La Mesa is a larger medium-sized city located in the state of California. With a population of 54,751 people and 12 constituent neighborhoods, La Mesa is the 142nd largest community in California.

Unlike some cities, La Mesa isn't mainly white- or blue-collar. Instead, the most prevalent occupations for people in La Mesa are a mix of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, La Mesa is a city of sales and office workers, professionals, and service providers. There are especially a lot of people living in La Mesa who work in office and administrative support jobs (18.47%), sales jobs (12.42%), and management occupations (9.08%).

La Mesa is also a college town, where lots of students live while attending area colleges. Because of the high percentage of people living in La Mesa enrolled in college, La Mesa has a number of services, amenities and opportunities geared towards the needs and activities of students.

Not only is La Mesa a city with many college students, but it also retains many recent graduates who are looking to start new careers, shaping the character of the city into a place that is geared toward, and considered attractive to, many single, educated people. Many singles consider La Mesa a good place to live without being in a really big city, with opportunities for friendships and fun with others like themselves.

In addition to being popular with young singles, La Mesa is also home to many people who can be described as "urban sophisticates," which are people who are not only wealthy and employed in professional occupations, but highly educated to boot. Urban sophisticates have urbane tastes - whether they reside in a big or small city, a suburb, or a little town. Urban sophisticates support bookstores, quality clothing stores, enjoy luxury travel, and in big cities, they are truly the patrons of the arts, attending and supporting institutions such as opera, symphony, ballet, and theatre.

La Mesa Information and Demographics

The overall education level of La Mesa citizens is substantially higher than the typical US community, as 27.63% of adults in La Mesa have at least a bachelor's degree, and the average American community has 14.96%.

The per capita income in La Mesa in 2000 was $22,372, 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 $89,488 for a family of four.

La Mesa is a somewhat ethnically-diverse city. The people who call La Mesa home come from a variety of different races and ancestries. The most prevalent race in La Mesa is White, followed by African-American. La Mesa also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 13.43% of the city's residents. Important ancestries of people in La Mesa include German, Irish, English, and Italian.

The most common language spoken in La Mesa is English. Some people also speak Spanish.