Oceanside, California Population 2023

Oceanside is located on the South Coast of California in San Diego County. This coastal city is about 38 miles north of San Diego and it's part of a tri-city area along with nearby cities Vista and Carlsbad.

Population Growth

Oceanside remains one of the most affordable San Diego beach communities although this is changing rapidly as demand grows and the city's population continues to rise. Oceanside has transformed from a small military town to a thriving scene for art and food. Oceanside is expected to continue its modest population growth over the next decade.

Oceanside was first explored by Europeans in 1769 under Father Junipero Serra who founded the Spanish Mission San Luis Rey de Francia along the San Luis Rey River. By the early 19th century, present-day Oceanside was a farming community. The region remained under Spanish rule until 1821 before it passed to Mexico and then the United States in 1848.

In 1834, secularization of California land occurred and all Mission properties were confiscated and sold. A small township called San Luis Rey west of the Mission was established in the 1870s and inhabited by English settlers. The community had a post office, hotel, and stores. By 1882, a railroad extended from Los Angeles to San Diego down the coast and through the region.

In the 1880s, Andrew Jackson Myers moved to the area from Illinois and applied for a Homestead Grant on the Oceanside property and received 160 acres. The new townsite was surveyed and lots were sold. Myers, who owned the first land and first home, is considered Oceanside's founder. Oceanside was incorporated in 1888 with a population of 1,000.

Throughout the 20th century, Oceanside was a popular beach town with a residential downtown. The population has grown steadily since the 1920s with the strongest growth in the 1940s and 1950s after the establishment of the nearby Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton.