Cities › CA
San Diego
Mayor Todd Gloria · Democratic · in office since Dec. 10, 2020
The Executive Summary
Mayor Todd Gloria (D) has led San Diego since Dec. 2020; on economic outcomes — the only thing this site scores for mayors — San Diego ranks No. 7 of 21 big cities. On Gloria's watch, poverty rate fell 11.3% → 10.4% across 2022–2024; unemployment rose 3.3% → 4.5% across 2022–2025. Crime, housing and schools are not in this score, and outcomes are shared with the council and the economy — association, not causation.
| Unemployment 4.5% (2025) | −0.54σ · +11.46%/yr vs peers +5.05%/yr · 2022–2025 (4 pts) |
| Median household income $111,032 (2024 · constant 2024 $) | +0.90σ · +1.77%/yr vs peers +1.65%/yr · 2022–2024 (3 pts) |
| Poverty rate 10.4% (2024) | +0.79σ · -4.06%/yr vs peers -2.06%/yr · 2022–2024 (3 pts) |
| Government form | Strong mayor |
San Diego is a strong-mayor city, so day-to-day administration answers to Todd Gloria. The score is San Diego's economic trend during their tenure, measured against the other 49 largest cities over the same years.
Sources: unemployment — BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics · median household income — Census ACS 1-year, CPI-U deflated · poverty rate — Census ACS 1-year (B17001). Unemployment runs through 2025; income and poverty through 2024. The 2025 unemployment point is an eleven-month average — October 2025 was never collected during the federal shutdown — and it is included and flagged here under the same rule the state pages apply to the same statistic (one statistic, one rulebook, as of v2.6; through v2.5 city pages excluded it instead, and the changelog says so).
Scored on economic outcomes only — unemployment, real median income and poverty. Crime, housing and health are not yet included, so this is a narrower measure than a governor’s. Two denominators. The rank is out of 21 — the mayors with enough scored years to rank. 21 of 50 cities are scored, 0 of those are early reads left unranked, and 29 mayors are not yet scorable. Each σ is measured against all 49 other cities. Government form follows standard reference classifications and was not verified city by city. Methodology
The Rundown
No. 7 of 21 big-city mayors — on economics, and only economics.
Median household income. Among the best of the 50 largest cities. $107,198 → $111,032 across 2022–2024.
Poverty rate. Among the best of the 50 largest cities. 11.3% → 10.4% across 2022–2024.
Unemployment. About the middle of the pack. 3.3% → 4.5% across 2022–2025.
How this is scored: 60% is where San Diego stands against the other 49 largest cities, 40% is which way it moved on Mayor Gloria's watch — the same rule governors get. It covers 3 economic outcomes only: crime, housing and schools are not in this grade, so it is narrower than a governor's. San Diego is a strong-mayor city, so day-to-day administration answers to the mayor.
Public safety, monthly — the city’s own record
Hate/bias-crime incidents reported by the San Diego Police Department via the City of San Diego Open Data Portal, counted by the city’s own published bias motives and compared same months only — January–April of each year, because the record currently runs through April 2026. Counts are small and reporting-sensitive; they are shown in both directions, never scored, and never part of Gloria’s grade or any other. This module exists for every city whose government publishes a qualifying official feed — no feed, no module, no inferred number.
| Bias motive | Jan–Apr 2023 | Jan–Apr 2024 | Jan–Apr 2025 | Jan–Apr 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All bias motives | 15 | 15 | 36 | 13 |
| Anti-Jewish | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 |
| Anti-Black Or African American | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| All other motives | 15 | 15 | 32 | 4 |
Source: San Diego Police Department via the City of San Diego Open Data Portal, data through April 2026. An incident count is a report to the police, not a conviction, and a change in counts can reflect reporting as well as incidence — the city’s own caveats apply.
San Diego sits in CA, whose governor Gavin Newsom holds a scored statewide record (No. 20 of 29). State outcomes are not the mayor’s grade — a city is not a state — but they’re the nearest verified context today.