San Luis Obispo is a medium-sized city located in the state of California. With a population of 48,341 people and 15 associated neighborhoods, San Luis Obispo is the 197th largest community in California.

Housing costs in San Luis Obispo are among some of the highest in the nation, although real estate prices here don't compare to real estate prices in the most expensive communities in California.

Also of interest is that San Luis Obispo has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.

One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 14.02% of the workforce. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce this is high compared to the rest of the county. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.

Because San Luis Obispo has a very large number of students who are 18 years or older and in college, it is thought of as a college town. This has a major influence on local San Luis Obispo lifestyle, entertainment, and culture in general. Life in San Luis Obispo is very much tied to the academic calendar: when students return from the summer break in the fall, one will notice them out and about, buying groceries, out with friends, and generally getting re-acquainted with each other. In San Luis Obispo people study hard and play hard, and there is ample opportunity to do both.

San Luis Obispo, while not large, also appears to be attractive to some younger, educated professionals, who help shape the character of the city.

Residents of the city have the good fortune of having one of the shortest daily commutes compared to the rest of the country. On average, they spend only 16.36 minutes getting to work every day.

If knowledge is power, San Luis Obispo is a pretty powerful place. 52.77% of the adults in San Luis Obispo have earned a 4-year college degree, masters degree, MD, law degree, or even PhD. Compare that to the national average of 21.84% for all cities and towns.

The per capita income in San Luis Obispo in 2022 was $41,749, which is middle income relative to California, and upper middle income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $166,996 for a family of four. However, San Luis Obispo contains both very wealthy and poor people as well. San Luis Obispo also has one of the higher rates of people living in poverty in the nation, with 31.47% of its population below the federal poverty line.

San Luis Obispo is a very ethnically-diverse city. The people who call San Luis Obispo home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of San Luis Obispo residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. San Luis Obispo also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 17.93% of the city’s residents. Important ancestries of people in San Luis Obispo include German, English, Irish, Italian, and European.

The most common language spoken in San Luis Obispo is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Chinese.