Salaries in San Diego.

3,445 roles. One city.

Cost-of-living index: 1.17x national average. Last updated August 2026.

3,445 roles tracked

Get your playbook.

Highest Paying

$405,000

Senior VP of Security

Median of All Roles

$162,000

Senior Healthcare UX Researcher

Entry Level

$40,000

Data Entry Specialist

The salary figures on this page are computed estimates, not observed wages. Each one is a national role baseline scaled by a Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parity cost-of-living multiplier (2025 index) and rounded to the nearest $1,000. No published wage percentile is consulted and no wage survey response enters the calculation, so an Orbyt estimate must not be cited as a Bureau of Labor Statistics figure or as measured pay. The published wage data Orbyt holds is Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, and Department of Labor H-1B Labor Condition Application filings, which record a filed minimum visa base wage rather than market pay. Where BLS publishes a wage for the occupation a role maps to, it is shown on that role's page as a separate benchmark, labelled with its occupation code, metro area and the number of employed workers it covers. Last updated August 2026.

San Diego, CA has a cost-of-living index of 1.17x the national average. The highest-paying role is Senior VP of Security at $405,000, while the median across all 3,445 roles is $162,000. San Diego's economy thrives on defense, biotech, and a growing tech startup scene.

About the San Diego market

San Diego's economy thrives on defense, biotech, and a growing tech startup scene. The city's proximity to major military installations drives strong aerospace and cybersecurity demand. Biotech companies along the Torrey Pines corridor compete aggressively for scientific and engineering talent, pushing specialized salaries close to Bay Area levels.

Defense & MilitaryBiotech & PharmaTechnologyTourismClean Energy

Top 50 salaries in San Diego

#	Role	Median	Range
1	Senior VP of Security	$405,000	$344,000 – $527,000
2	SVP of AI Innovation	$394,000	$335,000 – $512,000
3	Senior VP of Product	$394,000	$307,000 – $512,000
4	SVP of Finance	$379,000	$323,000 – $493,000
5	Chief Security Officer	$378,000	$295,000 – $492,000
6	SVP of Engineering	$371,000	$315,000 – $483,000
7	SVP of Data	$371,000	$315,000 – $483,000
8	SVP of Technology	$371,000	$315,000 – $483,000
9	Chief AI Officer	$370,000	$274,000 – $477,000
10	Chief Strategy Officer	$370,000	$289,000 – $481,000
11	VP of IT	$369,000	$314,000 – $479,000
12	VP of Information Technology	$369,000	$314,000 – $479,000
13	Chief Science Officer	$366,000	$286,000 – $476,000
14	VP of AI Product	$365,000	$311,000 – $475,000
15	VP of AI Engineering	$365,000	$311,000 – $475,000
16	VP of Mobile	$365,000	$311,000 – $475,000
17	VP of Privacy	$365,000	$311,000 – $475,000
18	VP of Risk	$365,000	$310,000 – $475,000
19	VP of Support Engineering	$365,000	$311,000 – $475,000
20	VP of Site Reliability Engineering	$365,000	$311,000 – $475,000
21	VP of Cybersecurity	$365,000	$311,000 – $475,000
22	SVP of Product	$364,000	$309,000 – $473,000
23	Senior Head of Security	$363,000	$309,000 – $471,000
24	Senior VP of Design	$363,000	$284,000 – $471,000
25	VP of Data Science	$362,000	$308,000 – $470,000
26	VP of AI Research	$362,000	$308,000 – $470,000
27	Chief Machine Learning Officer	$362,000	$282,000 – $470,000
28	VP of Technical Support	$362,000	$308,000 – $470,000
29	VP of Security Engineering	$362,000	$308,000 – $470,000
30	Chief Commercial Officer	$359,000	$280,000 – $467,000
31	VP of Engineering	$358,000	$305,000 – $466,000
32	VP of Machine Learning	$358,000	$305,000 – $466,000
33	VP of Finance	$358,000	$304,000 – $465,000
34	Chief Legal Officer	$358,000	$279,000 – $465,000
35	VP of Information Security	$358,000	$305,000 – $466,000
36	VP of Data	$358,000	$305,000 – $466,000
37	VP of Reliability Engineering	$358,000	$305,000 – $466,000
38	VP of Solutions Engineering	$355,000	$302,000 – $461,000
39	Chief Transformation Officer	$353,000	$275,000 – $459,000
40	SVP of Marketing	$353,000	$275,000 – $459,000
41	Chief Data & AI Officer	$352,000	$263,000 – $459,000
42	VP of Analytics	$351,000	$299,000 – $456,000
43	VP of Developer Experience	$351,000	$299,000 – $456,000
44	VP of Security	$351,000	$299,000 – $456,000
45	VP of Partner Engineering	$351,000	$299,000 – $456,000
46	VP of Network Engineering	$351,000	$299,000 – $456,000
47	VP of Database Engineering	$351,000	$299,000 – $456,000
48	CTO	$347,000	$271,000 – $452,000
49	Senior Head of Product	$347,000	$272,000 – $453,000
50	Chief Architect	$347,000	$295,000 – $452,000

Tax considerations

California's top 13.3% state tax applies here. While San Diego has no city income tax, the state burden means you should negotiate gross pay higher than you might expect for the cost of living.

Negotiating in San Diego

Leverage defense and biotech sector demand. Candidates with security clearances or specialized science backgrounds can command 15 to 20% premiums in San Diego.

Other cities

New York San Francisco Los Angeles Chicago Seattle Austin Boston Denver Dallas Atlanta Miami Houston

All Roles Interview Prep Resume Score Job Search Guide

Know the number. Get the offer.

Orbyt gives you the salary data, interview prep, and pipeline tools to negotiate from a position of strength.

Start