Navy San Diego Neighborhoods

City of Imperial Beach · CA038

Imperial Beach for Navy moves

Imperial Beach is the simplest town here for property tax: all six of its tax rate areas carry the same FY 2025-26 rate, 1.20381%. It is also the highest common rate of the six. City hall, 825 Imperial Beach Blvd., is in ZIP 91932, part of CA038.

Source: County of San Diego, Table 26 Tax Rate Area Index and Table 27 Tax Rate by Tax Rate Area, FY 2025-26, checked 2026-10-09; City of Imperial Beach official website, checked 2026-10-09; DoD BAH 2026, ZIP-to-housing-area file sorted_zipmha26.txt and mhanames26.txt, checked 2026-10-09.

The beach question comes first

The city's own home page devotes its top items to the Tijuana River. Its FAQ describes ongoing beach closures and strong odors in Imperial Beach and nearby communities, traced to sewage treatment failures in both Mexico and the United States, and the city links to the International Boundary and Water Commission's portal for live Tijuana River flow data. For a household drawn to the coast, read those pages before choosing a street.

Source: City of Imperial Beach official website, checked 2026-10-09.

Size of the tax base

The 2026-27 gross roll for Imperial Beach is $3.78 billion, up 5.14%, the smallest total among these towns. Chula Vista's is about 13 times larger.

Source: San Diego County Assessor, 2026 Summary of Total Assessed Value (Gross) by City, checked 2026-10-09.

Schools

South Bay Union School District has its office at 601 Elm Ave. in Imperial Beach. On the same street, Mar Vista High School at 505 Elm Avenue is a Sweetwater Union High School District campus. Assignment follows the address.

Source: South Bay Union School District, checked 2026-10-09; Sweetwater Union High School District, High Schools, checked 2026-10-09.

Payment at the highest rate in the set

Estimate, not a loan quote: first-use VA loan, nothing down, 30-year fixed
Price used$997,250, the county's median price for detached homes reported with the 2026 roll (a countywide figure, not an Imperial Beach figure)
VA funding fee, first use, under 5% down (2.15%)$21,441, financed
Loan amount$1,018,691
Interest rate: Freddie Mac 30-year average, October 8, 20267.40%
Principal and interest, 360 months$7,053.21 a month
Property tax at 1.20381% (all 6 of its tax rate areas)About $1,000 a month
Total before insurance, HOA and supplemental billsAbout $8,054 a month
2026 BAH CA038, E-5 with dependents$3,975, which is $4,079 less than the payment
2026 BAH CA038, O-3 with dependents$4,518, which is $3,536 less than the payment

Source: San Diego County Assessor/Recorder/County Clerk, news release: 2026 tax roll hits record $845 billion (Jul 2, 2026), checked 2026-10-09; VA.gov, VA funding fee and loan closing costs, checked 2026-10-09; Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey, checked 2026-10-09; County of San Diego, Table 26 Tax Rate Area Index and Table 27 Tax Rate by Tax Rate Area, FY 2025-26, checked 2026-10-09; DoD BAH 2026, rate files bahw26.dat and bahwo26.dat (May 13, 2026 revision), checked 2026-10-09.

At 1.20381% the tax line is about $1,000 a month on the county median, the largest of the six. The E-5 allowance backs out to a price near $492,000; the O-3 allowance, near $559,000. The countywide price is not an Imperial Beach price.

Up I-5 to Gate 6

City hall sits at 825 Imperial Beach Blvd. Google's route runs via I-5 N for 11.3 miles to Gate 6, which it locates at 3670 Surface Navy Blvd. With a Mon Oct 12 2026, 7:00 AM start, the typical range is 20 to 24 minutes. ID check not included; add the wait at the gate yourself.

Drive: Google Maps, depart Mon Oct 12 2026, 7:00 AM PT, checked 2026-10-09. NBSD gate hours: official NBSD gate-hours page (not printed here).

Who it suits

Those who value a small city with one predictable tax rate and are comfortable tracking water-quality closures. Families who expect to use the ocean beach daily should weigh the city's own closure notices heavily.

Nearby alternatives

Sources and dates