Home Health and Personal Care Aides salary in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA
Official BLS OEWS May 2025 pay for Home Health and Personal Care Aides 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 Home Health and Personal Care Aides in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metro area earns $35,300 a year ($16.97 an hour), according to the BLS OEWS May 2025 estimates (full citation in Sources). The middle half of Home Health and Personal Care Aides in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA earn between $34,940 and $37,200 a year. At the ends of the distribution, the lowest-paid 10 percent earn $34,940 or less and the top 10 percent earn $40,850 or more. BLS estimates 57,080 Home Health and Personal Care Aides jobs in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA area — 37.111 of every 1,000 jobs in the area, a location quotient of 1.34 (well above the national concentration). That is 1.3% of all Home Health and Personal Care Aides employment in the United States (4,305,810 jobs nationally). By employment, San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA is the #12 largest of the 25 covered metro areas for Home Health and Personal Care Aides. In aggregate, Home Health and Personal Care Aides in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA earn about $2.10 billion a year (BLS employment multiplied by the mean wage). At the mean wage, the engine's take-home is $30,872.62 a year, so the aggregate take-home of San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA Home Health and Personal Care Aides is about $1.76 billion. BLS reports a relative standard error of 0.9% for this employment estimate. Ranked by median pay, San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA stands #12 of the 25 metro areas covered on this site for Home Health and Personal Care Aides. By employment, Home Health and Personal Care Aides is the #1 largest of the 30 covered occupations in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA. Placed against the national distribution for Home Health and Personal Care Aides, the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA median of $35,300 falls between the national 25th percentile ($31,920) and the national median ($35,800). Across all occupations, the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA median is $58,690 a year — Home Health and Personal Care Aides pay is 39.9% below the area's overall median.
Wages in detail
| Wage level | Hourly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| Mean | $17.71 | $36,830 |
| 10th percentile | $16.80 | $34,940 |
| 25th percentile | $16.80 | $34,940 |
| Median (50th percentile) | $16.97 | $35,300 |
| 75th percentile | $17.89 | $37,200 |
| 90th percentile | $19.64 | $40,850 |
What the wage distribution says
The top 10 percent of Home Health and Personal Care Aides in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA earn 1.2 times what the bottom 10 percent earn ($40,850 against $34,940). The middle half spans $2,260 — from $34,940 to $37,200. Hourly, the 90th percentile ($19.64) is 1.17 times the 10th ($16.80). In the upper half of the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA distribution, the 75th percentile wage of $37,200 takes home $31,150.06 and the 90th percentile wage of $40,850 takes home $33,889.54 — $2,739.48 more net for $3,650 more gross. Against the median take-home of $29,724.04, the top decile keeps 1.14 times as much. The mean wage of $36,830 sits 4.3% above the median: higher-paid Home Health and Personal Care Aides pull the average up in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA. Among the 30 covered occupations in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA, Home Health and Personal Care Aides ranks #30 by median pay. In the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA wage ladder of covered occupations, Home Health and Personal Care Aides sits just below Waiters and Waitresses at $35,850. Home Health and Personal Care Aides accounts for 3.7% of all employment in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metro area. The average covered metro employs 91,965 Home Health and Personal Care Aides; San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA employs 0.6 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) | $35,300.00 |
|---|---|
| Federal income tax | $2,056.00 |
| Social Security (FICA) | $2,188.60 |
| Medicare (FICA) | $511.85 |
| California income tax | $360.30 |
| California SDI (State Disability Insurance) | $458.90 |
| Total deductions | $5,575.96 |
| Net pay (annual) | $29,724.04 |
| Net pay per biweekly paycheck | $1,143.23 |
| Total deduction rate | 15.80% of gross |
At the median, $29,724.04 of the $35,300 gross is kept ($1,143.23 per paycheck) — a deduction rate of 15.80%. The deduction rate moves with pay: 15.70% at the 10th percentile, 15.70% at the 25th percentile, 16.26% at the 75th percentile, 17.04% at the 90th percentile. Between the 25th and 75th percentile wages, annual take-home rises by $1,696.06 on a gross rise of $2,260.
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 ($34,940) | $29,454.00 | $1,132.85 | 15.70% |
| 25th percentile ($34,940) | $29,454.00 | $1,132.85 | 15.70% |
| Median ($35,300) | $29,724.04 | $1,143.23 | 15.80% |
| 75th percentile ($37,200) | $31,150.06 | $1,198.08 | 16.26% |
| 90th percentile ($40,850) | $33,889.54 | $1,303.44 | 17.04% |
Across the published distribution, take-home pay runs from $29,454.00 a year at the 10th percentile to $33,889.54 at the 90th — a spread of $4,435.54 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 Home Health and Personal Care Aides median take-home of $29,724.04 sits $17,355.92 (below 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 Home Health and Personal Care Aides earns $35,800 a year ($17.21 an hour). The San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA median of $35,300 is $500 (1.4%) below the national median.
The means rank the area differently: $36,830 a year in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA against $36,120 nationally, a gap of $710 (2.0%).
Set against the whole local market, the Home Health and Personal Care Aides 90th percentile of $40,850 is 27% of the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA all-occupations 90th percentile ($152,580), and its 10th percentile of $34,940 is 96% of the area-wide 10th ($36,250).
| Median annual | Median hourly | Mean annual | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | $35,300 | $16.97 | $36,830 |
| United States | $35,800 | $17.21 | $36,120 |
Frequently asked questions
What is the median salary for Home Health and Personal Care Aides in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA?
$35,300 a year ($16.97 an hour), per the BLS OEWS May 2025 estimates. The mean is $36,830 a year. Ranked by median pay, San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA stands #12 of the 25 covered metro areas for this occupation.
What is the take-home pay on $35,300 in California?
About $29,724.04 a year ($1,143.23 per biweekly paycheck) for a single filer with no dependents and no pre-tax contributions, under 2026 rules — a total deduction rate of 15.80% of gross. At the 75th percentile wage of $37,200, take-home is $31,150.06.
How does pay in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA compare with the national median for Home Health and Personal Care Aides?
The San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA median of $35,300 is $500 (1.4%) below the national median of $35,800 a year. At the top of the distribution, the local 90th percentile is $40,850, against a national 90th percentile of $45,040.
How much do the top 10% of Home Health and Personal Care Aides earn in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA?
$40,850 a year or more ($19.64 an hour or more), per the BLS OEWS May 2025 estimates.
What is the take-home pay at the 90th percentile for Home Health and Personal Care Aides in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA?
On $40,850 a year, the engine gives a take-home of $33,889.54 a year ($1,303.44 per biweekly paycheck) in California under the same assumptions — a deduction rate of 17.04%.
How many Home Health and Personal Care Aides jobs are there in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA?
BLS estimates 57,080 Home Health and Personal Care Aides jobs in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metro area — 37.111 of every 1,000 jobs in the area.
How concentrated are Home Health and Personal Care Aides jobs in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA?
The location quotient is 1.34 — well above 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 Home Health and Personal Care Aides in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA?
From $29,454.00 a year at the 10th percentile wage ($34,940) to $33,889.54 at the 90th ($40,850), under the same single-filer assumptions in California.
What is the total wage bill for Home Health and Personal Care Aides in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA?
About $2.10 billion a year — the BLS employment estimate of 57,080 multiplied by the mean wage of $36,830.
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.