Postal Codes

91978 ZIP Code

Advertisement

English Español

ZIP code 91978 covers Spring Valley, California, with a population of about 10,511 and a median household income of $111,506.

Population
10,511880 per square mile
Median age
38.4about the US average
Median household income
$111,5061.2× the California median
Poverty rate
13.4%1 points above the US average
Typical home value
$821,678up 16.9% in five years
Median rent
$2,2261.1× the California median
Degree or higher
30.6%4.4 points below the US average
Homeownership
65.8%0.8 points above the US average
Time zone
Pacific UTC-08:00observes daylight saving time
Businesses
191

Where 91978 is

Spring Valley, California — the area the Census Bureau draws for this ZIP code. ZIP codes are sets of delivery routes rather than areas, so this is the Census approximation of one, not a Postal Service boundary.

People and households

American Community Survey 2019–2023 five-year estimates

Population10,511
Median age38.4
Family households81.8%
Born outside the US21.8%
Speaks a language other than English at home43.1%
White (non-Hispanic)39.1%
Black (non-Hispanic)11.4%
Asian (non-Hispanic)6.1%
Hispanic or Latino36.7%
Veterans7.5%
Population by age
MaleFemale0-45-910-1415-1920-2425-3435-4445-5455-6465-7475-8485+
Income and poverty

American Community Survey 2019–2023 five-year estimates

Median household income$111,506
Income per person$43,663
Poverty rate13.4%
Households on SNAP or cash assistance19.9%

Household income distribution

Under $10k1.7%
$10–15k1.4%
$15–20k4.8%
$20–25k3.2%
$25–30k1.1%
$30–35k0.6%
$35–40k3.1%
$40–45k0.2%
$45–50k2.3%
$50–60k5.4%
$60–75k9.0%
$75–100k9.5%
$100–125k17.1%
$125–150k9.2%
$150–200k11.6%
$200k or more20.0%

Income as declared to the IRS

Filed returns rather than survey responses, so this counts tax units and not households.

Tax returns filed4,930
Mean adjusted gross income$72,761
Returns declaring $200,000 or more5.3%
Returns, under $25k25.4%
Returns, $25k–$50k24.3%
Returns, $50k–$75k15.6%
Returns, $75k–$100k11.0%
Returns, $100k–$200k18.5%
Returns, $200k or more5.3%
Housing

American Community Survey 2019–2023 five-year estimates

Median home value$597,300
Median gross rent$2,226
Rent as a share of household income27.5%
Owner-occupied65.8%
Vacant homes2.2%
Median year built1979

What the homes are

Detached house49.4%
Attached house2.7%
2 to 4 units4.9%
5 to 19 units15.4%
20 or more units4.9%
Mobile home22.7%
Home values and rents today

Zillow Home Value Index and Zillow Observed Rent Index, courtesy of Zillow. Monthly and current, where the Census figures above are a five-year average and are capped at $2,000,000.

Typical home value$821,678as of 2026-07
Typical home value, 1 yeardown 0.7%
Typical home value, 5 yearsup 16.9%
Typical home value, 10 yearsup 76.1%
Typical asking rent$2,694as of 2026-07
Typical home value since 2000
200020132026$852,701$234,900

$234,900 in 2000 to $821,678 in 2026.

Work, commuting and education

American Community Survey 2019–2023 five-year estimates

Unemployment rate6.9%
Bachelor's degree or higher30.6%
High school diploma or higher89.1%
Works from home12.1%
Drives to work alone79.5%
Takes public transport0.9%
Commutes 45 minutes or more12.4%
Health

CDC PLACES 2025 release, model-based estimates. These are modelled small-area estimates for adults, not counts of diagnosed cases.

Obesity27.6% 5.8 pts below the national average of 33.4%
Diagnosed diabetes10.7% 1.3 pts below the national average of 12%
Currently smokes11.1% 2.1 pts below the national average of 13.2%
High blood pressure30.3% 3.8 pts below the national average of 34.1%
Fair or poor general health20.6% same as the national average of 20.3%
No health insurance (18–64)9.5% 1.8 pts below the national average of 11.3%
Depression22.1% same as the national average of 21.9%
No leisure-time physical activity22% 3.4 pts below the national average of 25.4%
Arthritis21.1% 4 pts below the national average of 25.1%
Binge drinking16.5% 0.5 pts above the national average of 16%
Taking blood pressure medication68.8% 5.9 pts below the national average of 74.7%
Cancer (non-skin)7% 0.7 pts below the national average of 7.7%
Current asthma9.7% 0.7 pts below the national average of 10.4%
Coronary heart disease5.4% 0.8 pts below the national average of 6.2%
Routine check-up in past year73% 3.7 pts below the national average of 76.7%
Cholesterol screening85.5% same as the national average of 85.9%
Cognitive disability15.1% same as the national average of 14.8%
Colorectal screening61.2% 3.1 pts below the national average of 64.3%
COPD5.3% 1.3 pts below the national average of 6.6%
Visited a dentist58% 3.3 pts below the national average of 61.3%
Any disability28.8% 1.9 pts below the national average of 30.7%
Lacks emotional support29.3% 4.5 pts above the national average of 24.8%
Food insecurity17.2% same as the national average of 17.1%
Received food stamps16.1% 1.8 pts above the national average of 14.3%
Hearing disability5.6% 1.1 pts below the national average of 6.7%
High cholesterol33.7% 2.5 pts below the national average of 36.2%
Housing insecurity15.5% 1.7 pts above the national average of 13.8%
Independent living disability8.2% same as the national average of 8.4%
Lacks transport9.3% same as the national average of 9.2%
Loneliness36.9% 2.5 pts above the national average of 34.4%
Mammography use76.4% 0.5 pts above the national average of 75.9%
Poor mental health (14+ days)17.5% 0.7 pts above the national average of 16.8%
Mobility disability13.2% 0.8 pts below the national average of 14%
Poor physical health (14+ days)13.1% same as the national average of 13.5%
Self-care disability3.9% same as the national average of 4%
Utility shut-off threat7.5% 1.3 pts below the national average of 8.8%
Sleeps under 7 hours37.1% 0.7 pts above the national average of 36.4%
Stroke3.1% same as the national average of 3.4%
All natural teeth lost12.8% same as the national average of 13%
Vision disability5.3% same as the national average of 5.6%
Advertisement
Business and employment

Census ZIP Code Business Patterns 2022

Business establishments191
People employed1,859
Annual payroll$94,985,000
Natural hazard risk

FEMA National Risk Index, estimated for this ZIP code from census tract data — the NRI is not published per ZIP.

Overall riskHigher than 68.3% of US census tracts
FEMA ratingVery Low to Relatively High across the 4 census tracts this ZIP code covers
Expected annual loss76.5 out of 100
Community resilience5.4 out of 100

By hazard

Score is out of 100 and is the area-weighted average across the census tracts this ZIP code covers. The rating beside it is the highest any one of those tracts carries.

Wildfire98.3Very High at its worst in this ZIP code
Landslide94.4Relatively Moderate at its worst in this ZIP code
Earthquake77Relatively Moderate at its worst in this ZIP code
River flooding66Very High at its worst in this ZIP code
Heat wave54.3Relatively Moderate at its worst in this ZIP code
Hail21.4Very Low at its worst in this ZIP code
Winter weather17.6Relatively Low at its worst in this ZIP code
Hurricane10Very Low at its worst in this ZIP code
Strong wind7.5Very Low at its worst in this ZIP code
Lightning5.9Very Low at its worst in this ZIP code
Tornado4.2Very Low at its worst in this ZIP code
Compared with California and the United States

State and national columns are figures for those areas, not for this ZIP code. American Community Survey 2019–2023 five-year estimates

This ZIPCaliforniaUnited States
Median household income$111,506$96,334$78,538
Income per person$43,663$47,977$43,289
Poverty rate13.4%12%12.4%
Median home value$597,300$695,400$303,400
Median gross rent$2,226$1,956$1,348
Homeownership65.8%55.8%65%
Bachelor's degree or higher30.6%36.5%35%
Unemployment rate6.9%6.4%5.2%
Works from home12.1%15.5%13.5%
Born outside the US21.8%26.7%13.9%
Median age38.437.638.7
Climate

NOAA US Climate Normals 1991-2020, from the nearest weather station with a full year of records. The station and its distance are named above, because a station forty kilometres away describes somewhere else.

Weather stationEL CAJON, CA US8.1 km away
Rain in a year12 in

Average high and low by month

January69.3°F / 42.5°F2.32 in rain
February69.2°F / 44.4°F2.61 in rain
March71.3°F / 48°F1.92 in rain
April74.5°F / 50.7°F0.75 in rain
May76.2°F / 55.9°F0.3 in rain
June80.8°F / 59.4°F0.06 in rain
July86.1°F / 63.3°F0.16 in rain
August88.6°F / 64.7°F0.02 in rain
September87.3°F / 62.1°F0.11 in rain
October81°F / 55.6°F0.54 in rain
November75.2°F / 47.1°F1.01 in rain
December68.5°F / 41.7°F1.83 in rain
Access to food

USDA Food Access Research Atlas, estimated for this ZIP code from census tract data. Each figure is the share of the ZIP code's land area that falls in a tract carrying that flag.

Low income and far from a supermarketNone of this ZIP code
Far from a supermarket22% of this ZIP code's area
No vehicle and far from a supermarketNone of this ZIP code
School districts

NCES Geographic Relationship File 2025, which states the association between each district and each ZIP code tabulation area directly. Elementary and secondary districts can cover the same ground, so shares need not total 100%.

This ZIP code is served by 4 school districts, so the address decides which one, not the ZIP code.

Grossmont Union High School District50% of this ZIP code's land area
Cajon Valley Union Elementary School District41.4% of this ZIP code's land area
La Mesa-Spring Valley School District7% of this ZIP code's land area
Jamul-Dulzura Union Elementary School District1.6% of this ZIP code's land area
Community and walkability

CDC/ATSDR Social Vulnerability Index 2022 and the EPA National Walkability Index, both estimated for this ZIP code from census tract data. Vulnerability figures are national percentile ranks, not measurements.

Overall social vulnerability37more vulnerable than 37% of US census tracts
Socioeconomic status34more vulnerable than 34% of US census tracts
Household characteristics32more vulnerable than 32% of US census tracts
Racial and ethnic minority status77more vulnerable than 77% of US census tracts
Housing type and transport38more vulnerable than 38% of US census tracts
Walkability9.2 out of 20Below average
Nearby ZIP codes

The closest ZIP codes by centre point, which is not the same as sharing a border.

91977 Spring Valley, CA3.7 km away
91976 Spring Valley, CA3.9 km away
91979 Spring Valley, CA3.9 km away
91941 La Mesa, CA5.7 km away
92019 El Cajon, CA6.3 km away
92020 El Cajon, CA6.7 km away
91946 Lemon Grove, CA6.8 km away
91945 Lemon Grove, CA6.8 km away
Location, counties and time zone

County shares from Census 2020 ZCTA relationship files. Time zone from the USDOT National Transportation Atlas, which renders the boundaries written into 49 CFR Part 71.

San Diego County100% of this ZIP code's land area
Time zonePacific (UTC-08:00 standard)
Daylight saving timeObserved
Land area11.94 sq mi
Water area0.03 sq mi
Population density880 people per sq mi
Latitude, longitude32.7329, -116.9596

Figures are published for this ZIP code or its Census tabulation area unless a section says otherwise. Estimates whose margin of error made them unreliable are omitted rather than shown. Sources: US Census Bureau, CDC, IRS.

Advertisement