Living in Campo, California: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 11.9% above the U.S. average in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area.
More house for the moneyThe Census survey didn't reach enough homes in Campo to say.
A safer neighborhoodThe FBI doesn't publish crime figures for unincorporated communities. Call the county sheriff's office (or the town or township police, where there is one) and ask what calls they get most.
Schools in town1 public school. No public high school in town: the nearest is Mountain Empire High, about 7 miles away.
A hospital close bySharp Chula Vista Medical Center in Chula Vista, about 32 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big citySan Diego is about 40 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Campo meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024: $347,400U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 14%San Diego County, 2022 to 2025
Homes owned by the people living in them: 79%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $3,373 a yearCalifornia: $5,124
Homes built before 1940: 8%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 3%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 111.9U.S. average = 100 (the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 14% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area, not Campo alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2020-2024 Census survey: 2,729The Census Bureau makes yearly estimates only for incorporated towns
Median age: 45.7 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 18%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 18%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 20%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 2%U.S.: 6%
College students: 8%share of all residents

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work: Schools, health care and social services (26%); professional and business services (12%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (12%)
Work from home: 7%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 15%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center, Chula Vista, CA, about 32 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 4 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

1 public school in Campo, run by Mountain Empire Unified. The nearest public high school is Mountain Empire High, about 7 miles away.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on California's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with any internet subscription: 87%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low: 35°F
July average high: 91°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 76 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 68 a year
Rain and melted snow: 15.6 inches a year
Snow: 0 inches a year
Elevation: 2,797 feet

Weather stations: Campo Asos (1 mile away) and Campo (1 mile away, rain and snow). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Sharp Chula Vista Medical CenterEmergency room32

El Cajon, CACity of 102,00030

San Diego, CAMetro of 3.3 million40

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center, El Cajon, San Diego.

San Diego County is in a metro area of 1 million people or more (USDA rural-urban code 1, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Cabrillo National Monument44 miles

Read about Campo's history on Wikipedia.

Know Campo?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Alpine, CA15,200 people, 21 miles
Jamul, CA6,600 people, 24 miles
Harbison Canyon, CA4,300 people, 25 miles
Crest, CA2,800 people, 25 miles
Granite Hills, CA3,800 people, 27 miles
Bostonia, CA16,800 people, 30 miles

Smaller places

Potrero, CA (unincorporated)417 people, 8 miles
Boulevard, CA (unincorporated)752 people, 11 miles
Pine Valley, CA (unincorporated)1,786 people, 14 miles

Sources

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.