Coronado Fun Facts for business owners

How big is Coronado in land and water area?

Two publishers give two answers. The U.S. Census Bureau's 2025 Gazetteer place file lists Coronado city at 8.105 square miles of land and 5.988 square miles of water.^[2] The City of Coronado's FY 2025-26 budget profile lists 7.9 square miles of land and 24.8 square miles including water.^[1]

The sources do not explain the difference. If a lease, survey or market study states an area, ask which publisher and boundary it used.

How many people live in Coronado?

The U.S. Census Bureau's Vintage 2025 estimates list Coronado city at 22,435 in 2020, 20,353 in 2024 and 21,094 in 2025.^[3] The estimates move in both directions, so state the year and vintage when you quote one.

Why it matters: retail owners should ask whether their sales plan depends on residents, on visitors or on the Navy, and what source supports each assumption. Also ask whether the year and vintage of a population number match the year of the sales forecast.

How many hotel rooms are in Coronado, and which hotels pay the tourism assessment?

The City's statistical section lists 2,113 hotel rooms across all hotels and motels.^[1] It is an undated profile figure. The Hotel del Coronado's restoration is reported to have yielded an additional 37 rooms, a number that this page does not add to the City count.^[12]

Coronado Times reported that tourism improvement district assessments apply to four hotels: the Hotel del Coronado, Loews Coronado Bay Resort, the Coronado Island Marriott Resort & Spa and the Glorietta Bay Inn.^[14] It said that if the two 0.5 percent assessments are renewed they are projected to generate $2.3 million in 2027, that the district holds a reserve of roughly $1.2 million, and that the City Council deferred the decision in March 2026.^[14]

What is Coronado's median household income and how many residents serve in the Armed Forces?

The City budget statistical profile lists a median household income of $135,056 and 2,814 residents age 16 and over in the Armed Forces. Both are labeled 2020 Census figures in the budget, so they are not current-year values.^[1]

The income figure is the budget's 2020 Census figure. For a restaurant or boutique, ask whether projected sales assume resident income or visitor spending, and where the visitor figure came from.

How many vehicles cross the Coronado bridge, and when did it open?

A Caltrans report to the California Transportation Commission in January 2025 says the San Diego-Coronado Bay Bridge, SR-75, opened to traffic in August 1969, that approximately 70,000 vehicles travel across it daily and that it serves as the primary route between the City of San Diego and the City of Coronado.^[4]

The 70,000 figure counts vehicles crossing the bridge, not people or stops. Ask whether a count on Orange Avenue itself exists before using the bridge number in a sales forecast. Dedication-day details appear on the history page, where Coronado Historical Association and Caltrans differ by one day.

What does the San Diego to Coronado ferry cost, and is there a free commuter ferry?

The San Diego Sun reported that the one-way fare on the San Diego-Coronado Ferry rose to $9 in June 2024, and that children under four continue to ride for free.^[5] The article is dated July 5, 2024, so confirm the current fare with the operator before quoting it.

Separately, the City of Coronado budget says the City contracts Flagship for fare-free commuter ferry service during peak commute periods on weekdays between San Diego and Coronado.^[1] The sources used here do not give ridership, schedule or contract cost, so this page does not estimate the effect on weekday foot traffic at the Ferry Landing.

What are the key facts about Naval Base Coronado?

Commander, Navy Installations Command says Naval Base Coronado is a consortium of nine Navy installations and accommodates the requirements of 17 squadrons, three aircraft carriers and four SEAL Teams.^[6] Caltrans separately states that NAS North Island is home port to three aircraft carriers.^[4]

The Navy says the Naval Amphibious Base is approximately 1,000 acres and lies south of the main residential and commercial portions of the city.^[7] For NAS North Island, it says the station was granted official recognition as the Birthplace of Naval Aviation by a House Armed Services Committee resolution on August 15, 1963, that it has been the continuous home port for Pacific Fleet carriers since USS Langley in 1924, and that Lindbergh's flight originated there on May 9, 1927.^[8] The sources used here do not give North Island acreage.

What are the key facts about the Hotel del Coronado and Loews Coronado Bay?

Historic Hotels of America calls the Hotel del Coronado a U.S. National Historic Landmark built in 1888.^[9] The hotel's own history says it was built at a cost of $600,000 and furnished for $400,000, and Coronado Times describes it as a 28-acre historic property.^[10][12]

Hotel del Coronado's July 2024 press release refers to Blackstone's more than $550 million restoration plan and says over $160 million had been invested to revitalize the Victorian building.^[11] Ask for the source if a deal depends on the press release's plan and investment figures. Loews Hotels describes its Coronado Bay Resort as perched on a 15-acre peninsula.^[13]

What does Coronado's assessed value say about the property base?

The City of Coronado budget lists secured assessed valuation for 2024 of $11,864,074,358, or about $11.86 billion.^[1] That is the budget's 2024 secured assessed valuation figure. If someone quotes it as a price for a parcel, ask what it measures and for which year.