Route comparison
Los Angeles, CA vs San Diego, CA: Cost of Living
Compare Los Angeles, CA and San Diego, CA using historical BEA 2024 price indexes and HUD FY2027 2-bedroom FMR benchmarks. Add your own salary, lease and moving quote to a budget summary.
Los Angeles, CA
CA
- 2024 overall RPP (US=100)
- 113.566
- 2024 housing-rent RPP
- 170.433
- 2024 goods RPP
- 106.623
- HUD FY2027 2-BR FMR
- $2,964/mo
City name is shorthand for an area benchmark. This September 2026 review did not recheck this area's full BEA/HUD geographic mapping.
Income tax and payroll deductions are not calculated. Confirm take-home pay for your work and home addresses separately.
San Diego, CA
CA
- 2024 overall RPP (US=100)
- 111.887
- 2024 housing-rent RPP
- 179.267
- 2024 goods RPP
- 107.963
- HUD FY2027 2-BR FMR
- $2,823/mo
City name is shorthand for an area benchmark. This September 2026 review did not recheck this area's full BEA/HUD geographic mapping.
Income tax and payroll deductions are not calculated. Confirm take-home pay for your work and home addresses separately.
Historical RPP salary illustration
In the BEA 2024 benchmark, San Diego, CA has a lower overall price level than Los Angeles, CA by about 1.5% (RPP 113.566 to 111.887).
$60,000 in Los Angeles, CA
-> $59,113
in San Diego, CA
$100,000 in Los Angeles, CA
-> $98,522
in San Diego, CA
$150,000 in Los Angeles, CA
-> $147,782
in San Diego, CA
Salary illustrations use BEA 2024 overall Regional Price Parities (RPP) only, before tax and household-specific adjustments. Overall RPP already includes housing. HUD FY2027 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent is a separate historical gross-rent benchmark, not a current lease or median rent. Do not add rent to the RPP salary figure. Your lease and moving quote belong in a separate budget. Not financial advice.
Step 2: what will the move itself cost?
Put your actual lease, deposit, overlap rent and mover quote beside the historical salary illustration. Leave amounts you do not yet know blank.
Migration signal: Los Angeles, CA vs San Diego, CA
IRS tax-return migration · 2022-2023Los Angeles, CA
- Net people
- −101,293
- Net rank
- #64 of 65
- Top origin share
- 12%
- Top destination share
- 14%
Largest source: San Bernardino County, CA. Largest destination: San Bernardino County, CA.
San Diego, CA
- Net people
- −15,307
- Net rank
- #57 of 65
- Top origin share
- 10%
- Top destination share
- 11%
Largest source: Los Angeles County, CA. Largest destination: Riverside County, CA.
Rent delta: San Diego, CA is $141/mo lower for HUD FY2027 2-BR FMR than Los Angeles, CA. Housing RPP moves from 170.433 to 179.267.
Migration figures are derived from IRS SOI county-to-county migration data for 2022-2023, mapped to metros via Census CBSA delineation. Small county-to-county flows are IRS-suppressed, so per-metro totals are lower bounds. Source: IRS SOI migration data.
Frequently asked questions
- Is San Diego, CA cheaper or more expensive than Los Angeles, CA?
- In the BEA 2024 benchmark, San Diego, CA (RPP 111.887) has an overall price level about 1.5% lower than Los Angeles, CA (RPP 113.566). This does not measure your current household costs.
- What salary do I need in San Diego, CA if I earn $100,000 in Los Angeles, CA?
- The historical RPP illustration is approximately $98,522 in San Diego, CA, using $100,000 x (111.887 / 113.566). It uses BEA 2024 overall price indexes before tax and household adjustments; HUD rent is not added to this figure.
- Which metro had stronger net migration, Los Angeles, CA or San Diego, CA?
- For 2022-2023, Los Angeles, CA had a net loss of 101,293 people, while San Diego, CA had a net loss of 15,307 people. IRS small-flow suppression means these are lower-bound research signals, not complete population-change totals.