Accountants and Auditors salary in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA
Official BLS OEWS May 2025 pay for Accountants and Auditors in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metro area — and the estimated take-home pay on the median wage under 2026 California tax rules.
The figures
The median Accountants and Auditors in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metro area earns $96,340 a year ($46.32 an hour), according to the BLS OEWS May 2025 estimates (full citation in Sources). The middle half of Accountants and Auditors in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA earn between $76,690 and $125,190 a year. At the ends of the distribution, the lowest-paid 10 percent earn $62,520 or less and the top 10 percent earn $157,720 or more. BLS estimates 13,450 Accountants and Auditors jobs in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA area — 8.746 of every 1,000 jobs in the area, a location quotient of 0.94 (below the national concentration). That is 0.9% of all Accountants and Auditors employment in the United States (1,449,500 jobs nationally). By employment, San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA is the #21 largest of the 25 covered metro areas for Accountants and Auditors. In aggregate, Accountants and Auditors in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA earn about $1.40 billion a year (BLS employment multiplied by the mean wage). At the mean wage, the engine's take-home is $75,245.62 a year, so the aggregate take-home of San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA Accountants and Auditors is about $1.01 billion. BLS reports a relative standard error of 6.5% for this employment estimate. Ranked by median pay, San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA stands #7 of the 25 metro areas covered on this site for Accountants and Auditors. By employment, Accountants and Auditors is the #17 largest of the 30 covered occupations in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA. Placed against the national distribution for Accountants and Auditors, the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA median of $96,340 falls between the national median ($83,680) and the national 75th percentile ($109,810). Across all occupations, the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA median is $58,690 a year — Accountants and Auditors pay is 64.2% above the area's overall median.
Wages in detail
| Wage level | Hourly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| Mean | $49.91 | $103,810 |
| 10th percentile | $30.06 | $62,520 |
| 25th percentile | $36.87 | $76,690 |
| Median (50th percentile) | $46.32 | $96,340 |
| 75th percentile | $60.19 | $125,190 |
| 90th percentile | $75.83 | $157,720 |
What the wage distribution says
The top 10 percent of Accountants and Auditors in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA earn 2.5 times what the bottom 10 percent earn ($157,720 against $62,520). The middle half spans $48,500 — from $76,690 to $125,190. Hourly, the 90th percentile ($75.83) is 2.52 times the 10th ($30.06). In the upper half of the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA distribution, the 75th percentile wage of $125,190 takes home $87,952.28 and the 90th percentile wage of $157,720 takes home $106,738.42 — $18,786.14 more net for $32,530 more gross. Against the median take-home of $70,782.26, the top decile keeps 1.51 times as much. The mean wage of $103,810 sits 7.8% above the median: higher-paid Accountants and Auditors pull the average up in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA. Among the 30 covered occupations in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA, Accountants and Auditors ranks #6 by median pay. In the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA wage ladder of covered occupations, Accountants and Auditors sits between Business Operations Specialists, All Other at $96,580 and First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers at $76,120. Accountants and Auditors accounts for 0.9% of all employment in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metro area. The average covered metro employs 28,234 Accountants and Auditors; San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA employs 0.5 times that.
Take-home pay on the median wage in California
Single filer, no dependents, no pre-tax contributions, paid biweekly, a full year of W-2 wages in California; city and local taxes are not included:
| Gross pay (annual) | $96,340.00 |
|---|---|
| Federal income tax | $12,364.80 |
| Social Security (FICA) | $5,973.08 |
| Medicare (FICA) | $1,396.93 |
| California income tax | $4,570.48 |
| California SDI (State Disability Insurance) | $1,252.42 |
| Total deductions | $25,557.74 |
| Net pay (annual) | $70,782.26 |
| Net pay per biweekly paycheck | $2,722.39 |
| Total deduction rate | 26.53% of gross |
At the median, $70,782.26 of the $96,340 gross is kept ($2,722.39 per paycheck) — a deduction rate of 26.53%. The deduction rate moves with pay: 20.22% at the 10th percentile, 23.09% at the 25th percentile, 29.74% at the 75th percentile, 32.32% at the 90th percentile. Between the 25th and 75th percentile wages, annual take-home rises by $28,968.28 on a gross rise of $48,500.
The same engine at the other published points of the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA wage distribution:
| Wage point | Net per year | Net per paycheck | Deduction rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile ($62,520) | $49,877.50 | $1,918.37 | 20.22% |
| 25th percentile ($76,690) | $58,984.00 | $2,268.62 | 23.09% |
| Median ($96,340) | $70,782.26 | $2,722.39 | 26.53% |
| 75th percentile ($125,190) | $87,952.28 | $3,382.78 | 29.74% |
| 90th percentile ($157,720) | $106,738.42 | $4,105.32 | 32.32% |
Across the published distribution, take-home pay runs from $49,877.50 a year at the 10th percentile to $106,738.42 at the 90th — a spread of $56,860.92 of net pay inside one occupation and one metro area.
For scale: across all occupations, the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA median wage of $58,690 takes home $47,079.96 a year ($1,810.77 per paycheck, deduction rate 19.78%). The Accountants and Auditors median take-home of $70,782.26 sits $23,702.30 (above that area-wide figure.
Run your own numbers
Your own withholding depends on your Form W-4, your benefits and your other income — run your exact figures through the calculator:
Against the national median
Nationally, the median Accountants and Auditors earns $83,680 a year ($40.23 an hour). The San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA median of $96,340 is $12,660 (15.1%) above the national median.
The means rank the area the same way: $103,810 a year in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA against $94,750 nationally, a gap of $9,060 (9.6%).
Set against the whole local market, the Accountants and Auditors 90th percentile of $157,720 is 103% of the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA all-occupations 90th percentile ($152,580), and its 10th percentile of $62,520 is 172% of the area-wide 10th ($36,250).
| Median annual | Median hourly | Mean annual | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | $96,340 | $46.32 | $103,810 |
| United States | $83,680 | $40.23 | $94,750 |
Frequently asked questions
What is the median salary for Accountants and Auditors in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA?
$96,340 a year ($46.32 an hour), per the BLS OEWS May 2025 estimates. The mean is $103,810 a year. Ranked by median pay, San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA stands #7 of the 25 covered metro areas for this occupation.
What is the take-home pay on $96,340 in California?
About $70,782.26 a year ($2,722.39 per biweekly paycheck) for a single filer with no dependents and no pre-tax contributions, under 2026 rules — a total deduction rate of 26.53% of gross. At the 75th percentile wage of $125,190, take-home is $87,952.28.
How does pay in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA compare with the national median for Accountants and Auditors?
The San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA median of $96,340 is $12,660 (15.1%) above the national median of $83,680 a year. At the top of the distribution, the local 90th percentile is $157,720, against a national 90th percentile of $144,090.
How much do the top 10% of Accountants and Auditors earn in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA?
$157,720 a year or more ($75.83 an hour or more), per the BLS OEWS May 2025 estimates.
What is the take-home pay at the 90th percentile for Accountants and Auditors in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA?
On $157,720 a year, the engine gives a take-home of $106,738.42 a year ($4,105.32 per biweekly paycheck) in California under the same assumptions — a deduction rate of 32.32%.
How many Accountants and Auditors jobs are there in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA?
BLS estimates 13,450 Accountants and Auditors jobs in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metro area — 8.746 of every 1,000 jobs in the area.
How concentrated are Accountants and Auditors jobs in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA?
The location quotient is 0.94 — below the national concentration. A quotient of 1.0 means the occupation's share of local employment equals its national share.
How much does take-home pay vary for Accountants and Auditors in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA?
From $49,877.50 a year at the 10th percentile wage ($62,520) to $106,738.42 at the 90th ($157,720), under the same single-filer assumptions in California.
What is the total wage bill for Accountants and Auditors in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA?
About $1.40 billion a year — the BLS employment estimate of 13,450 multiplied by the mean wage of $103,810.
Sources and method
Wage data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 estimates (released May 15, 2026), retrieved October 27, 2026 — bls.gov/oes. OEWS figures are survey estimates for May 2025, not job offers. Take-home pay is computed by this site's paycheck engine with 2026 federal and state rules; the method, and what the engine does not model, is documented in the paycheck methodology guide. Estimates only — not tax advice.