Zoologists and Wildlife Biologists Salary — San Diego, California

The average Zoologists and Wildlife Biologists in San Diego, California earns $96,760 a year.

$96,760 / year, mean
↑ 16.8% above national average 67th percentile in California

San Diego sits roughly in the middle of the pack for this role within California — neither a standout nor a laggard. That's a solid premium over the national average for zoologists and wildlife biologists. Cost of living here runs meaningfully above the national average. This is a reasonably reliable estimate, though the underlying sample is moderate in size.

Percentile within California

0th 50th 100th
Employment (this metro)
250
Estimate confidence
RSE 7.0%
Cost of living 112 #6 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 $946,365 #6 priciest of 188 cities in this dataset Source: zillow_real
Median household income $102,285 #10 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 Diego ranks #6 for cost of living and #6 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.

Santa Cruz $122,660 San Jose $107,240 Seattle $105,140 San Francisco $105,110 Baltimore $97,160 San Diego $96,760 Bremerton $95,240 Kennewick $94,860 New York $94,290 Santa Rosa $92,680 Portland $91,700 Salem $90,870 Wenatchee $90,020 Sacramento $89,820 Los Angeles $88,020 Albany $87,180 Salinas $86,020 Corvallis $85,350 Riverside $85,350 Olympia $84,670 Eugene $83,830 Bend $83,390 Yakima $82,160 Chicago $82,050 Harrisburg $80,060 Medford $79,200 Mount Vernon $78,560 Richmond $78,370 Austin $78,030 Detroit $77,580 Spokane $77,570 Virginia Beach $77,150 Lansing $72,830 Orlando $72,670 Panama City $72,350 Miami $70,880 Tampa $61,590 Gainesville $61,390 Houston $60,860 Dallas $60,480 Naples $59,230 Tallahassee $57,900 Palm Bay $55,240 Jacksonville $52,860 Lakeland $52,760
CityMean salaryvs. San Diego
Albany, New York$87,180-9.9%
Austin, Texas$78,030-19.4%
Baltimore, Maryland$97,160+0.4%
Bend, Oregon$83,390-13.8%
Bremerton, Washington$95,240-1.6%
Chicago, Illinois$82,050-15.2%
Corvallis, Oregon$85,350-11.8%
Dallas, Texas$60,480-37.5%
Detroit, Michigan$77,580-19.8%
Eugene, Oregon$83,830-13.4%
Gainesville, Florida$61,390-36.6%
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania$80,060-17.3%
Houston, Texas$60,860-37.1%
Jacksonville, Florida$52,860-45.4%
Kennewick, Washington$94,860-2.0%
Lakeland, Florida$52,760-45.5%
Lansing, Michigan$72,830-24.7%
Los Angeles, California$88,020-9.0%
Medford, Oregon$79,200-18.1%
Miami, Florida$70,880-26.7%
Mount Vernon, Washington$78,560-18.8%
Naples, Florida$59,230-38.8%
New York, New York$94,290-2.6%
Olympia, Washington$84,670-12.5%
Orlando, Florida$72,670-24.9%
Palm Bay, Florida$55,240-42.9%
Panama City, Florida$72,350-25.2%
Portland, Oregon$91,700-5.2%
Richmond, Virginia$78,370-19.0%
Riverside, California$85,350-11.8%
Sacramento, California$89,820-7.2%
Salem, Oregon$90,870-6.1%
Salinas, California$86,020-11.1%
San Francisco, California$105,110+8.6%
San Jose, California$107,240+10.8%
Santa Cruz, California$122,660+26.8%
Santa Rosa, California$92,680-4.2%
Seattle, Washington$105,140+8.7%
Spokane, Washington$77,570-19.8%
Tallahassee, Florida$57,900-40.2%
Tampa, Florida$61,590-36.3%
Virginia Beach, Virginia$77,150-20.3%
Wenatchee, Washington$90,020-7.0%
Yakima, Washington$82,160-15.1%
Gross salary
96,760/yr
Estimated take-home
71,994/yr
Est. total withheld
25.6%

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 Zoologists and Wildlife Biologists salaries in California → All Zoologists and Wildlife Biologists salaries →
Community reality check

Community reality check for San Diego

These notes add local color around San Diego, 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 19-1023 SOC code
Official area San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA BLS metro/geographic area
Area code 41740 Stable geographic key
Reference year 2025 BLS OEWS
Cost: bea_realHousing: zillow_realCrime: latest availableNet-pay source: ca_ftb_verificado 2025
Metro also includes
Chula VistaCarlsbad
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)
3,282,782