San Diego paycheck calculator (2026)
SD City min wage 2026: $17.25/hr. SD County unincorporated: $16.50 (CA state minimum). No SD income tax. Distinctive labor market: military, biotech (Sorrento Valley, Torrey Pines), tourism, defense contractors. HUD FMR one-bedroom: $2,180/month.
Tax outcomes depend on your specific situation. This page summarises 2026 published guidance from the SD City Office of Labor Standards Enforcement, the California DIR, the California FTB, and HUD Fair Market Rent FY 2026. Active-duty military and certain federal employees may have additional considerations under FTB Pub 1032 and the federal SCRA. Consult a CPA about your circumstances.
San Diego: a different California labor market
San Diego's labor market is distinctive among California metros. Unlike LA's media and entertainment dominance or San Francisco's tech and finance dominance, San Diego is anchored by four roughly equal-weight industries: the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps presence (Naval Base San Diego, Naval Air Station North Island, Camp Pendleton just north), biotech and life sciences (Sorrento Valley, Torrey Pines, La Jolla, Illumina, Pfizer San Diego, Janssen, Thermo Fisher, Becton Dickinson, dozens of mid-size companies), defense contracting (General Atomics, Northrop Grumman, BAE Systems), and tourism / hospitality (downtown, Mission Bay, La Jolla). Each sector has distinctive compensation structures and tax considerations.
From a pure paycheck-mechanics standpoint, San Diego workers face the same federal income tax, California state income tax (1%-13.3% per FTB brackets), FICA, and SDI as workers in any other California city. There is no SD income tax. The local distinctions that affect take-home: (1) the SD City minimum wage of $17.25/hr in 2026 is above the California statewide $16.50 but below LA's $17.28, SF's $18.67, and SJ's $17.55. (2) Military pay has special exclusions that meaningfully reduce taxable income, BAH and BAS are excluded from both federal and California taxable income, and combat zone pay is excluded from federal. (3) Cost of living is meaningfully lower than SF / SJ and slightly lower than LA, with HUD FY 2026 one-bedroom FMR at $2,180/month for SD County (vs $2,795 SF, $2,290 SJ, $2,160 LA).
San Diego take-home table
| Annual gross | Federal tax | CA state tax | Annual take-home | Biweekly net | ETR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $3,962 | $1,265 | $40,398 | $1,554 | 19.2% |
| $65,000 | $5,914 | $2,244 | $51,154 | $1,967 | 21.3% |
| $85,000 | $10,314 | $3,964 | $63,285 | $2,434 | 25.5% |
| $100,000 | $13,614 | $5,359 | $72,277 | $2,780 | 27.7% |
| $130,000 | $20,447 | $8,149 | $90,029 | $3,463 | 30.7% |
| $175,000 | $31,247 | $12,334 | $116,107 | $4,466 | 33.7% |
| $250,000 | $52,263 | $19,309 | $160,685 | $6,180 | 35.7% |
Biotech and life sciences pay context
San Diego is one of the three largest biotech clusters in the United States (alongside Boston-Cambridge and the SF Bay Area). The Sorrento Valley, Torrey Pines, and La Jolla biotech corridor employs tens of thousands of life sciences professionals across drug discovery, clinical operations, regulatory affairs, and bioinformatics. Per the BLS May 2024 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics for the SD-Chula Vista-Carlsbad MSA: median wage for life and physical scientists is approximately $95,000-$110,000 depending on subspecialty. Senior scientists and principal scientists routinely earn $150,000-$250,000 base plus equity grants (RSUs, restricted stock awards, ISOs/NQSOs). Director and VP-level biotech roles routinely top $300,000-$500,000 in total compensation.
For SD biotech workers with substantial RSU vesting events, the same supplemental withholding mechanics apply as for SF tech workers: 22% federal supplemental + 10.23% California stock supplemental withholding routinely under-collects vs the worker's actual marginal rate of 32%, 35%, or 37% federal. Year-end balance owed is common for high-equity-comp SD biotech workers; estimated quarterly tax payments via IRS Form 1040-ES and FTB Form 540-ES are often advisable. Detail: California RSU tax calculator page. For workers in the $130k-$200k base salary range with annual equity vesting: $130k after taxes, $240k MFJ context.
Military and defense contractor pay specifics
Active-duty military stationed in San Diego have unique tax treatment. Per IRC 112, combat zone pay is excluded from federal taxable income. Per FTB Pub 1032, California-resident active-duty military pay is excluded from California taxable income if the service member is stationed outside California, but is included in California taxable income if stationed inside California. The federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) at 50 USC 4001 specifies that an active-duty service member's state of legal residence does not change merely because they are stationed in another state. So a service member who is a legal resident of Texas or Florida (no income tax states) and is stationed at Naval Base San Diego pays no California income tax on military pay.
Defense contractor workers (General Atomics, Northrop Grumman, BAE, etc.) are taxed as ordinary California W-2 employees regardless of their work being defense-related. Civilian DOD employees on military bases are also taxed as ordinary California W-2 employees. Spouses of active-duty service members may benefit from the Military Spouse Residency Relief Act, which allows the spouse to maintain the service member's state of legal residence for income tax purposes, meaning the spouse of a Texas-resident service member working in SD may also avoid California income tax. Consult a JAG legal assistance officer or a CPA familiar with military tax issues for guidance on specific situations.
Compare San Diego with other California metros
San Diego paycheck, common questions
San Diego paycheck calculations on this page reflect 2026 published rates from the California FTB, IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-28, the SD City Office of Labor Standards Enforcement, and HUD Fair Market Rent FY 2026. Active-duty military, defense contractor, and biotech equity-comp workers should consult a CPA familiar with their specific tax situations.