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1 in 4 San Diego County homes don't have AC
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About a quarter of San Diego County homes don't have air-conditioning, new census data shows.
Why it matters: AC can feel like a much-needed luxury here, with rising electricity costs and record-setting heat waves in the winter.
The big picture: Nationally, just 6.9% of U.S. households lacked AC in 2023.
- It was most uncommon in San Francisco, where 65% of homes lacked AC.
- And Los Angeles County had the highest overall number of homes without AC at nearly 702,000.
Between the lines: AC is part cultural and part economic.
- Some places don't get hot often enough to warrant AC installations, which could be an argument for San Diego's coastal neighborhoods.
- In other places, pumping cool air through the house is too costly because of high energy rates.
What's next: As climate change makes heat waves more common and more intense, more people may install AC to stay cool and healthy.