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Mohamed Oun
San Diego
#29 of 124
North America

San Diego

CA, United States

Salary & Cost of Living

View purchasing power ranking

How do salaries and expenses in San Diego compare to San Francisco?

Purchasing Power Comparison

An engineer in San Diego is 24% worse off vs in San Francisco

This shows how far a software engineer's salary goes in San Diego compared to San Francisco, taking into account both salary differences and cost of living.

Median Salary
$188,639
-$84K (-31%) vs San Francisco
Based on 783 data points from levels.fyi
Net Salary
$117,333
-$55K (-32%) vs San Francisco
Tax Rate: 38%

Community Insights

New

San Diego offers a premier lifestyle trade-off that many software engineers find worthwhile: accepting slightly lower local pay (or bringing a remote salary) in exchange for some of the best weather and outdoor living in the world. While the median SWE salary (~$188k) is healthy, the high cost of living and lower purchasing power (#28 rank) mean your dollar doesn't stretch as far as in other hubs. The tech scene is stable but specialized (Defense/Biotech/Hardware), lacking the explosive startup energy of the Bay Area. Ultimately, it is a city for those who work to live, not live to work.

Resident Sentiment

The sentiment is generally positive regarding lifestyle but cynical regarding costs. Transplants from the Bay Area often express relief at the slower pace and friendlier vibe, noting they don't regret the move despite the pay cut. However, there is growing anxiety about housing affordability (5.6 years of income to buy) and the feeling that the city is becoming "exclusive" to dual-income tech households. Long-term residents warn that the "paradise" factor can wear off if you are stuck in traffic or struggling to save money.

The Good

Living Environment

Weather•Safety•Pollution•Events

A quick look at climate, safety, pollution, and tech community compared to San Francisco.

Rankings

Comfortable Weather

Top 1%

#1

of 124 cities

100/100 weather score

Current value

Net Income

Top 6%

#8

of 124 cities

$117,333/yr

Current value

Purchasing Power

Top 23%

#29

of 124 cities

Housing Affordability

View affordability ranking

How affordable is housing for a software engineer in San Diego compared to San Francisco?

Avg. Property Price
$7,783 / m²
22% cheaper than San Francisco
View detailed property prices on Numbeo

Salary Converter

Enter your annual gross salary (before taxes) to see what you would need to earn in San Diego to maintain the same standard of living.

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Cost of Living
11% cheaper than San Francisco
View detailed cost breakdown on Numbeo

Top Paying Companies in San Diego

Google logo
Google
Amazon logo
Amazon
Apple logo
Apple
  • Lifestyle & Weather: Consistently cited as the primary draw—year-round sunshine (ranked #15 globally), access to world-class beaches, hiking, and a "chill" culture that prioritizes work-life balance over the "grind" mentality found in the Bay Area.
  • Defense & Biotech Stability: Unlike the volatile consumer web sector, San Diego has a robust market for defense contractors (Northrop Grumman, GA) and biotech (Illumina), offering more job stability.
  • Remote Work Hub: Highly popular for remote engineers who earn Bay Area/Seattle salaries but choose San Diego for the superior quality of life, effectively bypassing the local "Sunshine Tax" on wages.
  • Niche Tech Presence: Strong hub for embedded systems and telecommunications, anchored by Qualcomm, plus growing satellite offices for big tech like Apple and ServiceNow.
  • Neighborhood Vibes: Diverse living options from beach towns (Pacific Beach) to walkable urban spots (North Park), offering a higher quality of daily life than many tech-centric suburbs.

    • The Bad

    • The "Sunshine Tax": A recurring complaint where local salaries are significantly lower than SF/NYC/Seattle, yet the Cost of Living (#117 rank, meaning very expensive) and housing costs remain comparable to top tier hubs.
    • Sorrento Valley Commute: The primary tech hub is located in a traffic bottleneck; commuting from desirable neighborhoods to Sorrento Valley or UTC is frequently described as a nightmare with limited public transit options.
    • Smaller Job Market: Much less density than Silicon Valley; if you lose a job, there are fewer local options to jump to, making job hopping for salary increases much harder without going remote.
    • High Electricity Rates: Residents frequently complain about SDGE having some of the highest utility rates in the nation, adding to the already high housing costs.
    • Public Transit: The trolley system is limited for tech commutes, making a car essential and traffic unavoidable for most on-site roles.

    The Verdict

    You'll love it if...

    Remote workers earning top-tier salaries who want to upgrade their lifestyle are the perfect fit. Additionally, engineers specializing in embedded systems, defense, or biotech will find a rich market. It is ideal for senior engineers looking to settle down, buy a home (despite the difficulty), and escape the high-stress culture of Silicon Valley while staying on the West Coast.

    Skip it if...

    Junior developers relying on local entry-level roles may struggle due to high competition and high rents relative to starting pay. Those focused purely on maximizing savings or FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) might find the "Sunshine Tax" frustration; the math often works out better in lower-tax or higher-pay cities. If you hate driving, the car-centric commute to tech parks will be a significant daily drain.

    Updated 11/29/2025

    Weather10.0/10+15% vs San Francisco
    Safety61+54%
    Pollution40-19%
    Events10-80%
    10.0/10TechCities weather score vs 8.7/10 in San Francisco

    0–10 composite (higher is better) combining temperature comfort, sunshine hours, rainy-day count, and humid days. See methodology for weighting and data sources.

    Weather snapshot

    Average High
    21°C(vs 19°C in San Francisco)
    Average Low
    15°C(vs 12°C in San Francisco)
    Sunshine Hours
    3,055h/yr(same as San Francisco)
    Hottest Month High
    25°C(vs 22°C in San Francisco)
    Coldest Month Low
    10°C(vs 8°C in San Francisco)
    Rainy Days
    29/yr-19/yr(-40%)

    Community & Quality

    San Diego community pulse

    San Diego has 10 Luma events listed.

    80% fewer events than San Francisco.

    Home Affordability

    Top 29%

    #36

    of 124 cities

    ≈5.3 yrs to buy 80m²

    Current value

    Community Events

    Top 30%

    #37

    of 124 cities

    10 events on luma

    Current value

    Pollution Score

    Middle of the pack

    #47

    of 124 cities

    39.8/100

    Current value (lower is better)

    Safety Index

    Middle of the pack

    #52

    of 124 cities

    60.6/100

    Current value

    Tax Rate

    Bottom 16%

    #105

    of 124 cities

    38%

    Current value (lower is better)

    Cost of Living

    Bottom 7%

    #117

    of 124 cities

    80/100

    Current value (lower is better)

    SWE Affordability
    5.3 years
    0.6 years longer than San Francisco
    Muggy Days
    14/yr+14/yr(+7100%)
    Cloud Cover
    25%(vs 34% in San Francisco)