BlockBefore

Carlsbad, California

48 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1893 and the latest in 1997. It stands in the Oceanside-Escondido census division. It lies in ZIP code area 92008. It lies near Mount Kelly. The Survey maps it on the San Luis Rey quadrangle. 114,746 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 52 feet above sea level.

Carlsbad within San Diego County

Then and now

1893 to 1997

The same ground, surveyed 104 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Carlsbad, surveyed 1997
Topographic sheet of Carlsbad, surveyed 1893

Compare 1893 against another survey:

On record in Carlsbad

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 2 records

Population over time

2 figures

Carlsbad grew from 105,328 to 114,746 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
2010105,328
2020114,746+9,418 (+9%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

17 surveys from 48 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

Fires near this place

76 since 1997

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 76 fires within 5 miles of Carlsbad between 1997 and 2020, burning about 633 acres in total. None started naturally. 12 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined47
Arson/incendiarism12
Equipment and vehicle use8
Misuse of fire by a minor3
Debris and open burning3
Smoking2
Recreation and ceremony1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
4 September 2020Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSan Diego UnitGUNSHOT INJURIES
27 September 2009Smokingunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
26 September 2020Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSan Diego Unitnot named
24 September 2005Arson/incendiarism2.0 acresCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
20 September 2005Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
17 September 2020Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSan Diego UnitFALL - FROM HEIGHT
13 September 2006Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
5 August 2020Missing data/not specified/undetermined4.0 acresSan Diego Unitnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in San Diego County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 18 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 18 workings within 5 miles of Carlsbad: 16 past producers, 2 producers. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Silica, Stone. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
California Salt Co.SaltPast Producer
Carlsbad Rock and Sand Co.Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Kelly Ranch MineClayPast ProducerSedimentary
Kelly Ranch MineStone, DimensionPast Producer
Crystal Silica CompanySilicaProducer
Crystal Silica CompanySilicaPast Producer
Evans Point DepositStonePast Producer
Marrow QuarryStoneProducer
Calavera QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Carlsbad PitStone, Crushed/Broken, Sand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in San Diego County

Storms near this place

24 since 1997

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Carlsbad in 24 storm reports between 1997 and 2025: 13 flood, 4 flash flood, 3 funnel cloud, 1 strong wind. The reports record 5 injuries. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
June 2003Rip CurrentCarlsbad4 hurtno account filed
November 1997Strong WindCarlsbad1 hurtno account filed
April 2020Flash FloodCarlsbad$250,000City of Oceanside had significant damage to the wastewater treatment plant. Estimated up to 2 millions gallons spilled as the plant was inundated by the flash flooding of Buena Vista Creek.
December 2018FloodCarlsbad$50,000Heavy rain resulted in flooding near the Shoppes at Carlsbad. Five businesses reported flooding damage. A roof collapsed at a childcare center in the shopping center.
February 2005Flash FloodCarlsbad$15,000Numerous mudslides were reported.
November 2019Thunderstorm WindCarlsbad$10,000Spotter reported straight line winds and roof damage in Carlsbad from thunderstorm wind outflow on November 28th.
February 2025FloodCarlsbad-Flooding was reported on SR 78 east and El Camino Real. 0.75 inches of rain and total 1.4 inches.
February 2025FloodCarlsbad-Received a report of a flooded roadway.
November 2025FloodCarlsbad-El Camino Real closed due to flooding between Carlsbad and Oceanside.
March 2024FloodCarlsbad-CalTrans report of flooding on SR78 near Buena Vista Creek, hourly rainfall rates of 0.50/hr were observed.
February 2024FloodCarlsbad-Water was running across the freeway on Northbound I-5 in Carlsbad. A plow was required to clean up dirt in the lanes following the flooding.
February 2024FloodCarlsbad-Closure at El Camino Ave ramps on SR78. Rainfall of 1.2 to 1.4 inches fell in this region.
February 2024FloodCarlsbad-A large sink hole formed in the center lane of Eastbound Highway 78 west of College Blvd.
January 2024Flash FloodCarlsbad-All westbound lanes on SR-78 from College Blvd to El Camino Real were closed due to flooding.
January 2023FloodCarlsbad-Public report of flooding on SR78 West on the on-ramp to I-5 North.
March 2023FloodCarlsbad-Significant flooding was reported early in the morning on March 15 by the Department of Highways.||SR-78 near Carlsbad initially saw flooding around 3 AM on March 15, with flooding starting on the on-ramp, eventually expanding onto the eastbound lanes of SR-78, and into the westbound lanes nearly two hours later. A hard closure was announced around 5:30 AM for the eastbound lanes, with the westbound lanes closing around 7 AM.||Flooding was reported on Discovery St near San Pablo Ct, with a closure reported on Discovery St around 8 AM.||La Costa Ave was flooded at El Camino Real.||Widespread rainfall of 2.00-3.00 was reported in the 24 hours surrounding the flooding in coastal north county.
November 2023FloodCarlsbad-El Camino Real onramp to eastbound Highway 78 flooded and shut down. Right lane of Highway 78 was also closed for a few hours in this area due to flooding. Rainfall of 0.75 to 1.25 inches was reported in the area.
November 2023FloodCarlsbad-Tamarack Ave onramp to I-5 northbound flooded.
December 2021FloodCarlsbad-Law enforcement reports one lane of State Highway 78 at El Camino Real flooded.
March 2020Funnel CloudCarlsbad-Fire department reported funnel clouds or waterspouts off the coast of Oceanside and Carlsbad. They confirmed that there were funnel clouds, and possibly waterspouts but it was too far offshore to tell.
April 2020Flash FloodCarlsbad-The Buena Vista Creek left its banks and flooded an entire golf driving range and 3 lanes of highway 78 eastbound. At 2 pm, despite efforts to pump water away, Caltrans and CHP closed all 3 lanes of westbound Highway 78. A sig alert was issued around 930 am. The highway was not fully reopen until 10 pm Friday.
December 2018Funnel CloudCarlsbad-Multiple spotter reports of a waterspout/funnel cloud in Carlsbad around 1400 PST on December 31st.
April 2005Funnel CloudCarlsbad-A funnel cloud was observed offshore by lifeguards in Carlsbad.
July 2001WildfireCarlsbad-no account filed

Every storm recorded in San Diego County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
South Oceanside1.4 miles48
Escondido Junction1.9 miles48
Farr2.2 miles48
Oceanside3.0 miles46
Talich3.4 miles48
Oceana3.8 miles48
Fallbrook Junction5.1 miles46
Ocean Hills5.1 miles48

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on CarlsbadAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q491099The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1660437. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.