North County (San Diego area)

History

The name dates to at least the 1970s, when many of the communities in the area were yet to become incorporated cities and local community decisions were made 40 miles away at the county seat. The North County section of San Diego County has historically been the most expensive region of San Diego, with such affluent neighborhoods as Cardiff-by-the-Sea, Carlsbad, Carmel Valley, Del Mar, Encinitas, Olivenhain, Rancho Santa Fe, and Solana Beach.

In modern times, North County continues to grow as a highly influential region of Greater San Diego. The top twenty-five employers in San Diego County are closer to the North County city of Carlsbad than San Diego proper.

Geography

North County is commonly divided into coastal and inland regions, with

Both coastal and inland North County contain two types of topography. In North County Coastal, the land is generally flat with low rolling hills. The beaches are sandy with occasional tidepools and rocky reefs. In some cases the coast is dominated by bluff type geography, where the land meeting the ocean sharply drops into the sea with a short beach. In some cases, such as in Encinitas, a whole city is bisected by a coastal foothill ridge. The foothills of mountains soon become visible as one travels further inland and encounters the rocky peaks of North County Inland. Such peaks include San Marcos Mountain, Palomar Mountain, Twin Peaks in Poway, Mount Woodson in Ramona, and Iron Mountain in unincorporated territory between the two cities. The coastal area also becomes more rugged to the north, where the Santa Margarita Mountains dominate the area within the Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton.

Rivers and creeks that flow west from the mountains farther inland mostly end up draining into the region's four main lagoons. Throughout their course these rivers are interrupted by many lakes and reservoirs which support an array of native species.

Definitions vary, but almost always include the communities and cities along Interstate 5 north of Carmel Valley Road, and Interstate 15 north of Lake Hodges. For both geographic and political reasons, opinions differ as to whether to include the northern communities within the city limits of San Diego (such as La Jolla, Rancho Bernardo, or Scripps Ranch), or close-in communities and cities such as Solana Beach, Cardiff-by-the-Sea, Aviara, Del Mar, Carmel Valley, Rancho Santa Fe, 4S Ranch etc.

Spanning 125,000 acres (506 km2) in the northwestern corner of the county, Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton forms a large buffer separating the coastal populated areas of North County from neighboring Orange County, preventing the creation of a coastal megalopolis stretching from Santa Monica to Imperial Beach

Ecology

The region has strong ties to its coastline. Its has made notable efforts to preserve many marine environments, including lagoons and tidal wetlands, many of those being the final few on the South Coast. Unlike developments in many Orange County coastal cities, the lagoons and large areas of coast have not yet been so heavily developed. Major lagoons and inlets lining the coast from north to south include: Oceanside Harbor, Buena Vista Lagoon, Agua Hedionda Lagoon, Batiquitos Lagoon and San Elijo Lagoon.

Flora and fauna

The lagoons provide valuable wetland habitat for many birds, reptiles, fish, and plant species. The waters off the coast are also very rich in species diversity, supporting large kelp forests and rocky reefs.

Fish species included the tidewater goby, topsmelt, striped mullet, surfperch and Pacific staghorn sculpin. Leopard sharks forage near the lagoons, and their pups frequent the shallow rocky reefs off the coast.

Bird species included the great blue heron, snowy plover, Ridgway's rail and least tern. The lagoons support various species of shorebirds, wading birds, waterfowl, raptors and diving birds. The number of bird species in the San Dieguito wetlands have tripled due to restoration projects by Del Mar.

Recreation

North County contains forty golf courses, including Torrey Pines, which hosted the 2008 U.S. Open. North County is also known for its beaches, which stretch about thirty miles from Del Mar to San Onofre. These beaches experience a large tourist influx from June to November. Symbolic of North County's surf culture are the various statues proliferating the region including the Cardiff Kook in Cardiff-by-the-Sea. As surf culture is an integral part of North County, so is equestrian culture. Numerous equestrian centers, including the Del Mar Fairgrounds, Rancho Camino Equestrian Center, and San Diego Country Estates International Equestrian Center, are found in the region from Del Mar to San Diego Country Estates.

North County is home to Southern California’s only five-star and five-diamond restaurants: Addison at The Grand Del Mar, and El Bizcocho at Rancho Bernardo Inn.

Fairs and shopping

The Del Mar Fair is home to one of the most famous racetracks in the world and is the site of the annual San Diego County Fair. Shopping malls include the North County Fair in Escondido and Plaza Camino Real in Carlsbad. The Cedros Design District in Solana Beach offers more than 85 shops, boutiques and galleries that specialize in antiques, handmade jewelry, unique artifacts, fine art, etc. Famous beaches include Moonlight Beach in Encinitas and the Oceanside Pier.

In the media

Locations in North County appear in popular television and films. Camp Pendleton is often featured in military-themed shows such as NCIS, and is the setting of the first season of Major Dad. The Del Mar Fair is also portrayed in shows such as Entourage. Veronica Mars is set in a fictional city north of San Diego; much of the show was filmed in Oceanside. Another crime drama, Animal Kingdom, is filmed and set in Oceanside. For two seasons the Showtime comedy Weeds was set in the fictional San Diego suburb of Ren Mar, which is implied to be in North County.

A notable fictional character from North County is shock jock Dave Rickards' "Aunt Edna", frequently featured on the popular Dave, Shelly, and Chainsaw radio program, which airs in the San Diego area.

Demographics

North County is considered wealthier and more socially conservative than other parts of the metropolitan area such as South Bay. It is the second-largest region of the San Diego metropolitan area. There are 325,995 people residing in the San Diego city region of North County alone.

In North County, White-collar jobs outnumber blue-collar jobs at a ratio of 3:1. More people have Bachelor of Arts degrees than associate's degrees at a ratio of 2:1. More people are married than single by 2:1. Statistics compiled by the San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency reveal that coastal North County is 59% white, 18% Hispanic and 6% Asian, with blacks and people of other races less than 5%. Inland North County has roughly the same racial makeup, except that 9% are Asian. 19% of coastal North County residents make more than $100,000 per year, and 44% make less than $45,000, with the rest in the medium income range. Inland North County income stats are largely the same, except that only 42% make less an $45,000.

Incorporated cities

Populations listed are from the 2010 U.S. Census

Unincorporated CDPs

Populations listed are from the 2010 U.S. Census

Primary and secondary

School districts in the region include the:

School districts overlap city boundaries. Depending on the zip codes of the cities and their proximity to respective schools and school districts, school districts will serve parts of different cities.

Colleges and universities

North County is home to several colleges:

Newspaper

The North County Times is the main newspaper in the region. In September 2012, the North County Times was purchased by the owners of the U-T San Diego. It is now known as U-T North County.

Radio

In addition to being served by radio stations from San Diego and Tijuana, North County is served by FM stations KSOQ-FM, KSSD, KPRI, and KSDW and AM stations KFSD, KPRZ, and KKSM. Several Los Angeles stations can also be picked up, including KYSR, KIIS-FM, and KBIG.

Television

North County is served by the ABC affiliate KGTV, CBS affiliate KFMB, NBC affiliate KNSD, FOX affiliate KSWB, and CW affiliate XETV—all San Diego stations. Other local stations include KUSI and 4SD in San Diego and KTLA in Los Angeles.

Landmarks

Important landmarks in North County include Del Mar Racetrack, Mission San Luis Rey de Francia, Lake San Marcos, Oceanside Pier, Stone Steps, Twin Peaks, and Palomar Mountain, home of the Palomar Observatory.

Politics

Most of North County is located within County Supervisorial District 5, and is represented on the county's Board of Supervisors by Bill Horn. The remainder of North County is in Districts 2 and 3, represented by Dianne Jacob and Kristen Gaspar, respectively.