The contract to build her was awarded to the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corporation in Groton, Connecticut on 10 December 1973 and her keel was laid down on 16 October 1976.

During the sea trials for La Jolla, an unexpected depth excursion occurred during a propulsion plant "crash back" test at the direction of Admiral Hyman G.

The first West Pacific (West-Pac) cruise was between August 1984 and February 1985, in which La Jolla visited ports in Olongapo Philippines, Hong Kong, Chinhae Korea, and Yokosuka, Japan.

La Jolla was converted to a Moored Training Ship (MTS) in August 2017 and decommissioned and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 15 November 2019.

La Jolla is permanently moored at Nuclear Power Training Unit (NPTU) at Naval Support Activity Charleston in South Carolina.