San Diego County · California
San Diego, CA jobs and wages
Who works here, what they earn, and which industries carry the local economy — Census ACS estimates for the city itself, not the wider metro.
Quick answer
Workers in San Diego, CA earn a median of $53,870 a year, 21% above the national median of $44,587. Unemployment is 5.9% against 5.2% nationally, and education, health care & social assistance is the largest employer at 23% of jobs.
- Median earnings
- $53,870#11 of 94 metros
- Unemployment rate
- 5.9%US 5.2%
- Labor force participation
- 68.3%US 63.5%
- People employed
- 704,823Civilian employed, age 16+
What San Diego does for a living
Share of the civilian employed population by industry, largest first.
- Education, health care & social assistance23%
- Professional, scientific & management19.1%
- Arts, entertainment, recreation, accommodation & food10.4%
- Manufacturing10.2%
- Retail trade8.9%
- Finance, insurance & real estate6.4%
- Public administration4.7%
- Other services, except public administration4.5%
- Construction4.4%
- Transportation, warehousing & utilities4%
- Information2.2%
- Wholesale trade1.8%
- Agriculture, forestry, fishing, hunting & mining0.3%
Related data for San Diego
Earnings only mean something next to what things cost.
Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates
Tables B23025, B20002 and C24030, 2019-2023 ACS 5-year. Industry shares combine the male and female columns of C24030 and are rounded, so they may not total exactly 100%.