San Diego County · California
San Diego, CA demographics
Population, income and the local tax burden that sits on top of them — sourced from the Census Bureau and the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration.
Quick answer
San Diego, CA has a population of 1,381,162 and a median household income of $98,657 — about $8,221 a month before tax. That ranks 5 of 94 covered metros by income and 8 of 94 by population.
Population
1,381,162
City limits, ACS 5-year
Median household income
$98,657
ACS 5-year estimate
Combined sales tax
7.75%
California + local
Income rank
#5
of 94 covered metros
Estimated annual sales tax on a median household
A San Diego household at the median income of $98,657 spending roughly a quarter of pre-tax income on taxable retail goods would pay about $1,911 a year in sales tax at 7.75%. This is an illustration, not a filing figure: the taxable share of spending varies with household composition, and California exempts or discounts several categories. California's 7.25% base already bundles a 1.25% mandatory local share; only the district add-ons vary, and San Diego city carries fewer of them than most large California cities.
Method: median household income × 25% taxable share × combined rate. The 25% share is a rough national benchmark from the BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey, not a San Diego-specific measurement.
Sources
What each figure on this page comes from.
- Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates
- Source: California Department of Tax and Fee Administration rate tables · rates as published for 2026