Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education Salary in San Diego, CA (2024)
Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metro area earn a median of $99,740 per year based on 6,440 jobs counted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2024. That is +54.4% against the national median of $64,580 for this occupation.
Pay distribution
The median is a single point on a wide curve. The table below shows where secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education actually sit across the pay range in San Diego, CA, from the bottom decile to the top.
| Percentile | Hourly | Annual | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $30.23 | $62,870 | |
| 25th percentile | $36.76 | $76,460 | |
| Median | — | $99,740 | half earn more, half earn less |
| 75th percentile | $61.37 | $127,640 | |
| 90th percentile | $102.06 | $212,280 | |
| Average (mean) | — | $112,950 |
How San Diego, CA compares
The local median of $99,740 runs +54.4% above the US median of $64,580 for this occupation; it pays 76.3% more than the metro-wide median across all jobs ($56,580); within the metro it ranks 151st of 653 detailed occupations by median pay.
| Benchmark | Median annual | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| San Diego, CA — this occupation | $99,740 | — |
| US median, same occupation (all areas) | $64,580 | +54.4% |
| San Diego, CA — all occupations | $56,580 | +76.3% |
| Highest metro in the US for this job | $99,840 | -0.1% |
The location quotient of 0.60 is well below 1.0, so this is a comparatively thin occupation in the metro — pay figures here rest on fewer workers and can move sharply year to year.
Moderate confidence The relative standard error is 7.0%. Treat the headline number as accurate to within roughly 7%, and read the percentiles as a range rather than a precise point.
Ranked 151st of 653 detailed occupations in the metro by median annual wage.
Highest-paying jobs in San Diego, CA
To put $99,740 in context, these are the best-paid detailed occupations in the same metro area. This occupation sits 151st.
| Occupation | Median annual | Employment |
|---|---|---|
| Dentists, All Other Specialists | $220,840 | 50 |
| Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric | $215,010 | 170 |
| Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers | $205,650 | 180 |
| Natural Sciences Managers | $199,590 | 2,630 |
| Computer and Information Systems Managers | $193,370 | 7,620 |
| Podiatrists | $187,010 | 60 |
| Architectural and Engineering Managers | $185,550 | 3,690 |
| Dentists, General | $176,970 | 1,950 |
| Marketing Managers | $171,590 | 4,390 |
| Computer Hardware Engineers | $169,230 | 3,200 |
Where secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education earn the most
Across the 25 metro areas with released data for this occupation, medians run from $51,670 to $99,840. These are the top markets.
| Metro area | Median annual | Employment |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $99,840 | 12,240 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | $99,740 | 6,440 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $99,530 | 7,450 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $99,260 | 77,530 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $97,970 | 27,900 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | $97,910 | 12,780 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | $95,220 | 20,760 |
| Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | $86,770 | 5,940 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN | $80,440 | 34,720 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | $78,440 | 25,520 |
See the full national picture on the Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education salary by metro page.
Frequently asked questions
What is the median salary for secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education in San Diego, CA?
The median annual wage is $99,740. That means half of the secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education working in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metro area earn more than this figure and half earn less. The average is $112,950.
What do the highest and lowest paid secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education in San Diego, CA earn?
The bottom 10% earn $62,870 or less, while the top 10% earn $212,280 or more — a spread of $149,410 between the two ends of the distribution. The middle half of workers sit between $76,460 and $127,640.
Is secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education pay in San Diego, CA above the local average?
Yes, it is 76.3% above the all-occupation median for the metro, which is $56,580. That comparison is the fairer one for judging local purchasing power, because it holds the metro's overall cost and wage level constant.
How does San Diego, CA pay compare with the rest of the US for this job?
At $99,740 the metro median is 54.4% higher than the US median of $64,580 for secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education. Across the 25 metro areas covered here, this occupation ranges from $51,670 to $99,840.
How many secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education work in San Diego, CA?
BLS counts about 6,440 people in this occupation in the metro area, or 4.20 jobs per 1,000 total jobs. The location quotient of 0.60 is well below 1.0, so this is a comparatively thin occupation in the metro — pay figures here rest on fewer workers and can move sharply year to year.
About these figures
Figures come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey for 2024 (employment relative standard error 20.6%). OEWS measures what employers pay, not what any individual earns; it excludes self-employed workers, and it does not adjust for local cost of living.
Read the full methodology, or the original data at bls.gov/oes.