Lemon Grove was subdivided in 1892 — in 1894 the San Diego Union called it “a sea of lemon trees” — and became California’s 414th city on July 1, 1977. It had 27,627 people at the 2020 Census on 3.9 square miles, and contracts its police service from the San Diego County Sheriff.
The World’s Biggest Lemon — about 3,000 pounds, with “Best Climate On Earth” on its base — has stood at Broadway and Lemon Grove Avenue since 1930. The 1931 Lemon Grove Incident, Alvarez v. Lemon Grove School District, is described as the first major successful lawsuit against school segregation in the United States.
Two Orange Line stations, Lemon Grove Depot and Massachusetts Avenue, plus SR 94 and SR 125, keep it close to downtown San Diego and to the rest of East County. There is no high school inside the city limits; students attend schools of the Grossmont Union High School District nearby.
Buying in Lemon Grove: what people ask first.
Does Lemon Grove have its own police department?
No. The city contracts its police service from the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department.
People looking at Lemon Grove usually look at these too.
- Neighborhood · City of San Diego Encanto Hills, canyons and lots where new homes are going up. Read the guide →
- City · East County La Mesa A walkable village downtown, the trolley and Lake Murray. Read the guide →
- Unincorporated · East County Spring Valley Family homes between La Mesa and Sweetwater Reservoir. Read the guide →
San Diego County looks like one market from a distance and it is not. East of the 805 in Chula Vista the houses are newer, the streets were planned, and the questions are about HOA dues, Mello-Roos and which school the address feeds. Out in El Cajon and Rancho San Diego the lots are bigger, the views run down the canyons, and the questions are about the roof, the solar, the slope and what it costs to insure. Buying the right house means asking the right questions for that side of the county — and selling one means answering them before a buyer has to ask.
Your partner in real estate, in the language you are most comfortable in.
Edgard Espinosa, Premier Properties