What’s so special about San Diego? Lots of things! For starters, it’s the eighth-most populated state in America, not to mention the second-most extensive city in California, with an economy worth boasting about! Add pleasant weather, stunning beaches, mesmerizing attractions, outdoor activities, and food to die for, and people start falling for the city hook, line, and sinker! San Diego’s population of over 1.4 million testify its demand and popularity.
However, if you’re thinking of moving to the city, know that the living costs in San Diego are excessive compared to most cities in the country. The cost of living in America’s Finest City amounts to 43% of the national average! If we look at the median household income, it stands at $79,673, higher than the national average by $10,990! While there are things to feel good about, you still need to have a basic idea of the types of costs you’ll be incurring when you start living in San Diego.
Here is everything you need to know about the cost of living in San Diego:
1. Rental Expenses in San Diego
To begin with, housing expenses in San Diego are expensive. In fact, they total 124% of the national average! The city rental prices took a hit due to the global pandemic, although jobs are still available and unemployment rates aren’t worrisome. But the real estate market is now on the road to recovery as rental prices are on the rise, thanks to economic revival. Compared to 2020, rental prices have increased by 19.5% this year.
Two factors play a critical role in determining the rent you’ll pay in the city. One is the neighborhood you choose to live in, and the other is the apartment type you see yourself living in. As far as upscale neighborhoods go, North City is known for its dining and nightlife scene, and rents amount to $4,895, the highest in the city! Other high-end areas include La Jolla and Little Italy, where you might have to dish out between $3100 to $3500 monthly. But before you have a panic attack, know that you’ll find more low-cost options in other neighborhoods, if not this one. Two other communities worth mentioning include College East, referred to as the least cost neighborhood, with average rent of $1,615.
Something else that stands out about San Diego’s rental market is the ease with which you can find rentals with short-term leases. If you’re interested in exploring the option, you won’t be disappointed. However, since short-term leases require flexibility, be prepared to pay the landlord extra money upfront before signing the lease.
According to this report, The median price of a one-bedroom apartment is $2160 monthly. If a one-bedroom apartment is suitable for you, check out areas such as Encinitas, and San Diego proper, where rents are $1700,and $2160, respectively. Cheap rentals will also be available in the La Mesa area for $1600 and El Cajon for $1450.
Finally, if your priority is to lower your expenses to save more money and survive in a city like San Diego, look for a roommate to share your rent and utilities with.
2. House-buying Expenses in San Diego
If you’ve considered the idea of buying a house in San Diego, you may want to think again because the prices are high, and they continue to increase! The reasons people show an interest in buying a house include affordable mortgage rates and a low supply of active homes ready to be sold.
The price of a home today stands at $879,297. Despite the high prices, houses in San Diego don’t spend much time on the market (nine days on average) and get sold quickly. Numbers tell us that 47% of the residents in the city own homes. San Diego’s fame has resulted in an 82% increase in home prices in the last decade from 2010 to 2020. In 2010, the median home price was $340,000 and reached $617,000 in January 2020! You can see the substantial difference between these prices and how they compare to the national median price, $245,000!
Places like Del Mar, Rancho Santa Fe, and Coronado have steep housing prices that fall anywhere between $1.5 to 2.25 million. Interestingly, some cities closer to downtown San Diego and east of San Diego County include La Mesa, Ramona, and Santee, where home prices are lower than the county median price by $100,000 or less. In the Encanto area, the median prices fall anywhere between $620,000 to $750,000, which is a tad reasonable. Even Nestor is a neighborhood worth considering. Emerald Hills is another community to check out in terms of low-cost areas. The prices here fall between $419,000 to $750,000. If you prefer living in the heart of the city, try looking for a house or room for rent in Downtown San Diego, where you may find homes worth $572,000. You could even search for a condo!
In the end, it’s essential to explore multiple neighborhoods, especially when you have a specific range of house prices you wish to stick to.
3. Food and Grocery Expenses in San Diego
San Diego is well-known for its range of cuisines, with seafood, Mexican dishes, and wood-fired California-style pizzas getting a special mention. The breweries and wineries here are also equally good, although you’ll end up spending $6 for a bottle of beer in a pub and $4 if you purchase it from the supermarket.
Your options include eating out or cooking your meals at home. Let’s discuss the costs you need to incur for both. Given the available cuisines, it’s natural to want to try them out, although it’s also important not to overdo eating out. Should you choose to dine at an affordable eatery, you need to dish out $15. If you decide to bring someone along and eat at a slightly fancier place, expect to pay $75. Also, data reveals that residents spend around $162 at eateries per month, comprising a little more than 50 percent of their food expenses. Therefore, it’s good to keep a monthly food and grocery costs budget.
In keeping with the rest of the state, groceries are expensive, but fresh fruits and vegetables are low-cost. In fact, the prices of groceries stand at 14.4% of the national average. In addition, San Diego has supermarkets and farmer’s markets galore, which provide access to quality stuff at reasonable prices.
According to Numbeo’s statistics, here are the prices of some items and produce:
- Milk (a gallon): $3.42
- Eggs (a dozen): $2.91
- Bananas (a pound): $0.77
- Oranges (a pound): $1.56
- Bread (a loaf): $3.13
- Ground beef (a pound): $5.99
If you cook your own meals, you end up spending $3,792 every month. Therefore, considering the prices of groceries, it’s wise to find a balance between cooking your meals and eating out.
4. Utility Expenses in San Diego
Thanks to San Diego’s pleasant summers and cool winters, you might not have to spend much on utility bills, though summer temperatures might shoot up occasionally, forcing you to use more of the air conditioning. You can expect temperatures to fall between 50 to 67 degrees in winters. But you’ll be happy to know that residents get to experience 75 degrees in San Diego throughout a greater part of the year.
Considering a 915-square foot apartment, the utility bill comprising heating, cooling, electricity, water, and trash amounts to $142.93 monthly. Remember to include the internet cost in your utility bill too. It should add another $64.57, so your total bill will amount to $207.5. You should also note that the internet cost will differ based on the speed you choose and your service provider.
Let’s look at the separate elements that make up utilities. The electricity bill might be around $88 on average monthly, while water might cost you $80, and sewer services will take up another $52 (approximately). Last but not least, phone bills also form a part of utilities, so residents dish out another $70 for their phone bills, for the most part.
5. Travel Expenses in San Diego
The public transit system in San Diego helps people move around the city. Explore areas such as Little Italy, Gaslamp District, Harborview, Marina, Cortez Hill, and La Jolla on foot, and you’ll end up gathering some memorable experiences! Biking your way across town is also another way of navigating the city.
Travel expenses for an individual amount to $4,900 yearly, and for a family of three, the costs rise to $11,186 a year! Traffic is a severe concern in San Diego, so if you’re unwilling to drive around, you can always use the buses and trolleys serviced by the Metropolitan Transit System (MTS), the primary transit system in the city. You’ll need to pay $2.50 for a one-way trip and $72 for a 30-day pass. Nine percent of residents use carpools to commute to work. We should also add ridesharing services such as Uber to the list of transit services available to residents.
The preferred traveling mode is driving, so if you decide to drive a car, you need to fork over $4.09 per gallon of gas. Parking is an additional expense and requires you to pay $70 monthly, less than in more populated cities. Despite these statistics, only 6.3% of residents don’t have a car. Thankfully, free street or garage parking facilities are available to several home types. Let’s not forget car insurance, which is a significant cost as well. Car owners need to pay $1,903 per year as a premium for their car insurance. The national average is $1,592, so you can see the difference for yourself!
In summary, transportation costs require residents to pay 36.1% more than the national average.
6. Healthcare Expenses in San Diego
Healthcare is an area that needs a good deal of attention and money, given the soaring expenses. People need to fork over 8.3% more than the national average. You’re safe if you have insurance financed by your employer, but if you don’t, you need to find alternatives and have funds to dip into should a medical emergency arise. The majority of companies in the state offer health insurance to their employees, while some also include part-time workers.
Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality revealed that the sum spent by a single adult is $2724 yearly. On the other hand, if you have a family consisting of your wife and a child, the expenses soar to $5069 yearly.
Getting yourself examined by a doctor will require you to pay $120. Should you need a dentist’s appointment, be prepared to pay $102. An appointment with the optometrist for buying glasses will need you to pay $111. Buying prescribed medicines also involves a high cost, requiring you to pay $470 a year (average) and might go up as you get older.
Health insurance premiums are pretty costly too and total $590 monthly! Some residents might be eligible for a subsidized rate. The importance of having a budget for healthcare costs can’t be stressed enough. While setting one, consider your overall health issues, the list of medicines you have daily, and the amount you expect to receive as part of your health insurance plan, if any.
7. Entertainment Expenses in San Diego
Entertainment and fitness are two core aspects of people’s lives because they keep people happy and in perfect shape. San Diego gives equal importance to both. The city has beaches aplenty, and they are fantastic places to sweat it out because you have multiple activities to choose from, such as volleyball, swimming, and walking. If you’re a gym person, be prepared to spend $42.57 as membership fees every month. Should you opt for yoga, expect to pay $22.
As far as recreational opportunities go, you have various options to choose from. If you love movies, $14.75 is what you need to pay for a ticket, and any food and drinks need to be paid for separately. If the child in you finds theme parks interesting, you could explore them too because San Diego’s known to house many. Animal lovers mustn’t miss the San Diego Zoo, where they need to pay $62. Two equally notable places include Belmont Park and SeaWorld, where you need to pay $30 and $95.99, respectively. Many sports teams play for the city, one of which is the San Diego Padres. If you want to watch their game, you need to pay a minimum of $18.
How about music? Head over to the Music Box, a live music venue, and watch local and international musicians and bands play. You can buy tickets for some world-renowned bands and singers for only $19! If museums fascinate you, check out the San Diego Museum of Art for $15. You can buy tickets to the Museum of Contemporary Art for $10.
You should also know that all entertainment options don’t require paying money. There are some free options you could explore too. Balboa Park is one such place where you can seek solace in nature’s beauty. Also, don’t forget to drop by the Mission, Coronado, and Pacific beaches and experience the promenades, the sand, and the water!
8. Income requirements in San Diego
Like most Californian cities, San Diego is also an expensive place. So, to live well, you need to earn well. The minimum salary for singles is $21.26 hourly. If they have a family comprising three members, it increases to $39.67 hourly. Ideally, you should earn at least three times more than the rent you’re charged. It also makes sense to follow the 30% rule and spend 30% or less of one’s gross income on rent.
If you’re comfortable renting a one-bedroom apartment, you need to pay $28,206 yearly. In that case, your annual income would have to be $94,320. On the other hand, should you prefer a two-bedroom apartment, $36,312 is what you need to spend monthly, totaling $121,040 yearly.
In summary, according to this report, San Diego’s average median income stands at $79,673.
9. Taxes in San Diego
San Diego’s sales tax is a mix of the state tax rate and the San Diego County rate and is 7.75%, which shouldn’t come as a surprise because California is counted among the states with the highest tax rates in America! So, whatever products you buy, remember to add the sales tax rate to each one to get an idea of how much you need to pay and have sufficient funds on you.
As far as personal taxes go, the tax rates vary according to your yearly earnings. Residents pay 13% income tax if their earnings are below $25,000 yearly. Their tax rates can go up to 25% if they earn $200,000 or higher per year. Finally, the average property tax rate in San Diego stands at 0.73%.
Conclusion
So, are you all set to start living in San Diego? We sure hope so! Like most other Californian cities, San Diego has high living standards. At the same time, it offers so much in the form of moderate weather, stunning beaches, a thriving nightlife scene, delectable food, and last but not least, a burgeoning economy that refuses to stop! What more can one ask for? As someone contemplating moving to the city, you need to do two critical things before deciding to move. One is to save money and two, create multiple budgets for all your expenses. Once you do these, nothing can stop you from living your dream life in the city!
