Skip to main content
County Paycheck

Salaries & Cost of Living in San Diego County, CA

Median pay, take-home pay and what is left after rent, food and energy for 33 occupations in San Diego County, CA.

Jobs listed
33
San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA
Median of medians
$48,730
per year, before tax
1-bedroom rent
$2,335
HUD Fair Market Rent / month
Jobs covering basics
67%
22 of 33

Pay and cost of living in San Diego County, CA

Across the 33 occupations we cover in San Diego County, CA, the middle median salary is $48,730 a year. Pay runs from $35,300 for Home Health and Personal Care Aides up to $163,270 for Software Developers, a spread of $127,970. Wages come from the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA survey area.

A one-bedroom apartment in San Diego County, CA has a HUD Fair Market Rent of $2,335 a month and a two-bedroom $2,823. Rent, food, home energy and gasoline for one adult add up to $37,631 a year. After federal, FICA and state income taxes, the average occupation here takes home $49,183 a year, and 22 of the 33 occupations listed here (67%) earn enough take-home pay to cover the four basics.

Open any occupation below for its full payslip, the tax breakdown, the rent comparison and a plain-English explanation of what is left after the basics. Every figure uses the same method, so results are comparable from one job and one county to the next.

All jobs in San Diego County, CA, highest paying first

Showing 1–33 of 33.

Occupations in San Diego County, CA ranked by median salary
#OccupationMedian salaryTake-homeLeft per month
1Software Developers$163,270$111,466$6,153
2Registered Nurses$139,520$97,441$4,984
3General and Operations Managers$119,600$85,679$4,004
4Project Management Specialists$117,460$84,382$3,896
5Management Analysts$101,190$74,449$3,068
6Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education$97,000$71,891$2,855
7Accountants and Auditors$96,340$71,488$2,821
8First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers$76,120$59,144$1,793
9Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel$74,610$58,202$1,714
10Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers$59,780$48,479$904
11Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks$58,580$47,587$830
12First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers$56,300$45,891$688
13Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive$55,380$45,207$631
14Maintenance and Repair Workers, General$54,530$44,575$579
15Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants$51,650$42,434$400
16Office Clerks, General$49,920$41,148$293
17Customer Service Representatives$48,730$40,263$219
18Nursing Assistants$48,070$39,772$178
19First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers$46,980$38,962$111
20Cooks, Restaurant$46,440$38,560$77
21Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary$46,440$38,560$77
22Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers$45,560$37,902$23
23Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand$43,320$36,191−$120
24Cooks, Fast Food$42,450$35,527−$175
25Fast Food and Counter Workers$42,190$35,329−$192
26Stockers and Order Fillers$39,160$33,015−$385
27Security Guards$38,500$32,511−$427
28Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners$38,450$32,473−$430
29Retail Salespersons$37,810$31,985−$471
30Cashiers$37,020$31,381−$521
31Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers$35,960$30,572−$588
32Waiters and Waitresses$35,850$30,488−$595
33Home Health and Personal Care Aides$35,300$30,068−$630