La Mesa () is a city in San Diego County, California, United States, located east of downtown San Diego in Southern California. The population was 61,121 at the 2020 census, up from 57,065 at the 2010 census. Its civic motto is "the Jewel of the Hills."
History
Before European colonization, the area that is now La Mesa was home to the Kumeyaay. The Kumeyaay were a Yuman-speaking people who practiced horticulture and hunting and gathering. The Kumeyaay organized themselves into a federation of self-governed bands, or clans. Beginning in 1769, the Kumeyaay of La Mesa and the larger San Diego County region were enslaved by Spanish colonists or later forcibly relocated to reservations.
thumb|left|upright|La Mesa was originally part of [[Rancho El Cajon|Rancho El Cajón, a Mexican era rancho grant owned by the family of Don Miguel de Pedrorena, a Californio ranchero and signer of the Californian Constitution.]]
La Mesa in Spanish means "the table", or alternately "the plateau", relating to its geography. La Mesa was part of a larger tract, Mission San Diego de Alcalá, and was used by Spanish missionaries.
Through the years, the Spanish, Mexican, and American settlers valued La Mesa for its natural springs. In 1868, stockman Robert Allison moved to the area and purchased 4,000 acres of land from the heirs of Santiago Arguello, commandant of the Presidio of San Diego. This land became La Mesa, and the "Allison" natural springs were renamed the "La Mesa Springs." The importance of the springs is still reflected today in the name of the prominent "Spring Street," which passes through downtown La Mesa, and with the preservation of the spring house in Collier Park.
La Mesa was founded in 1869 and The City of La Mesa was incorporated on February 16, 1912. Its official flower is the bougainvillea. Two days after Floyd's murder, an unarmed black man was grabbed and shoved by a white La Mesa Police officer and arrested at Grossmont Transit Center. The video of the incident went viral and led to more than 1000 protesters converging on the city. An African-American grandmother was shot in the face with a bean bag round from police. Businesses were looted and several structures were set on fire, including two banks that burned to the ground. The officer in the trolley station incident, Matthew Dages, was charged with falsifying a police report in connection with the reason for the arrest but acquitted in December 2021. Dages' certification was revoked under a new state law due to serious misconduct in 2025.
Geography
La Mesa is bordered by the city of San Diego on the west and north, Spring Valley and Lemon Grove on the south, and El Cajon on the east. It includes the neighborhood of Grossmont.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of . of it is land and of it (0.05%) is water.
|source 2 = National Weather Service
Transportation
The City of La Mesa is served by the San Diego Trolley's Orange Line at its stations in Spring Street, La Mesa Boulevard, Grossmont Transit Center, and Amaya Drive, the last two of which are also served by the Green Line.
By car, the city is served by Interstate 8, California State Route 94, and California State Route 125.