Fallbrook's downtown is not on any major highway route. It is 6 miles (9.7 km) west of Interstate 15 or 5 miles (8.0 km) north of State Route 76. Fallbrook is situated immediately east of the U.S. Marine Corps' Camp Pendleton. It once housed a stagecoach stop for the stage that ran from Temecula to San Diego.
Fallbrook is known for its avocado groves and claims the title "Avocado Capital of the World". It is host to an Avocado Festival every spring.
As of the census of 2000, there were 29,100 people, 9,367 households, and 7,343 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 642.0/km² (1,663.3/mi²). There were 9,612 housing units at an average density of 212.1/km² (549.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 71.78% White, 1.43% African American, 0.90% Native American, 1.54% Asian, 0.30% Pacific Islander, 20.16% from other races, and 3.89% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 37.30% of the population.
There were 9,367 households out of which 39.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.3% were married couples living together, 10.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.6% were non-families. 16.8% of all households are made up of individuals and 8.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
The median income for a household in the CDP was $43,778, and the median income for a family was $48,157. Males had a median income of $31,615 versus $27,116 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $18,152. About 10.7% of families and 14.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.3% of those under age 18 and 8.1% of those age 65 or over.