The San Diego area here is San Diego County, the one county that makes up the San Diego metro area. It runs from the Pacific coast east over the mountains and into the desert, so the county figure is an average over a lot of mountain and desert land as well as the cities.
No carrier is the clear outdoor leader across San Diego County once the county's water is allowed for. In the 5 Greater San Diego cities among the 300 largest in the US, outdoors no carrier is the clear leader in any of them; in a car, Verizon leads in San Diego, Oceanside and Carlsbad, with AT&T close behind in all three, and the other 2 have no clear leader.
San Diego County, outdoors
| County | 4G, any carrier | AT&T | T-Mobile | Verizon | Water | Outdoor leader |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Diego County, CA | 87.5% | 68.6% | 68% | 78.6% | 7% | No clear leader on land (7% water) |
Reading the county figures
San Diego County: Verizon 78.6% and T-Mobile 68%, but with 7% of the county water that gap does not show more land covered.
The largest Greater San Diego cities
The 5 Greater San Diego cities among the 300 largest in the US, biggest first. Outdoors, no carrier is the clear leader in any of the 5 cities; in a car, Verizon leads in San Diego, Oceanside and Carlsbad, with AT&T close behind in all three, and the other 2 have no clear leader.
| City | Population | AT&T | T-Mobile | Verizon | Water | Leader | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Diego | 1,404,452 | 85.1% | 85.5% | 99.4% | 12.4% | No clear leader on land (12.4% water) | View → |
| Chula Vista | 278,546 | 93.9% | 94.5% | 100% | 4.7% | No clear leader on land (4.7% water) | View → |
| Oceanside | 170,941 | 99.7% | 99.6% | 100% | 2.1% | Tie (within 5 points) | View → |
| Escondido | 148,847 | 98% | 99.5% | 99.3% | 0.3% | Tie (within 5 points) | View → |
| Carlsbad | 113,575 | 96.8% | 99.9% | 100% | 3.3% | Tie (within 5 points) | View → |
Population: 2024 estimates.
Town by town
42 towns, each the main town of a ZIP code, the large cities included. Outdoors, Verizon leads in 5, AT&T leads in 2 and T-Mobile leads in 2 of the 42 towns, and 33 have no clear leader. In a car, AT&T leads in 20, Verizon leads in 13 and T-Mobile leads in 3 of the 42 towns, and 6 have no clear leader.
| Carrier | Towns led, outdoors | Towns led, in a car |
|---|---|---|
| Verizon | 5 | 13 |
| AT&T | 2 | 20 |
| T-Mobile | 2 | 3 |
| No clear leader | 33 | 6 |
Where one carrier pulls clear in the San Diego area
Widest in-car margin first, 12 of 36.
| Town | AT&T, in a car | T-Mobile, in a car | Verizon, in a car | In-car leader | Outdoor leader |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Borrego Springs | 75.9% | 0% | 83.2% | Verizon | Verizon (AT&T close behind) |
| Jacumba | 57.9% | 0.8% | 42.9% | AT&T | Verizon |
| Rancho Santa Fe | 97.2% | 45.5% | 74.5% | AT&T | Tie (within 5 points) |
| Mount Laguna | 88.6% | 94.3% | 42.9% | T-Mobile | Tie (within 5 points) |
| Potrero | 91.2% | 44.1% | 75% | AT&T | Tie (within 5 points) |
| Descanso | 64.9% | 20.2% | 30.5% | AT&T | AT&T |
| Campo | 79.3% | 41.3% | 65.9% | AT&T | AT&T (Verizon close behind) |
| Valley Center | 84.7% | 73.1% | 58.2% | AT&T | Tie (within 5 points) |
| Alpine | 66.8% | 45.2% | 69.9% | Verizon (AT&T close behind) | Verizon (T-Mobile close behind) |
| Ramona | 94.5% | 72.3% | 92% | AT&T (Verizon close behind) | Tie (within 5 points) |
| Encinitas | 96.8% | 75% | 95.1% | AT&T (Verizon close behind) | Tie (within 5 points) |
| San Diego | 79.4% | 69.6% | 90.2% | Verizon (AT&T close behind) | No clear leader on land (12.4% water) |
In a moving car
| County | AT&T, in a car | T-Mobile, in a car | Verizon, in a car | In-car leader |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Diego County, CA | 47.8% | 37.6% | 46.5% | No clear leader on land (7% water) |
5G in the San Diego area
| County | 5G 7/1 Mbps | 5G 35/3 Mbps | 4G LTE, any carrier |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Diego County, CA | 74.9% | 64.3% | 87.5% |