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Welcome to San Luis Obispo ...

The coastal city of San Luis Obispo is located in San Luis Obispo County<1> and is the County Seat for San Luis Obispo County.



San Luis Obispo was established in 1772 and was incorporated February 16, 1856.

When the people of San Luis Obispo refer to themselves (known as a demonym), they frequently use San Luis Obispan<2>

From the  Census Estimates for 2019, San Luis Obispo has a population of 47,408 people<3> (see below for details).

The community of San Luis Obispo is 160 feet [49 m] above sea level.<4>.

Time Zone: San Luis Obispo lies in the Pacific Time Zone (PST/PDT) and observes daylight saving time

San Luis Obispo is located in the (805) area code.

The ZIP codes for San Luis Obispo: 93401, 93403, 93405-93410<5>

Websites for San Luis Obispo ...

Official Website: www.slocity.org/

Population Details ...

Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, San Luis Obispo had an population of 47,408 people. This is an increase of 5.07% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 7.32% since the 2000 Census).

At the time of the 2010 Census, San Luis Obispo had a population of 45,119 people (which is 16.73% of the total population of San Luis Obispo County). This makes San Luis Obispo the county's most populous community.

The population of San Luis Obispo represents 0.12% of the population of California (which has 37,253,956 people), making it the state's 183rd most populous community.

With a 2010 count of 45,119 people, the population of San Luis Obispo increased 2.14% from the 2000 Census (which had a count of 44,174 people).

More information can be found on the Census Page for San Luis Obispo.

Communities near San Luis Obispo ...

We have created a list of 10 communities that are near San Luis Obispo.

  • Atascadero
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
  • Arroyo Grande
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Grover Beach
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Morro Bay
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morro Bay
    • Morro Bay is located in San Luis Obispo County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,560 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Morro Bay <6>
  • Pismo Beach
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • San Miguelito
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for San Miguelito have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Miguelito
    • San Miguelito is located in San Luis Obispo County
  • Santa Margarita
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Avila Beach
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Shell Beach
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Port San Luis
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port San Luis
    • Port San Luis is located in San Luis Obispo County

To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.

We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around San Luis Obispo. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for San Luis Obispo.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of San Luis Obispo. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around San Luis Obispo.

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around San Luis Obispo. Our list includes 40 papers. See our Newspapers Page for San Luis Obispo.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for San Luis Obispo ...

Looking for more information about San Luis Obispo? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.

In addition to the Tourism page for San Luis Obispo, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for San Luis Obispo.

Adding San Luis Obispo to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of San Luis Obispo in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.

From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for San Luis Obispo was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<8>

From that list, the San Luis Obispo post office opened in 1851.

We also found San Luis Obispo in the book titled List of Post Offices in the United States (1870).

For more details, see References and Mentions for San Luis Obispo.

The official website for San Luis Obispo: www.slocity.org/

The official website for San Luis Obispo County: www.co.slo.ca.us/

The official website for State of California: https://www.ca.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>If you're interested in how the shape of California's counties, including San Luis Obispo, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
<2>A demonym is the name for a resident of a community which is usually derived from (or is related to) the name of that community. In other words, it's how the residents of San Luis Obispo refer to themselves. It's important to note that there aren't any rules for taking a city's name and turning it into a demonym. A demonym is informal and while the majority of San Luis Obispo may use one name, keep in mind that others may use something different.
<3>Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for San Luis Obispo.
<4>The elevation is an estimate for the area around San Luis Obispo - it will be higher in some places and lower in others.
<5>ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a city (such as San Luis Obispo). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether San Luis Obispo or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS).

Our list of ZIP Codes for San Luis Obispo includes: 93401, 93403, 93405, 93406, 93407, 93408, 93409 & 93410.
<6>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<7>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<8>A copy of their list with background information can be found at:

      https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024