078 San Marcos
117%
91941 La Mesa
120%
92128 San Diego
121%
92110 San Diego
123%
92117 San Diego
125%
92083 Vista
132%
91910 Chula Vista
163%
Low measured density is not evidence of opportunity. A ZIP with few clothing stores may simply lack foot traffic, retail space, or demand. We rank only residential and mixed ZIPs here; employment hubs and visitor destinations are listed separately below. ZIPs where Census did not publish a count (0–2 businesses) are not ranked: they may be the least served of all, but the data cannot tell 0 from 1 or 2. Verify those locally.

Employment hubs & destinations

These ZIPs have far more workers (or visitors) than residents, so their counts are driven by daytime and visitor demand — not a place to read "shortage" from resident numbers alone.

ZIPNeighborhoodType ResidentsWorkersClothing storesIndex
92108San Diego Employment hub 26,79054,406 43 1152%
92121San Diego Destination 3,974123,633 0–2 —
92123San Diego Employment hub 33,04171,211 0–2 —
92134San Diego Employment hub 2902,205 0–2 —
92147San Diego Employment hub 148313 0–2 —
92155San Diego Employment hub 101264 0–2 —
92161San Diego Destination 293,964 0–2 —

Scroll the table sideways to see all columns.

All ZIP codes

Click a column header to sort. Index = clothing stores per 10,000 people present (residents + 0.5×workers) ÷ the U.S. average. 100% = exactly average.

ZIPNeighborhood ResidentsWorkersClothing stores Per 10kIndexStatus
92173San Ysidro 27,5857,622 35 11.1 1613% Very high density
92108San Diego 26,79054,406 43 8.0 1152% Very high density
92008Carlsbad 27,95543,940 26 5.2 753% Very high density
92122San Diego 45,41125,486 21 3.6 522% Very high density
91950National City 59,89123,074 20 2.8 405% Very high density
92025Escondido 49,98923,548 15 2.4 351% Very high density
91915Chula Vista 35,3226,432 9 2.3 338% Very high density
91901Alpine 18,1974,802 4 1.9 281% Very high density
92020El Cajon 57,84230,445 14 1.9 277% Very high density
92118Coronado 18,9298,169 4 1.7 251% Very high density
92037La Jolla 40,71739,283 10 1.7 240% High density
92101San Diego 51,80577,128 14 1.5 224% High density
92054Oceanside 38,41714,957 7 1.5 221% High density
92029Escondido 20,72619,941 4 1.3 189% High density
92109San Diego 44,82021,935 7 1.3 182% High density
92009Carlsbad 44,73915,535 6 1.1 165% High density
91910Chula Vista 77,12322,822 10 1.1 163% High density
92083Vista 38,37511,217 4 0.9 132% Above average
92117San Diego 52,27511,535 5 0.9 125% Above average
92110San Diego 30,90232,411 4 0.8 123% Above average
92128San Diego 48,99221,804 5 0.8 121% Above average
91941La Mesa 33,2186,032 3 0.8 120% Above average
92078San Marcos 53,60516,140 5 0.8 117% Above average
91911Chula Vista 85,54221,397 7 0.7 105% Above average
92071Santee 59,59016,250 4 0.6 85% Below average
92130San Diego 60,76830,708 4 0.5 76% Below average
92024Encinitas 50,61723,621 3 0.5 70% Below average
91977Spring Valley 61,0647,111 3 0.5 67% Below average
92126San Diego 76,05921,618 4 0.5 67% Below average
92105San Diego 71,4117,460 3 0.4 58% Below average
92154San Diego 80,44523,535 3 0.3 47% Far below average
91902Bonita 17,6983,059 0–2 — — Not published
91903Alpine —32 0–2 — — Not published
91905Boulevard 1,68370 0–2 — — Not published
91906Campo 3,325418 0–2 — — Not published
91908Bonita —30 0–2 — — Not published
91912Chula Vista —27 0–2 — — Not published
91913Chula Vista 57,7213,016 0–2 — — Not published
91914Chula Vista 16,8776,952 0–2 — — Not published
91916Descanso 1,71099 0–2 — — Not published
91917Dulzura 7498 0–2 — — Not published
91921Chula Vista —62 0–2 — — Not published
91931Guatay 49459 0–2 — — Not published
91932Imperial Beach 25,7412,543 0–2 — — Not published
91933Imperial Beach —31 0–2 — — Not published
91934Jacumba 1,20014 0–2 — — Not published
91935Jamul 9,1142,186 0–2 — — Not published
91942La Mesa 41,42420,503 0–2 — — Not published
91943La Mesa —12 0–2 — — Not published
91944La Mesa —12 0–2 — — Not published
91945Lemon Grove 27,7456,571 0–2 — — Not published
91946Lemon Grove —17 0–2 — — Not published
91948Mount Laguna 9328 0–2 — — Not published
91951National City —96 0–2 — — Not published
91962Pine Valley 2,574167 0–2 — — Not published
91963Potrero 68926 0–2 — — Not published
91978Spring Valley 10,0141,678 0–2 — — Not published
91979Spring Valley —12 0–2 — — Not published
91980Tecate 176216 0–2 — — Not published
92003Bonsall 5,0611,255 0–2 — — Not published
92004Borrego Springs 3,007920 0–2 — — Not published
92007Cardiff By The Sea 11,1003,005 0–2 — — Not published
92010Carlsbad 18,48911,630 0–2 — — Not published
92011Carlsbad 23,19013,073 0–2 — — Not published
92013Carlsbad —69 0–2 — — Not published
92014Del Mar 13,1056,069 0–2 — — Not published
92018Carlsbad —166 0–2 — — Not published
92019El Cajon 45,3517,932 0–2 — — Not published
92021El Cajon 70,50112,986 0–2 — — Not published
92022El Cajon —242 0–2 — — Not published
92023Encinitas —52 0–2 — — Not published
92026Escondido 53,0754,917 0–2 — — Not published
92027Escondido 54,1136,406 0–2 — — Not published
92028Fallbrook 52,2277,297 0–2 — — Not published
92030Escondido —92 0–2 — — Not published
92033Escondido —26 0–2 — — Not published
92036Julian 3,218764 0–2 — — Not published
92038La Jolla —58 0–2 — — Not published
92039La Jolla —36 0–2 — — Not published
92040Lakeside 46,2169,851 0–2 — — Not published
92046Escondido —35 0–2 — — Not published
92049Oceanside —29 0–2 — — Not published
92052Oceanside —34 0–2 — — Not published
92055Camp Pendleton 10,8312,110 0–2 — — Not published
92056Oceanside 53,61620,198 0–2 — — Not published
92057Oceanside 56,8354,614 0–2 — — Not published
92058Oceanside 49,8345,427 0–2 — — Not published
92059Pala 1,3621,255 0–2 — — Not published
92060Palomar Mountain 61946 0–2 — — Not published
92061Pauma Valley 1,543688 0–2 — — Not published
92064Poway 48,68334,973 0–2 — — Not published
92065Ramona 36,7524,949 0–2 — — Not published
92066Ranchita 29031 0–2 — — Not published
92067Rancho Santa Fe 7,9385,528 0–2 — — Not published
92068San Luis Rey —14 0–2 — — Not published
92069San Marcos 47,33516,881 0–2 — — Not published
92070Santa Ysabel 607282 0–2 — — Not published
92072Santee —58 0–2 — — Not published
92074Poway —142 0–2 — — Not published
92075Solana Beach 11,94415,387 0–2 — — Not published
92079San Marcos —125 0–2 — — Not published
92081Vista 29,00222,411 0–2 — — Not published
92082Valley Center 21,7274,729 0–2 — — Not published
92084Vista 49,7278,164 0–2 — — Not published
92085Vista —211 0–2 — — Not published
92086Warner Springs 1,406175 0–2 — — Not published
92088Fallbrook —10 0–2 — — Not published
92091Rancho Santa Fe 972649 0–2 — — Not published
92092La Jolla 528111 0–2 — — Not published
92093La Jolla 7,167546 0–2 — — Not published
92096San Marcos 027 0–2 — — Not published
92102San Diego 38,9019,141 0–2 — — Not published
92103San Diego 34,83630,239 0–2 — — Not published
92104San Diego 47,4109,070 0–2 — — Not published
92106San Diego 21,65110,774 0–2 — — Not published
92107San Diego 28,8274,498 0–2 — — Not published
92111San Diego 45,24937,056 0–2 — — Not published
92112San Diego —238 0–2 — — Not published
92113San Diego 48,21514,861 0–2 — — Not published
92114San Diego 65,7453,115 0–2 — — Not published
92115San Diego 66,2648,129 0–2 — — Not published
92116San Diego 31,8434,036 0–2 — — Not published
92119San Diego 24,4562,223 0–2 — — Not published
92120San Diego 31,91513,814 0–2 — — Not published
92121San Diego 3,974123,633 0–2 — — Not published
92123San Diego 33,04171,211 0–2 — — Not published
92124San Diego 30,4742,191 0–2 — — Not published
92127San Diego 50,55525,038 0–2 — — Not published
92129San Diego 52,96510,606 0–2 — — Not published
92131San Diego 35,50321,633 0–2 — — Not published
92132San Diego 035 0–2 — — Not published
92134San Diego 2902,205 0–2 — — Not published
92135San Diego 8491,192 0–2 — — Not published
92136San Diego 4,573704 0–2 — — Not published
92138San Diego —180 0–2 — — Not published
92139San Diego 34,7031,385 0–2 — — Not published
92140San Diego 2,038148 0–2 — — Not published
92142San Diego —102 0–2 — — Not published
92143San Ysidro —85 0–2 — — Not published
92145San Diego 2,349538 0–2 — — Not published
92147San Diego 148313 0–2 — — Not published
92150San Diego —99 0–2 — — Not published
92152San Diego —295 0–2 — — Not published
92155San Diego 101264 0–2 — — Not published
92159San Diego —14 0–2 — — Not published
92160San Diego —16 0–2 — — Not published
92161San Diego 293,964 0–2 — — Not published
92163San Diego —260 0–2 — — Not published
92165San Diego —9 0–2 — — Not published
92166San Diego —5 0–2 — — Not published
92167San Diego —9 0–2 — — Not published
92169San Diego —53 0–2 — — Not published
92171San Diego —20 0–2 — — Not published
92172San Diego —12 0–2 — — Not published
92174San Diego —13 0–2 — — Not published
92176San Diego —47 0–2 — — Not published
92177San Diego —8 0–2 — — Not published
92178Coronado —16 0–2 — — Not published
92182San Diego 04,825 0–2 — — Not published
92186San Diego —233 0–2 — — Not published
92191San Diego —97 0–2 — — Not published
92192San Diego —8 0–2 — — Not published
92193San Diego —87 0–2 — — Not published
92195San Diego —3 0–2 — — Not published
92196San Diego —9 0–2 — — Not published
92198San Diego —5 0–2 — — Not published

Scroll the table sideways to see all columns.

Find an actual space in San Diego

The numbers above tell you how the market looks. To find a specific storefront, these marketplaces list available retail space for lease.

LoopNet
Largest commercial marketplace
Browse San Diego retail space →
Crexi
Free listings + market data
Browse San Diego retail space →
CityFeet
Retail space for lease
Browse San Diego retail space →

Open vacancy data (actual empty units) is only published by some cities; where it exists we show it directly. Listings above are third-party.

Census withholds some ZIP-by-industry cells to protect small businesses. 0–2 means the cell was not published (Census publishes industry counts only at 3+ per ZIP), so the ZIP is left unranked rather than counted as zero. ~ means the count is estimated from the broader industry group and can be off by a business or two.

Follow San Diego County and clothing stores

When a data vintage changes or a section of this report is revised, we post it to a public update feed. No email address, no account, no tracking — and nothing is sent unless something actually changed.

Subscribe to updates (RSS) How these numbers are built →

Methodology & sources

Establishments. U.S. Census ZIP Code Business Patterns (ZBP 2023), NAICS 448140 — family clothing stores. Counts establishments with paid employees. ZBP is published annually with a ~2-year lag.

Fresh county signal. This industry has no clean QCEW series, so the freshest county signal is Census County Business Patterns 2023: 337 establishments and $294M in annual payroll county-wide. This count includes locations in ZIP codes that do not map to a ZCTA, so it can be slightly higher than the sum of the ZIP rows. CBP is annual and slower than QCEW. It cannot be broken down by ZIP.

Population. U.S. Census American Community Survey 2024 5-year ZCTA population (table B01003). Workers are the ZIP's total employment from the same 2023 ZBP file.

Demand ("people present"). Demand comes from residents and daytime workers: residents + 0.5 × workers. This is the single documented assumption in the model and can be tuned.

Index. index = (ZIP establishments ÷ ZIP demand × 10,000) ÷ the U.S. average for this industry (0.69 per 10,000 present). It is a supply-side density measure; it does not capture income, rent, tourism, or whether locals actually want more.

Read the full methodology →  ·  Data sources & vintages →

BizGapMap — free, no-login small-business saturation reports for major U.S. counties. Built entirely from public U.S. Census, BLS, and IRS data (ZBP 2023, ACS 2024 5-year, PEP 2024, LODES, QCEW, IRS SOI). No forecasts, no revenue guesses — withheld cells are marked, and the few derived counts are labelled as estimates.