San Diego is the least affordable region in the country in terms of housing prices. If you compare the average home price here with the average income, a higher portion of income is required to pay for housing here than anywhere else in the country. Overall, San Diego's cost-of-living index is 160.4 instead of 176.2 in Los Angeles. Housing is more expensive in Los Angeles (298.2 there than 279.1 here).
Transportation has always been a huge problem in the North, and the Cost of Living Index reflects this (165.3 in Los Angeles vs 120.2 in San Diego). We have to pay a little more for food and food (109.7 in San Diego and 104.1 in Los Angeles). After all, Los Angeles is 9.9% more expensive than San Diego. The calculator will give you a breakdown of your monthly expenses on food, utilities, transportation, housing, healthcare, and other miscellaneous items to help you determine your cost of living in San Diego.
Understanding the expected costs in San Diego can help you determine if a given wage is a living wage. According to C2ER (Council for Community and Economic Research), the cost of living in San Diego is estimated to be 140.4% of the national average, making it one of the most expensive cities in the United States. Obviously, if you spend a lot of time eating in fancy restaurants and visiting trendy bars, you'll need a higher salary to live in San Diego than someone who leads a more frugal lifestyle. Birdwatchers head to wetland reserves such as the Tijuana Estuary or the Sweetwater Marsh National Wildlife Refuge to search San Diego's 400 species of birds year-round.
Keep reading to find out how San Diego compares to other expensive cities and if your current salary will be enough to live a comfortable life in “America's Best City.” We'll return to real estate and explain how you can use cost-of-living calculators to find the best San Diego neighborhood for your budget. However, as in any city, the cost of living in San Diego will vary wildly depending on your lifestyle and housing circumstances. The sales tax rate for San Diego is currently 7.75%, combining city sales tax and county state taxes. When tax time comes, San Diego residents will be required to post a basic state sales tax rate of 7.25% in addition to their marginal rate of federal income tax.
The Housing Cost of Living Index estimates that the cost of housing in San Diego is 206.6% of the national average. San Diego is a diverse city with a variety of cultures, and you can find specialty stores selling Latin, Asian and Mediterranean products. To give you a better idea of how much of this salary you will have to spend on specific living expenses, we have put together the following guide to living costs in San Diego (which also gives you an idea of the cost of living in California). If you're not driving, you can ride the Metropolitan Transportation System, which offers several bus and trolley lines that can take you to the most popular areas of San Diego.
However, if San Diego seems too expensive to you, consider other California cities that might be cheaper. San Diego is known for its high cost of living, which requires a decent salary to enjoy what the city has to offer.
