Surveyors Salary — San Luis Obispo, California

The average Surveyors in San Luis Obispo, California earns $111,600 a year.

$111,600 / year, mean
↑ 35.6% above national average 61th percentile in California

San Luis Obispo sits roughly in the middle of the pack for this role within California — neither a standout nor a laggard. That's a substantial premium — this metro pays far more for surveyors than the U.S. average. Cost of living here is close to the national average — not a major factor either way. This is a reasonably reliable estimate, though the underlying sample is moderate in size.

Percentile within California

0th 50th 100th
Employment (this metro)
80
Estimate confidence
RSE 6.9%
Cost of living 109 #15 most expensive of 188 cities in this dataset 100 = U.S. average · Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024
Crime index 2124 #140 safest of 188 cities in this dataset Per 100k residents · Source: FBI Crime Data Explorer
Median home value $909,699 #7 priciest of 188 cities in this dataset Source: zillow_real
Median household income $93,398 #25 highest of 188 cities in this dataset Source: Census Bureau ACS 5-year

Combining these four figures gives a fuller picture than salary alone: San Luis Obispo ranks #15 for cost of living and #7 for home prices among the 188 cities in this pilot dataset, which matters as much as the headline salary number when comparing where to live.

Yuba City $127,690 San Francisco $126,380 Redding $124,490 Sacramento $120,210 Stockton $118,870 Vallejo $117,030 San Jose $116,770 San Luis Obispo $111,600 Fresno $110,060 San Diego $108,630 Santa Maria $106,490 Riverside $106,390 Santa Rosa $105,720 Los Angeles $105,400 Salinas $105,190 Salem $104,470 Modesto $104,370 Kennewick $103,300 Bellingham $102,510 Oxnard $101,980 Portland $100,080 Seattle $97,590 Fort Wayne $95,080 Olympia $95,050 Bend $94,140 New York $93,290 Bakersfield $91,730 Spokane $91,460 Evansville $88,620 Eugene $87,550 Springfield $87,290 Indianapolis $85,820 Philadelphia $85,010 Chicago $83,940 South Bend $83,600 Trenton $83,130 Pittsburgh $82,370 Kiryas Joel $81,560 Miami $81,320 Atlantic City $81,010 Syracuse $80,760 Lancaster $80,240 York $79,950 Buffalo $79,840 Scranton $79,750 Richmond $79,720 Palm Bay $78,250 Grand Rapids $77,930 Lakeland $77,850 Allentown $77,820 Jacksonville $77,790 Port St. Lucie $77,760 Peoria $77,750 Louisville $77,630 Orlando $77,490 Albany $77,180 Killeen $76,620 Naples $76,550 Sherman $76,310 Harrisburg $75,930 Tampa $75,880 Charlottesville $75,780 Tallahassee $75,700 Reading $75,610 Midland $75,500 Virginia Beach $75,490 Lansing $75,140 Lexington $74,680 Dallas $74,580 Sebastian $74,450 Gainesville $74,250 Sarasota $74,030 Rochester $73,730 Crestview $72,730 Houston $72,690 Panama City $72,040 Beaumont $71,990 Wildwood $71,290 Huntington $71,140 Detroit $70,650 Odessa $70,050 Fort Myers $69,940 Austin $69,720 Lexington Park $69,160 Pensacola $69,040 Waco $68,750 Bowling Green $67,780 Deltona $67,340 San Antonio $67,270 Ocala $66,650 Tyler $66,210 Longview $65,810 Hagerstown $65,480 Charleston $64,890 Wheeling $64,710 Corpus Christi $64,660 El Paso $63,230 College Station $63,120 Erie $62,890 McAllen $62,070 Lubbock $61,860 Beckley $60,110 Morgantown $55,680
CityMean salaryvs. San Luis Obispo
Albany, New York$77,180-30.8%
Allentown, Pennsylvania$77,820-30.3%
Atlantic City, New Jersey$81,010-27.4%
Austin, Texas$69,720-37.5%
Bakersfield, California$91,730-17.8%
Beaumont, Texas$71,990-35.5%
Beckley, West Virginia$60,110-46.1%
Bellingham, Washington$102,510-8.1%
Bend, Oregon$94,140-15.6%
Bowling Green, Kentucky$67,780-39.3%
Buffalo, New York$79,840-28.5%
Fort Myers, Florida$69,940-37.3%
Charleston, West Virginia$64,890-41.9%
Charlottesville, Virginia$75,780-32.1%
Chicago, Illinois$83,940-24.8%
College Station, Texas$63,120-43.4%
Corpus Christi, Texas$64,660-42.1%
Crestview, Florida$72,730-34.8%
Dallas, Texas$74,580-33.2%
Deltona, Florida$67,340-39.7%
Detroit, Michigan$70,650-36.7%
El Paso, Texas$63,230-43.3%
Erie, Pennsylvania$62,890-43.6%
Eugene, Oregon$87,550-21.6%
Evansville, Indiana$88,620-20.6%
Fort Wayne, Indiana$95,080-14.8%
Fresno, California$110,060-1.4%
Gainesville, Florida$74,250-33.5%
Grand Rapids, Michigan$77,930-30.2%
Hagerstown, Maryland$65,480-41.3%
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania$75,930-32.0%
Houston, Texas$72,690-34.9%
Huntington, West Virginia$71,140-36.3%
Indianapolis, Indiana$85,820-23.1%
Jacksonville, Florida$77,790-30.3%
Kennewick, Washington$103,300-7.4%
Killeen, Texas$76,620-31.3%
Kiryas Joel, New York$81,560-26.9%
Lakeland, Florida$77,850-30.2%
Lancaster, Pennsylvania$80,240-28.1%
Lansing, Michigan$75,140-32.7%
Lexington, Kentucky$74,680-33.1%
Lexington Park, Maryland$69,160-38.0%
Longview, Texas$65,810-41.0%
Los Angeles, California$105,400-5.6%
Louisville, Kentucky$77,630-30.4%
Lubbock, Texas$61,860-44.6%
McAllen, Texas$62,070-44.4%
Miami, Florida$81,320-27.1%
Midland, Texas$75,500-32.3%
Modesto, California$104,370-6.5%
Morgantown, West Virginia$55,680-50.1%
Naples, Florida$76,550-31.4%
New York, New York$93,290-16.4%
Sarasota, Florida$74,030-33.7%
Ocala, Florida$66,650-40.3%
Odessa, Texas$70,050-37.2%
Olympia, Washington$95,050-14.8%
Orlando, Florida$77,490-30.6%
Oxnard, California$101,980-8.6%
Palm Bay, Florida$78,250-29.9%
Panama City, Florida$72,040-35.4%
Pensacola, Florida$69,040-38.1%
Peoria, Illinois$77,750-30.3%
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania$85,010-23.8%
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania$82,370-26.2%
Portland, Oregon$100,080-10.3%
Port St. Lucie, Florida$77,760-30.3%
Reading, Pennsylvania$75,610-32.2%
Redding, California$124,490+11.6%
Richmond, Virginia$79,720-28.6%
Riverside, California$106,390-4.7%
Rochester, New York$73,730-33.9%
Sacramento, California$120,210+7.7%
Salem, Oregon$104,470-6.4%
Salinas, California$105,190-5.7%
San Antonio, Texas$67,270-39.7%
San Diego, California$108,630-2.7%
San Francisco, California$126,380+13.2%
San Jose, California$116,770+4.6%
Santa Maria, California$106,490-4.6%
Santa Rosa, California$105,720-5.3%
Scranton, Pennsylvania$79,750-28.5%
Seattle, Washington$97,590-12.6%
Sebastian, Florida$74,450-33.3%
Sherman, Texas$76,310-31.6%
South Bend, Indiana$83,600-25.1%
Spokane, Washington$91,460-18.0%
Springfield, Illinois$87,290-21.8%
Stockton, California$118,870+6.5%
Syracuse, New York$80,760-27.6%
Tallahassee, Florida$75,700-32.2%
Tampa, Florida$75,880-32.0%
Trenton, New Jersey$83,130-25.5%
Tyler, Texas$66,210-40.7%
Vallejo, California$117,030+4.9%
Virginia Beach, Virginia$75,490-32.4%
Waco, Texas$68,750-38.4%
Wheeling, West Virginia$64,710-42.0%
Wildwood, Florida$71,290-36.1%
York, Pennsylvania$79,950-28.4%
Yuba City, California$127,690+14.4%
Gross salary
111,600/yr
Estimated take-home
81,054/yr
Est. total withheld
27.4%

Single filer, federal + California state tax + FICA, 2025 rates. Does not include state-specific payroll withholdings beyond income tax (see Data transparency). Not tax advice — verify with a professional for your specific situation.

View cost of living in this state All Surveyors salaries in California → All Surveyors salaries →
Community reality check

Community reality check for San Luis Obispo

These notes add local color around San Luis Obispo, California: comfort ranges, budget constraints and location trade-offs reported in public discussions.

Relocation gap2.0× calculator gap
City comparison anecdotal

Discussion highlights that calculators may imply roughly 2x gross income for comparable standard of living, while some employers offer only about 10% location premiums. Tech total compensation can be an exception, so the page should distinguish salary from total compensation.

2.0×calculator multiplier10%HCOL premium cited$200KAtlanta TC example$450KBay Area TC example

Anecdotal public-discussion signals, not official salary data, rent data or financial advice. Read this alongside the official figures on the page.

Data transparency

Sources used for this page

Official occupation and area metadata behind the visible salary, cost, housing and safety signals.

Occupation 17-1022 SOC code
Official area San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA BLS metro/geographic area
Area code 42020 Stable geographic key
Reference year 2025 BLS OEWS
Cost: bea_realHousing: zillow_realCrime: latest availableNet-pay source: ca_ftb_verificado 2025
Metro also includes
Paso Robles
No additional caveats are attached to this row.
Methodology

How this page is built

The salary figure is the mean annual wage reported by the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program for this occupation and metro area. Percentile and national-average comparisons are calculated directly from the 188 cities currently in this dataset, not from a fixed external benchmark. Cost of living, crime and housing figures come from BEA, FBI and Zillow respectively — see "Data transparency" above for the exact sources and reference years used on this specific page.

Confidence: the RSE (relative standard error) shown under Overview indicates how reliable the salary estimate is for this metro — a lower RSE means a larger underlying sample.

On this page

Where this is

AK HI

Highlighted: California

Population (metro area)
281,486