Carmel Valley, San Diego


Carmel Valley is a suburban planned community in the north-western corner of San Diego, California, United States. The community is composed of commercial offices, residential units, hotels, and retail stores and restaurants. This is not to be confused with Carmel Valley Village, an unincorporated community in Monterey County, California.

History

Carmel Valley is one of the newer neighborhoods of the City of San Diego, California. The community was formed by the City of San Diego on February 1, 1975. The construction later began in 1983. The name Carmel Valley comes from the Carmelite Sisters of Mercy, who established a dairy farm and monastery in the area c. 1905. Although the area was known locally as Carmel Valley, in 1974 the area was given the institutional name North City West in the master plan. The name Carmel Valley was readopted in the early 1990s.

Geography

Carmel Valley is bordered to the north by the North City Future Urbanizing Area and Pacific Highlands Ranch; to the south by Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve and Torrey Hills; to the east by Pacific Highlands Ranch and Del Mar Mesa; and to the west by Interstate 5 and Torrey Pines. Nearby is the Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve, where one of two stands of the endangered Torrey Pine is found to occur. The area overlooks the ocean and is located in the hills.
While many people in the area are now referring to the entire 92130 zip code as Carmel Valley, the actual boundaries of the community remain unchanged from the original community plan. The remainder of the 92130 zip code is filled by the surrounding communities of Del Mar Mesa, Pacific Highlands Ranch, and Torrey Hills.
Torrey Highlands, the easternmost section of Del Mar Mesa, is considered to be a part of Carmel Valley and the boundary between Carmel Valley and Rancho Peñasquitos.

Demographics

According to the San Diego County Assessor's Office's 2006 estimates, there were 42,047 people living in the neighborhood, a 49.2% increase from 2000. The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 70.6% White, 18.0% Asian & Pacific Islander, 7.0% Hispanic, 3.4% from other races, 0.89% African American, and 0.001% American Indian.
The neighborhood is diverse in age with 30.2% under 18 and 6.5% over 65. The median age was 36.6. There were 2.7 persons per household. The annual median household income was $120,886.
According to the United States Census Bureau, as accessed from the American FactFinder website, the total population of the 92130 area code in the 2010 census was 48,940 with a 5-year estimate of 51,757 in 2016.
There are very low crime rates and a very small homeless population within the community.

Education

Carmel Valley has an overlay of various school districts. For the elementary schools, the northern section is part of the Solana Beach School District. The southern section is managed by the Del Mar Union School District. Overlaying the entire community, the San Dieguito Union High School District manages the middle schools and high schools. Some Carmel Valley residents attend schools in the bordering communities of Pacific Highlands Ranch, Torrey Hills, and Torrey Pines. Carmel Valley schools are known for outstanding education and rigorous academics.

Elementary schools

Healthcare services in this neighborhood include:
The large office, retail, entertainment and academic facilities in University City a.k.a. UTC, Sorrento Mesa/Sorrento Valley, Torrey Pines, and Del Mar Heights/Carmel Valley, together form San Diego's "North City edge city", edge city being a major center of employment outside a traditional downtown.
Companies with offices in this neighborhood include US Bank, Scripps Health, Sony, Opera Solutions, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, Fish & Richardson, Morrison & Foerster, Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton and The Allen Group. The headquarters of Neurocrine Biosciences and ICW Group Insurance Companies are located in this neighborhood.
Mixed-use development One Paseo had its soft opening in March 2019.