The 100 Highest Paying Jobs In San Diego, CA For 2023

By Chris Kolmar
Apr. 11, 2022

Find a Job You Really Want In

Editor’s Note: Article updated for 2022. This is our sixth time ranking the highest paying jobs in San Diego

Ever wonder who gets paid the most? Or how much your dentist makes for all the pain they put you through?

We had that same burning desire to know more about the highest paid professions in the San Diego area. And if you can’t tell by that sentence, we’re a bit of what you’d call data nerds.

We decided to go directly to the source: The Bureau of Labor Statistics.

After scrounging through the Bureau of Labor Statistics, we discovered that Cardiologists are the highest paid people in San Diego.

Here’s a quick look at the top ten highest paying jobs in San Diego:

  1. Cardiologists
  2. Obstetricians and Gynecologists
  3. Psychiatrists
  4. Physicians, All Other
  5. Pediatricians, General
  6. Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric
  7. Podiatrists
  8. Family Medicine Physicians
  9. Chief Executives
  10. Natural Sciences Managers

Everyone’s favorite, dentists, place number 34 on the list of highest paid professions in San Diego. So the next time you sit there while they drill you can dwell on the fact that they are getting extremely well paid for it.

If you’re interested, you can read more about the San Diego and California job scene here:

How we determined the highest paid jobs in San Diego For 2022

We looked at the BLS’s data set for all 635 job classifications in San Diego in order to identify those that get paid the most.

Pretty straightforward and easy to do when the government does your job for you 🙂

We used the most recently released BLS data for this analysis which came out on March 29, 2022.

For more reading, check out:

Detailed List Of Highest Paying Jobs In San Diego

Rank Job Title Average Salary Entry Level Salary # Of People
1 Cardiologists $356,270 $165,610 90
2 Obstetricians and Gynecologists $322,640 $171,260 160
3 Psychiatrists $305,450 $143,430 340
4 Physicians, All Other $272,610 $63,620 2,240
5 Pediatricians, General $242,720 $133,390 230
6 Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric $239,710 $100,960 60
7 Podiatrists $231,930 $136,000 60
8 Family Medicine Physicians $217,910 $29,690 1,550
9 Chief Executives $210,830 $82,170 3,040
10 Natural Sciences Managers $197,720 $111,130 2,290
11 Economics Teachers, Postsecondary $180,490 $50,180 100
12 Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary $176,220 $82,260 960
13 Architectural and Engineering Managers $175,260 $103,780 3,890
14 Computer and Information Systems Managers $173,700 $101,780 7,220
15 Lawyers $165,480 $78,060 7,900
16 Computer Hardware Engineers $161,580 $100,880 3,870
17 Financial Managers $159,210 $79,480 7,530
18 Marketing Managers $151,890 $77,780 3,070
19 Managers, All Other $151,700 $77,450 8,630
20 Engineering Teachers, Postsecondary $150,240 $78,710 360
21 Atmospheric, Earth, Marine, and Space Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary $147,770 $93,280 70
22 Business Teachers, Postsecondary $146,590 $62,540 500
23 Pharmacists $145,790 $109,790 2,600
24 Biological Science Teachers, Postsecondary $145,000 $71,870 480
25 Physics Teachers, Postsecondary $144,580 $62,540 150
26 Physicists $144,120 $77,380 140
27 Human Resources Managers $143,930 $78,230 2,080
28 First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives $143,690 $80,980 380
29 Social Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary, All Other $141,610 $78,610 110
30 Computer Science Teachers, Postsecondary $141,580 $64,030 220
31 Family and Consumer Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary $140,800 $48,520 40
32 Compensation and Benefits Managers $140,780 $78,910 170
33 Law Teachers, Postsecondary $139,520 $56,860 210
34 Dentists, General $139,000 $30,330 1,660
35 Training and Development Managers $138,680 $78,230 470
36 Computer and Information Research Scientists $138,590 $78,770 980
37 Clinical and Counseling Psychologists $136,630 $66,940 1,050
38 Fundraising Managers $134,160 $77,440 180
39 Software Developers $133,580 $80,250 16,510
40 Industrial Production Managers $133,490 $76,880 2,460
41 Purchasing Managers $133,450 $77,860 720
42 Mathematical Science Teachers, Postsecondary $133,010 $63,740 440
43 Advertising and Promotions Managers $131,550 $74,540 140
44 Radiation Therapists $131,280 $101,530 130
45 Chemistry Teachers, Postsecondary $131,120 $64,030 270
46 Sales Managers $130,510 $59,700 7,250
47 Public Relations Managers $130,510 $78,370 650
48 Nurse Practitioners $130,240 $79,470 2,110
49 Political Science Teachers, Postsecondary $128,760 $31,060 120
50 Physician Assistants $127,660 $78,230 1,180
51 Education Administrators, Kindergarten through Secondary $126,790 $77,680 1,810
52 Medical and Health Services Managers $126,220 $61,140 4,350
53 Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary $125,880 $59,380 760
54 Veterinarians $125,410 $62,550 880
55 Personal Financial Advisors $125,330 $50,160 2,840
56 Education Administrators, Postsecondary $124,490 $76,960 1,340
57 Electronics Engineers, Except Computer $124,370 $78,500 3,260
58 Communications Teachers, Postsecondary $124,310 $61,980 260
59 Foreign Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary $124,080 $59,990 200
60 Mathematicians $123,350 $80,560 60
61 Aerospace Engineers $123,120 $80,990 950
62 Physical Scientists, All Other $123,100 $79,580 130
63 Nuclear Medicine Technologists $123,060 $94,060 130
64 General and Operations Managers $122,610 $48,660 25,350
65 Economists $122,220 $79,110 120
66 Recreation and Fitness Studies Teachers, Postsecondary $121,490 $62,050 170
67 Art Directors $121,070 $64,420 360
68 Environmental Science Teachers, Postsecondary $120,840 $62,440 30
69 Area, Ethnic, and Cultural Studies Teachers, Postsecondary $119,510 $61,300 80
70 Education Teachers, Postsecondary $119,140 $47,050 540
71 Database Architects $118,660 $63,560 340
72 Optometrists $118,490 $61,980 520
73 Sociology Teachers, Postsecondary $118,000 $63,740 110
74 Data Scientists $117,380 $62,520 1,470
75 Computer Programmers $117,080 $65,590 3,970
76 Commercial Pilots $116,440 $60,900 340
77 Electrical Engineers $116,120 $76,940 3,150
78 First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention Workers $115,830 $76,120 230
79 Computer Network Architects $115,580 $63,260 1,660
80 Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists $115,420 $62,140 3,110
81 Construction Managers $114,900 $71,770 3,510
82 History Teachers, Postsecondary $114,870 $47,890 160
83 Engineers, All Other $114,470 $67,850 3,650
84 English Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary $114,370 $61,060 630
85 Actuaries $113,270 $78,890 50
86 Registered Nurses $113,150 $75,380 27,200
87 Health and Safety Engineers, Except Mining Safety Engineers and Inspectors $112,450 $79,950 170
88 Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and Geographers $111,860 $50,730 300
89 Sales Engineers $111,790 $52,700 730
90 Information Security Analysts $111,590 $59,840 1,130
91 Anthropology and Archeology Teachers, Postsecondary $110,720 $62,440 140
92 Financial Risk Specialists $110,530 $60,430 270
93 Environmental Engineers $110,510 $67,850 610
94 Psychology Teachers, Postsecondary $110,410 $47,690 390
95 Special Education Teachers, Secondary School $110,320 $60,070 690
96 Materials Scientists $110,250 $61,580 70
97 Hydrologists $109,820 $63,770 80
98 Power Distributors and Dispatchers $109,750 $65,980 80
99 Diagnostic Medical Sonographers $109,640 $79,190 610
100 Philosophy and Religion Teachers, Postsecondary $109,430 $49,090 180

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Author

Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.

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Topics: Rankings