Living Wage Calculation for San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA

The living wage shown is the hourly rate that an individual in a household must earn to support themselves and/or their family, working full-time, or 2080 hours per year. The tables below provide living wage estimates for individuals and households with one or two working adults and zero to three children. In households with two working adults, all hourly values reflect what one working adult requires to earn to meet their families’ basic needs, assuming the other adult also earns the same.

The poverty wage and state minimum wage are for reference purposes. Poverty wage estimates come from the Department of Health and Human Services’ Poverty Guidelines for 2024 and have been converted from an annual value to an hourly wage for ease of comparison. The state minimum wage data is sourced from the Labor Law Center and includes the minimum wage in a given state as of January of that year.

For further detail, please reference the Methodology page. The data on this page was last updated on February 14, 2024.

1 ADULT 2 ADULTS

(1 WORKING)

2 ADULTS

(BOTH WORKING)

0 Children 1 Child 2 Children 3 Children 0 Children 1 Child 2 Children 3 Children 0 Children 1 Child 2 Children 3 Children
Living Wage $29.52 $50.96 $64.91 $87.44 $38.31 $46.82 $51.82 $58.77 $19.15 $27.62 $34.79 $42.78
Poverty Wage $7.24 $9.83 $12.41 $15.00 $9.83 $12.41 $15.00 $17.59 $4.91 $6.21 $7.50 $8.79
Minimum Wage $16.00 $16.00 $16.00 $16.00 $16.00 $16.00 $16.00 $16.00 $16.00 $16.00 $16.00 $16.00

Typical Expenses

The table below shows the costs of each basic need that go into estimating the living wage. Like with the living wage, their values vary by location and family size.

1 ADULT 2 ADULTS

(1 WORKING)

2 ADULTS

(BOTH WORKING)

0 Children 1 Child 2 Children 3 Children 0 Children 1 Child 2 Children 3 Children 0 Children 1 Child 2 Children 3 Children
Food $4,450 $6,560 $9,839 $13,078 $8,158 $10,155 $13,079 $15,947 $8,158 $10,155 $13,079 $15,947
Child Care $0 $14,542 $29,083 $41,603 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $14,542 $29,083 $41,603
Medical $2,473 $7,704 $7,592 $8,055 $5,512 $7,592 $8,055 $7,650 $5,512 $7,592 $8,055 $7,650
Housing $24,872 $34,172 $34,172 $46,065 $27,116 $34,172 $34,172 $46,065 $27,116 $34,172 $34,172 $46,065
Transportation $10,779 $12,474 $15,713 $18,080 $12,474 $15,713 $18,080 $18,059 $12,474 $15,713 $18,080 $18,059
Civic $3,032 $5,335 $6,715 $7,776 $5,335 $6,715 $7,776 $7,269 $5,335 $6,715 $7,776 $7,269
Internet & Mobile $1,452 $1,452 $1,452 $1,452 $2,046 $2,046 $2,046 $2,046 $2,046 $2,046 $2,046 $2,046
Other $4,739 $8,459 $8,994 $12,431 $8,459 $8,994 $12,431 $11,950 $8,459 $8,994 $12,431 $11,950
Required annual income after taxes $51,796 $90,697 $113,560 $148,540 $69,100 $85,387 $95,640 $108,986 $69,100 $99,929 $124,723 $150,589
Annual taxes $9,597 $15,302 $21,443 $33,326 $10,584 $11,994 $12,138 $13,252 $10,584 $14,987 $20,022 $27,383
Required annual income before taxes $61,393 $105,998 $135,003 $181,866 $79,684 $97,382 $107,777 $122,238 $79,684 $114,916 $144,744 $177,972

Typical Annual Salaries

The average annual salaries for various occupations in the table below comes from the latest state-level data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates. When available, this data is specific to a given metro area.

Occupational Area Typical Annual Salary
Management $149,570
Business & Financial Operations $88,460
Computer & Mathematical $119,870
Architecture & Engineering $109,370
Life, Physical, & Social Science $92,470
Community & Social Service $59,910
Legal $141,040
Education, Training, & Library $74,750
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, & Media $78,620
Healthcare Practitioners & Technical $120,070
Healthcare Support $39,400
Protective Service $61,470
Food Preparation & Serving Related $36,570
Building & Grounds Cleaning & Maintenance $40,090
Personal Care & Service $41,410
Sales & Related $54,930
Office & Administrative Support $50,440
Farming, Fishing, & Forestry $40,330
Construction & Extraction $67,580
Installation, Maintenance, & Repair $60,890
Production $48,330
Transportation & Material Moving $43,980