La Jolla is considered an affluent community of San Diego. It is a hilly seaside community, occupying 7 miles of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean within the northern city limits.

La Jolla is surrounded on three sides by ocean bluffs and beaches and is located 12 miles north of Downtown San Diego, and 40 miles south of Orange County California. La Jolla is home to a variety of businesses in the areas of lodging, dining, shopping, software, finance, real estate, bio-engineering, medical practice and scientific research. The University of California, San Diego (UCSD) is located in La Jolla, as are the Salk Institute, Scripps Institution of Oceanography (part of UCSD), and Scripps Research Institute

La Jolla is the location of Torrey Pines Golf Course, site each January or February of a PGA Tour event formerly known as the Buick Invitational and – since 2010 – called the Farmers Insurance Open.^[45] In 2008, Torrey Pines also hosted the 2008 U.S. Open. Nearby are the de facto nude beach, Black's Beach, and the Torrey Pines Gliderport.

Downtown La Jolla is noted for jewelry stores, boutiques, upmarket restaurants and hotels. Prospect Street and Girard Avenue are also shopping and dining districts. The Museum of Contemporary Art, founded in 1941, is located just above the waterfront in what was originally the 1915 residence of philanthropist Ellen Browning Scripps. The museum was renamed Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego in 1990 to recognize its regional significance.

Beaches and ocean access include Windansea Beach, La Jolla Shores, La Jolla Cove and Children's Pool Beach. For many years, La Jolla has been the host of a rough water swim at La Jolla Cove.