Physician Salary in San Diego, CA

Why San Diego pays Physicians 25% above the United States median

A typical physician in San Diego, CA earns about $319,000 a year — 25% above the United States median for the same occupation. That premium is real cash, but San Diego’s cost-of-living index is 100 (100 = US baseline), so the extra pay has to be judged against rent and prices, not collected as a pure raise.

Physicians diagnose and treat illness, drawing on years of medical training and specialization. Physician earnings in San Diego, CA are dominated by specialty and employment model (hospital-employed vs private practice), so the $319,000 median hides a steep ladder toward $450,000. Use the lower half of the band for training-heavy roles and the upper half for established specialists. Employers screening physicians in San Diego, CA still list Diagnosis, Treatment, Clinical judgment, and Ethics as core. The local band runs from about $225,000 at the 10th percentile to $450,000 at the 90th.

The percentiles on this page are observed metro figures for Physician in San Diego, CA, not a national median multiplied by a pay index. That matters: you are looking at how this labour market actually priced the role, including local industry mix. They are still estimates of the market — not a promise of what one employer will offer.

Among the 9 United States metros we can compare for this role, San Diego ranks 3 by median. Washington DC leads this comparison at $362,000 (+13% vs San Diego), while Los Angeles sits at $187,000. Use those gaps to test a relocation thesis: a 15% cash raise that lands in a much more expensive metro can disappear in rent.

San Diego’s COL index (100) sits nearer the global baseline, so headline and adjusted pay are not far apart ($319,000 vs $319,000). Rent still matters: the 1-bedroom model is $1,650 / month, about 8% of take-home, with leftover near $16,850.

If you are comparing a San Diego office offer with a location-flexible one, the United States national median for this role is about $256,000. Local pay is 25% higher — a $63,000 gap. Remote employers often anchor to the national figure; on-site employers in San Diego are anchoring to this page.

World Bank consumer-price inflation for United States was about 2.9% in 2024; an illustrative model tied to inflation and the occupation’s outlook suggests pay has risen about 13% over the last few years. H-1B / employment-based green card is the usual skilled-hire route (selective for typical hires): Most skilled foreign hires enter via employer-sponsored H-1B (lottery-capped) or specialty routes; permanent residence usually follows an employment-based petition. At 3.5× United States GDP per capita, this median is well above a typical national living standard. Unemployment was about 4.2% in 2025. None of that is tax, immigration, or career advice — run the calculators and confirm rules officially.