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GeraJobs / US Wage Premium / San Diego County, CA

San Diego County, California — Wages & Employment (2023)

Ranked #86 of 3,141 US counties by the Gera Local Wage Premium US (110.1, US = 100) — computed from real BLS QCEW 2023 establishment data.

What is the average wage in San Diego County, CA?

San Diego County, CA has a GLWP-US of 110.1 (rank #86 of 3,141), above the US average. Average weekly wage: $1532 (~$79,664/year, US = $1392/wk). Its highest-concentration sector is Professional, Scientific & Technical Services (LQ 1.43x). Source: BLS QCEW 2023.

Source:BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) 2023·As of Annual 2023 · updated annual · last refreshed

Gera Local Wage Premium US

San Diego County's wage premium vs US average (rank #86 of 3,141). Above the US average.

How this is calculated
110.1 · US 100

$1,532

Avg weekly wage (2023)

$79,664

Approx annual pay

110.1

GLWP-US (US = 100)

#86 / 3,141

National rank

1,525,913

Average employment

$1,392

US avg weekly wage

San Diego County vs US average — wage comparison

MetricSan Diego CountyUS AveragePremium
Avg weekly wage$1,532$1,392+$140
Approx annual pay$79,664$72,384+$7,280
GLWP-US index110.1100.0+10.1

Source: BLS QCEW 2023, all industries, all ownership types. Annual pay = weekly wage × 52 (derived). GLWP-US = (county wage / US $1392/wk) × 100.

San Diego County — top industries by employment concentration

Location Quotient (LQ) > 1.0 means the industry is more concentrated here than the US average. Private sector, BLS QCEW 2023.

Industry (NAICS sector)LQAvg Wk Wage (sector)
Professional, Scientific & Technical Services1.43x$2,807
Real Estate & Rental and Leasing1.26x$1,504
Accommodation & Food Services1.22x$657
Arts, Entertainment & Recreation1.21x$1,107
Other Services1.18x$880

LQ = (county sector employment share) / (US sector employment share). Source: BLS QCEW 2023, agglvl_code=74, own_code=5 (private sector).

San Diego County — GLWP-US breakdown

GLWP-US

110.1

US = 100

National Rank

#86

of 3,141 counties

Wage Premium

+$140

vs US avg/wk

GLWP-US = 110.1 (rank #86 of 3,141, above the US average). Formula: ($1532/wk ÷ $1392/wk) × 100 = 110.1.

Explore US County Wage Premiums — Interactive

US average = $$1,392/wk (GLWP-US 100). Showing top 50 results.

RankCountyStateGLWP-USAvg Wk Wage
#1Santa Clara CountyCA241.3$3,359
#2San Mateo CountyCA240.8$3,352
#3San Francisco CountyCA230.8$3,213
#4Alameda CountyCA130.9$1,822
#5Marin CountyCA125.6$1,749
#6Contra Costa CountyCA115.7$1,611
#7Los Angeles CountyCA111.4$1,550
#8San Diego CountyCA110.1$1,532
#9Orange CountyCA107.6$1,498
#10Sacramento CountyCA106.0$1,475
#11Yolo CountyCA100.9$1,404
#12Placer CountyCA97.8$1,361
#13Sonoma CountyCA96.7$1,346
#14Napa CountyCA95.8$1,333
#15Solano CountyCA94.7$1,318
#16Ventura CountyCA93.6$1,303
#17Santa Barbara CountyCA90.9$1,266
#18Santa Cruz CountyCA90.2$1,256
#19El Dorado CountyCA88.6$1,234
#20Yuba CountyCA88.6$1,233
#21Stanislaus CountyCA83.9$1,168
#22San Joaquin CountyCA82.7$1,151
#23Nevada CountyCA82.6$1,150
#24San Luis Obispo CountyCA82.5$1,148
#25Monterey CountyCA82.3$1,145
#26San Bernardino CountyCA82.3$1,146
#27Inyo CountyCA80.5$1,121
#28Kern CountyCA79.7$1,109
#29Riverside CountyCA79.6$1,108
#30Lassen CountyCA79.5$1,107
#31Colusa CountyCA79.4$1,105
#32Plumas CountyCA79.0$1,100
#33San Benito CountyCA79.0$1,100
#34Shasta CountyCA79.0$1,099
#35Amador CountyCA78.0$1,086
#36Tuolumne CountyCA77.9$1,084
#37Fresno CountyCA77.4$1,078
#38Trinity CountyCA77.4$1,078
#39Tehama CountyCA76.7$1,068
#40Butte CountyCA75.9$1,056
#41Kings CountyCA74.3$1,034
#42Madera CountyCA74.2$1,033
#43Sutter CountyCA74.1$1,031
#44Humboldt CountyCA73.3$1,021
#45Imperial CountyCA73.3$1,020
#46Merced CountyCA73.3$1,021
#47Calaveras CountyCA71.9$1,001
#48Glenn CountyCA71.9$1,001
#49Mendocino CountyCA71.7$998
#50Modoc CountyCA70.9$987

Source: BLS QCEW 2023 Annual Single File, US public domain. GLWP-US = (county avg weekly wage ÷ US avg $1,392/wk) × 100. Top sector LQ = employment location quotient (private sector). Computed by GeraJobs.

This explorer covers California counties. Explore every US county on the US Wage Premium hub.

San Diego County wages — FAQ

What is the GLWP-US score for San Diego County, CA?
San Diego County, CA has a Gera Local Wage Premium US (GLWP-US) of 110.1 (US average = 100), ranking #86 of 3,141 US counties. This puts it above the US average. Source: BLS QCEW 2023.
What is the average weekly wage in San Diego County, California?
The BLS QCEW 2023 data shows the annual average weekly wage in San Diego County, California is $1532, equating to approximately $79,664/year. The US average is $1392/wk ($72,384/year). GLWP-US: 110.1 (US = 100).
How many people are employed in San Diego County?
In 2023, San Diego County, California had an annual average employment of 1,525,913 workers covered by unemployment insurance, per the BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages. This covers private-sector and government workers across all industries.
What industries are most concentrated in San Diego County?
Based on BLS QCEW 2023 employment Location Quotients, the most concentrated private-sector industries in San Diego County, California are: Professional, Scientific & Technical Services (LQ 1.43x, avg $2807/wk); Real Estate & Rental and Leasing (LQ 1.26x, avg $1504/wk); Accommodation & Food Services (LQ 1.22x, avg $657/wk); Arts, Entertainment & Recreation (LQ 1.21x, avg $1107/wk); Other Services (LQ 1.18x, avg $880/wk). An LQ above 1.0 means the county has a higher share of that industry than the US overall.
How does San Diego County's wage compare to California overall?
San Diego County has a GLWP-US of 110.1 vs the US average of 100. To see how San Diego County compares to other counties in California, explore the full GeraJobs US Wage Premium rankings. The GLWP-US is computed from BLS QCEW 2023 establishment data covering all industries and ownership types.

How the Gera Local Wage Premium US is calculated

GLWP-US = (county avg weekly wage / US avg weekly wage) × 100. US average $1392/wk in 2023 → US = 100 by construction. Data: BLS QCEW 2023 annual singlefile, all industries, all ownership. Suppressed cells excluded. No imputation. Full methodology · Licence: US public domain.

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Other counties in California by GLWP-US

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Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, QCEW 2023 Annual Single File (data.bls.gov/cew/data/files/2023/csv/2023_annual_singlefile.zip). US public domain. Area title from BLS area_titles.csv. FIPS: 06073. No figure is modelled or estimated.

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