What is the cost of living in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad?

San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 111.9, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 179.3, which is above the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $3,001/month.

What is the median salary in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad?

The median salary in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad is $81,730 annually (mean: $86,343). Top occupations include Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons.

How safe is San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad?

The violent crime rate in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad area is 477 per 100,000 population (state-level data). Property crime rate is 1986 per 100K.

What are the schools like in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad?

The state of CA has 10,006 schools (state-level data, no metro-level federal count exists) with an average student-teacher ratio of 21.5:1. Charter schools make up 12.8% of all schools.

How much does childcare cost in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad?

Infant center-based childcare in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad area averages $17,920 per year. Preschool averages $11,385/year. These are state-level averages.

Is San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad a good place to relocate?

San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad has a Life Score of 38.9/100 (F), based on 7 of 7 available dimensions among cost of living, wages, rent, crime, schools, childcare, and environment (missing dims omitted, weights renormalized). This places San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad in the bottom decile of scored metros; compare individual dimensions to see where the biggest gaps are.

Where does San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad ranks #386 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). That ordinal matches the /rankings/livability listing. See /methodology#corpus-placement for the exact sort basis.

Relocation profile · Federal data

San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA

LiveAbility 22.9/100 places San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad #386 of 387 (bottom third of scored metros).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

111.9
Cost index (US=100): $3,001
2BR rent / mo: $81,730
Median salary: 22.9
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad ranks #386 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (22.9/100), with its strongest marks in job market and climate.

#386
of 387 US metros · Well below median: 39,431,263
metro-area population: 477
violent crimes per 100K (state-level): 10,006
schools in the state (NCES)

Weakest dimension: housing (1/100). Weigh every dimension against your own priorities, use the City Finder to re-rank by what matters to you.

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite (BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, EPA, NOAA, and FEMA inputs), San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad ranks #386 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 111.9 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $3,001/mo, median salary $81,730; LiveAbility Score 22.9/100, strongest in job market and climate.

Signature: LiveAbility 22.9/100 places San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad #386 of 387 (bottom third of scored metros).

Purchasing power tightens: BEA RPP 111.9 lands in the dearer third of scored metros (cuts at 91.5 / 97.0). Median 2BR rent $3,001/mo.

LiveAbility 22.9/100 puts San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad in the bottom third (#386 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad area is 1,508,190.

San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad vs all US metros by LiveAbility Score

Where this metro's LiveAbility Score falls among every scored US metro (composite placement, not a desirability verdict)

23 Top 100% in the bottom 1% of 387 US metros

Metros banded by LiveAbility Score (0–100)

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainRelocate LiveAbility Score · June 2026

San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad MSA; housing RPP 179.3 (100 = national average); 2BR $3,001/mo.

Studio

$2,288

/month

1 Bedroom

$2,459

/month

2 Bedroom

$3,001

/month

3 Bedroom

$3,998

/month

4 Bedroom

$4,845

/month

San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad wages and employment

San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad posts 1,508,190 total employment with median salary $81,730 against a dearer-than-average RPP.

Median Salary

$81,730

Mean Salary

$86,343

Total Employment

1,508,190

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Home Health and Personal Care Aides	$35,300
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$42,190
Retail Salespersons	$37,810
Cashiers	$37,020
Registered Nurses	$139,520

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad area from NCES.

Schools

10,006

Enrollment

5,787,663

Student:Teacher

21.5:1

Title I %

Childcare Costs

State-average childcare costs for the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad area (DOL data).

Infant (Center)

$17,920

per year

Toddler (Center)

$12,300

per year

Preschool (Center)

$11,385

per year

Life Score Breakdown

San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad's composite Life Score is 38.9/100 (F), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

1/100

Bottom decile

Wages

96/100

Elite

Rent

1/100

Bottom decile

Crime

10/100

Bottom decile

Schools

95/100

Elite

Childcare

5/100

Bottom decile

Environment

77/100

Strong

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad ranks #386 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 22.9/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Job market (96/100)

Job market

96
Climate

66
Safety

10
Low hazard

9
Schools

5
Air quality

2
Cost of living

1
Housing

1

What this shows San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad's strongest dimensions are job market and climate; its weakest among scored dims is housing at 1/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad to

Beaumont-Port Arthur Beckley Bellingham Bend Billings Binghamton

Metros near San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad on BEA RPP, LiveAbility, or BLS median salary, a different lens than the size-ranked list.

Similar cost of living (BEA RPP)

Similar LiveAbility score

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA June 2026

San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad wages and LiveAbility inputs follow BLS OEWS plus the federal sources listed in methodology. This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Scores are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation. How this data is sourced.

Verify with BEA → · Verify with BLS → · Verify with HUD → · Verify with NOAA → · Verify with FEMA → · Verify with Census →

Thinking about San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad?

San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad runs a $81,730 median salary at a 111.9 cost index, ranking #386 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad
Abilene is the closest related metro in this corpus -- see how it stacks up. Abilene profile
A cheaper cost index and a higher LiveAbility score don't always point the same direction -- here's how to weigh the trade-off. Cost vs quality guide

Cost, salary and score figures are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation.