Can a Civil Engineer afford to live in San Diego?

Excellent36% of take-home left to save — you can save aggressively here.
Median salary (gross)
Civil Engineer · San Diego
$97,972
Income tax (~31% effective)
United States
– $30,663
Take-home pay
$5,609/mo
$67,309
Living costs (1 person)
$3,580/mo · derived
– $42,960
Savings potential
$2,029/mo · 36% of take-home
$24,349

Single professional, after-tax. Salary − tax − living costs = what you could save each year.

Full salary breakdown →Is this a good salary in San Diego? →Compare San Diego with another city →

How we calculated this

• Salary: BLS OES median for Civil Engineer, adjusted for San Diego.

• Tax: United States single-filer effective rate (~31%). Official calculator.

• Living costs: derived from cost-of-living index for a single professional.

Planning estimates, not financial or tax advice. Updated 2026. Your situation will differ.