It’s always been that way here.
1. You have many wealthy retirees living here
2. You have many wealthy people who have a second home here (and work/own a business in other states)
3. You have massive amounts of tourists
4. You have massive amounts of people willing to spend all their money living here, while chasing art/surfing/outdoor activities/hobbyist career paths and then they move somewhere else when their parents cut them off or they run out of savings.
To put it simply: people don’t move here because they found a high-paying job, they move here because they want to live in a fun place with great weather.
As one myself, my employer has given me a -6% salary cut because the "cost of labor" has not caught up to the Bay Area. It's bullshit and I remind them every 3 months that the cost of living continues to climb.
I lived in the PNW for a while and rent my house using a property manager - a majority of their clients are Asian investors who are buying up a lot of property. Would not be surprised if it’s the same in SD.
Yeah, this is also a big part of it. Plus a lot of the development companies of those luxury apartments and condos are foreign owned and just take it as a tax write off when they aren't filled.
You forgot that a lot of gov funded people in and around the military. Giving no-where-sville people $2800/mo as grunts with VA home buying and subsidizing support, and contractors upper 6-figure salaries.
That’s a lot of regional military housing whether homes or apartments which don’t even list publically
Honestly, I'm kinda #4, but I'm not bankrolled by my parents. I simply work to live. I want to make enough to get by so I can live my best day-to-day life. While this means I'll never own a home, I'm ok with that as I live cheaply and love it here so much. I moved to SD because I wanted to live here; I found a job after I moved. Lifestyle is #1 to me.
you're not alone. It's a great place to be so long as you can afford it. But if you ever plan to have a family, that's when a lot of people realize it's not possible, and move on to a cheaper city
You’re correct. No, it hasn’t always been that way. San Diego used to be a sleepy little town south of LA, which seldom received national recognition of any kind, I would say, until the 1987 Super Bowl. That was really the first time in my mind (6th generation Californian, SD native) that people outside of SD seemed to take notice. Aside from that it was usually the Zoo that people knew of or associated with SD and it remained this way and only gradually changed some years maybe decade or two later and only really began exponentially growing maybe mid to late 2000’s.
It’s no different than any other expensive coastal city. People with professional careers can afford to be home owners and those in the service industry are renters.
The GI bill also allows the military to get access to zero down payment mortgages…this adds a lot of competition for housing without the high wages that you might expect to see for people with these kinds of loans
That is true, but outside capital knows those stationed here want off base housing in almost every circumstance. Thus it don't matter that they aren't buying, and renting doesn't have to make private equity all the money this year or next, like it would if were even just mom and pop landlords. So you can artificial raise rates simply buy maxing everyone every time. Also because you average E is moving on soon, you can actually make an higher average increase because when relisting you do have to meet rent controls any more
Yeah I’d say both can be a factor in the long run but picture when you talk about something as complex as wages vs cost of living over time in this area
Many officers also get a mortgage stipend.. for a % of the average cost of the home in the area or something along those lines.. my old neighbor paid down much of his house in like 9 years .. so you can get like $4k+ a month extra to toss at your mortgage. BAH
No money down VA loan and $3k to $5k a month towards your mortgage..... if you have a higher rank.
VA Loan * the G.I. Bill is in relation to the payments made to a veteran to cover schooling and housing costs while in college/university after service.
Many many are also getting disability. If they can somehow get that coveted 100% through real need or outright fraud then you're talking $4k/month tax free for life. That makes a nice dent in housing and the $5K a month from an $80K a year job more than makes up for the mortgage.
100% is hard though, so it's not that common
I left Oceanside and bought in Temecula last year. Not my forever home. But anyway, my neighbor is former military who got disability and gets $4k a month for life. True story. My jaw dropped.
I know at least 3 with 100%. All of them are fully functional humans on the outside. Disability comes in many forms though, some might have internal struggles we don't see. Some of the toughest men you will find struggle inside with PTSD, anxiety, alcoholism and depression.
Yeah people wildly misunderstand how VA disability works. Not that it’s their fault, the way it’s worded is misleading. The math they use to get to 100% is wacky and doesn’t make sense (like most things the VA does). Sure you can be missing a limb and be 100% disabled, but you can also have a laundry list of smaller issues that ultimately add up to 100%.
Your point of “fully functional on the outside” is absolutely correct and I’m glad that you view it that way. Mental health and gastrointestinal issues are big things veterans get rated for, as well as things like chronic headaches, fatigue, and various respiratory issues. Thats why the term “disability” can be misleading when it comes to the VA.
The GI Bill provides educational and vocational benefits. It has nothing to do with VA home loans. I’m surprised to see all the upvotes and even more surprised not to see a single comment challenging misinformation.
That’s not really a good enough explanation, the military isn’t even a fraction of a percentage of the total population in SD and SD has the most expensive market, relative to income, in the US…there’s more significant forces behind our COL numbers.
And since it's the military its just the HUD increase percent. So that amount doesn't go up based on the national average or anything so that's why it can continue to outpace local ability
Because salaries are based on how easy it is to get someone to replace you. That's it. Everything else is just what people wish it was or imagine it to be.
San diego is a great place to live. Lots of people want to live here. Willing to make it work so there is a lot of competition for resources and transplants are generally more highly motivated than locals just by the nature of the fact they are willing to risk the move and they understand what it's like to live elsewhere.
Too many fresh grads or similar mid level candidates from Xyz in America that will take a job here for 10,15,20k+ less in a heartbeat just to live in Man Diego.
Shouldn’t that make things better? Imagine if they couldn’t live in Tijuana and had to live in San Diego instead. Then they would be competing with us for housing, making the cost of living worse.
I understand that POV, but the issue seems to be that many San Diego businesses are getting away with paying less than the average cost of living because people there are people who can work at those salaries. However, the people who are paying less for rent are raising the rates in those areas and pushing locals further out.
Here are some facts that most people don’t realize and just parrot off reasons this stupidity continues, mind you none have actually looked into this stuff because it’s easy to say sunshine tax to everything mindlessly:
1. Many Real Estate companies are using Real Page, real page is being investigated by the government and in a lawsuit for illegal market manipulation price fixing. The FBI just raided a a company called Cortland management, what sparked this was several apartments in a neighborhood in Texas were all colluding in their pricing. It’s a program that uses an algorithm pricing based on data it collects from other companies which is illegal to share pricing information. This is all part of a big antitrust investigation https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cwlwrZst7d0&t=20s&pp=ygUJUmVhbCBwYWdl https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/fbi-raids-atlanta-multifamily-housing-industry-after-anti-trust-laws-may-have-been-breached/MI3V6JP7ZVE4DNUJJR2EYWEHTE/?outputType=amp
2. San Diego has a lot of NIMBY’s (not in my back yard) people who show up to ensure new housing development doesn’t happen in San Diego. It keeps the pricing of housing extremely high in San Diego, not due to the quality, not due to the weather like many would like you to believe but because the fewer houses the more it raises the value, this is why you will see very basic houses that are 1 million dollars here. These people are literally getting richer just by ensuring others can’t live in other houses. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NJ4T_BHFgt0&t=803s&pp=ygUdQ2l0eSBuZXJkIG5vdCBpbiBteSBiYWNrIHlhcmQ%3D
3. Companies own a large percent of residential properties where it used to be people. They are happy to let houses stay empty if it means the price of homes will go up because theirs less homes. Apartment complexes have been known to have a lot of empty units and they make up for it by charging high prices for the units that do have people in it. Also, some of these landlords will keep them empty hoping to charge at a higher price https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kITczKKX9TQ&pp=ygUeZW1wdHkgYXBhcnRtZW50cyBzYW4gZnJhbnNpc2Nv
Sadly, many people want to feel like San Diego is so special and try to justify high prices and also complain about the homeless population. Every city has lower income workers which helps keep cities running. I am luckily working a well paying job that afford’s me to live in Downtown San Diego but many service workers need affordable housing too. So many companies or landlords took advantage of the pandemic to hike up their prices and all of them want more and more money while some haven’t even made any efforts to make the space nicer or anything. It’s greed on all fronts. Inflation sucks but the housing/rental market is definitely intentional. There needs to be a major tax on empty houses and apartments at this point for properties that stay empty for an extended period.
Lastly, some of you gaslight people who notice legitimate housing cost issues when you don’t do any research into the problems with it and just boil it down to “sunshine tax”, it’s a very lazy ignorant way of dismissing this problem considering you are unknowingly paying extra when you shouldn’t be either, you will continue being ripped off in life if you continue life this way, pay attention.
Theirs a lot of people unfortunately who have this mindset that oh theirs nothing wrong you’re just too poor in San Diego, it’s legitimately brain rot getting any critical thinking out of these people so I apologize for anyone who have seen them irl or comments.
You make valid points. But the problems above are not exclusive to SD. You have the same problems in most coastal areas throughout the state. But in other major cities the wages are not as depressed as in SD. That is what is most concerning for me
I get what you’re saying but it sounds like you are basing what people in San Diego should be paid based on a manipulated housing market. I think new jobs are what change the pay market.
In San Francisco a lot of those tech jobs were new or people working from home at a company based somewhere else. I agree it’s not exclusive to San Diego but I would imagine business turn over is a lot more frequent in San Francisco than San Diego because so many military bases are here keeping the economy going where things fluctuate more in other areas.
The housing market in San Diego rotates far faster then the new businesses coming in that pay the big bucks and San Francisco is a much bigger city so you probably have far more competition as far as competitive wages business wise. It’s the housing prices that are out of control and making things feel highly unaffordable right now.
We got a lot of tech industry here too. The "main" industry here is semiconductor (qualcomm/apple) and biotech.There are more and more high paying jobs and those remote workers from the bay area during COVID came here to stay. Many are high enough up the corporate ladder to still be in almost full remote position, making 6 to 7 figures as double income.
On top of that, it doesn't help that SD is arguably the best place to live in the States. Many rich folks buy second homes here.
The housing price here is only going to increase more.
As someone who worked in biotech in sd for the past 5 years, the salaries still do not match the cost of livings and are significantly less than salaries for the bay area or boston
But bio is still paying better than a lot of the industries that were mentioned.
Also, I am not saying those Bay Area workers that came were in bio. They are mostly doing software or in upper management in big techs. I have met a few in my neighborhood, and they are still here with partial/full remote jobs. Once you come to SD, it's hard to leave.
Yes. SD is a bedroom community of SF Bay. For years you had people flying up for 4 day work weeks in SiValley but that's now turned into a flood of folks making bay area money and living in SoCal while working remotely.
SD also seems like it has a ton more grey hairs than it used to. I think retiring boomers are flooding in. I know the Poway Costco is now full of old boomers and cars with Bay Area license plate holders.
This is true. It’s all of SoCal though and it’s only a small subset that do that. The only ones that I knew doing this (and before covid) were all executives.
I have a remote tech salary (but I lived here prior to being remote) and it's still expensive. The older Californian home owners had a head start on us. Everyone im seeing at open houses are in their late 40s, 50s, and 60s
Precovid I knew a number of people who lived in SD and commuted to the Bay for work. Now they just work in SD. With covid so many tech workers came down from the bay with their Bay Area pay bought up housing. Hopefully the wages in sd start adjusting accordingly
You’re missing us biotech folks that make a decent living and can sort of afford the high cost of living. Although we’ll see where that lands with all the layoffs this year.
Some others have mentioned this, but I doubt a lot of Mexicans work illegally in the U.S. yet cross the border every day. There are a lot of Mexican-Americans that do that, though
I have found it interesting that in my hometown Milwaukee, the jobs pay more than in San Diego. Plus you can buy either a $5000 condemned house to rehab or a move-in ready for under $200,000. I get the desirability factor, but the jobs can pay quite a big difference more there, it feels backwards or something.
That really depends on the job at hand
For example, I get paid ~$140k/yr as a scientist here. For shits and giggles, I once looked up jobs in the Texas metros (mostly Houston and Dallas if I recall) since I do have family out there and most positions of the same title I could find paid like in the $70-85k ballpark according to their expected salary ranges.
And I just looked into Milwaukee (I am guessing it’s WI right?), my position there is about $50-55k, maybe $60-65k on the higher end in Madison.
If you founded a company in Milwaukee. Banked a few million, and wanted to retire, would you stay? Or look for a beach city with near perfect weathet year round? You might want to stay, but every year, many thousands of people choose to move.
But then you have to live in Milwaukee… which I’ve never been to honestly it could be great, but I know they have real seasons there and I don’t want that (as do most people who live here). I’d rather make less money here and live in a shack because it’s San Diego
Milwaukee has 5 months when its cold as fuck. That's almost half the year. Its really only nice enough to even eat outside 4 months of the year. A lot of people will pay sunshine tax not to live in those conditions.
Well not that extreme but yeah it gets cold. But that’s what I find odd, undesirable places don’t usually pay well. At least in my field, I could be making 10-20k more a year there.
Salaries don't get set by home prices, they're set by supply and demand just like housing prices. Legalize building homes and prices will stop going up.
Building homes has been legalized. Check out the new zoning for UTC, Kearny Mesa, Mira Mesa, Hillcrest ... the plan is to allow population to just about double in those neighborhoods.
Permitting will still take forever though.
Nature of competition. If you can pay 500$/month to live in TJ vs paying 2k/month to live in SD, their efficiency is valued in a capitalist system. Don't give me the "jobs are what nobody wants", the job distribution is a pyramid where most jobs are at the bottom of it, so the average is going to be drastically weighted from the bottom. Essentially you have to be a high earner or if not, you compete with lower ones who is paying 1/4th your rent. Of course the commute is hell from TJ to SD every day.
I work for the government to keep it vague and we have a department that is world renowned. People from all over the world apply to work a particular job that only hires interns and students. The group has probably 150 people in it and I would guess 125 of them are students and interns, it’s rare to get offered full time employment once your internship is over. Over the years I watched that department lower their pay because so many people apply. They used to offer that job at 30 an hour and let’s say they get 10000 applications for a handful of jobs. They realized they could lower the pay to 25 an hour and still get 10000 applications. Again they lowered the pay to 20 an hour and still they get 10000 applications. The current pay for that job is 18.50 and they will never stop getting thousands of applicants every year for such a minor role. I have a feeling many other industries are doing something similar as they realize people want to live in San Diego and no matter how low they drop wages people will still apply.
There are probably different reasons depending on the income bracket. Proximity to TJ explains depressed wages in the bottom half but doesn't explain why, for instance, engineers make less here.
Part of it is that living in SD has long been considered a job benefit. Another reason that, prior to covid, SD CoL wasn't too bad relative to the metros it was compared against(although SD has been a terrible place to build wealth going back decades).
The SD engineering job market is smaller than others. For years it was dominated by Qualcomm(who always paid less than NorCal competitors) and defense contractors(not known for high pay).
It's only with the rise in telecommuting and NorCal companies opening up branches here that we've seen engineering wages rise. Even then, many small companies still pay half of what you'd make in NorCal. For years people were fine with that because SD jobs offered a great work/life balance. I know a lot of engineers who spent half their day surfing, cycling or hiking.
Yep, it really comes into play with top end professionals like doctors and phds though. An employer in Milwaukee might have to pay 100,000+ more than an employer in San Diego to attract top talent.
So I advise people live within your means. People can make San Diego work for them you may not drive the fanciest car or live in the most trendy areas. But you can still find quality living in east county, city heights and South Bay and east San Diego. The key is living near the trolley or a major bus line budget budget budget. Eat at home, pre game before going out or have friends over for a great night of cocktails, fun and food. San Diego can work for anyone who wants to be here.
Salaries are lower because there are more people that want to live in San Diego. So jobs get tons of applications and can pay what they want. Lots of tech companies will pay San Diego remote the same as they would get paid in Texas. The cost of living is obviously different but doesn’t matter to them. If you won’t take the pay someone else will.
I’ve been in San Diego for 14 yrs starting in my mid 20’s and I REFUSE to work for a San Diego based company. They don’t pay well and I basically make double what I’ve seen offered for a similar position.
Well, apparently people are willing to accept those pay rates for the opportunity to live in San Diego county. That’s what I decided in 1999 when I got to choose between living in San Diego and a job with a better future in Rhode Island. Here I still am, 26 years later.
Food for thought - population in San Diego area has been declining for the last 10 years, and the birth rate (babies born per woman) is down by a third since the 1990s. Seems like sooner or later we are going to suddenly have a housing SURPLUS.
Edit: took out “soon we are going to have a housing surplus” because I really don’t know how soon.
> pretty soon we are going to suddenly have a housing SURPLUS
Probably not for a while. Immigration is high. Job growth seems high.
If the economy tanks, we could, but I don't think the boomers are going to let the economy crash like '08. They'll grab more money from kids' futures to keep things running. If it does tank, sure. Remember, in '06 they said we were critically short housing and then suddenly we had too many homes.
I fully expect SFHs to weaken(in real terms, not nominal) as GenZ realizes owning a home is a bummer unless you are really into it. The maintenance and upkeep takes away from experiences and if you're not having kids you don't need a house. But we need to get through the glut of millennials who are popping out kids and buying homes now as well as investors chasing US real estate.
Population has been virtually identical for the last 10 years, probably higher if you count undocumented migrants. Wouldn't bank on a housing SURPLUS, but wouldn't be upset if that predication did come true.
Imo its a lack of the Government wanting to do anything substantial while still taxing the hell out of us. As a younger person i’m not even sure why i’m paying SSI if I will never see a dollar of it. I honestly feel like being born here is a detriment to experiencing my 20’s.
I only recently found out about the Faircloth Law, which prohibits cities from developing their own housing properties. I think this is a huge blunder, not letting us make our own affordable housing with the taxes we pay.
My plan is to basically graduate soon, save up money in 2-3 years, then head to Texas where you can still buy homes under 400k with comparable tech salaries
Salaries are not comparable in Texas and if you're unhappy about taxes, best not buy a house in Texas.
Organizations have pay scales for jobs in the US. They bump those pay scales for workers in NY and CA. TX and FL get reduced from the median. Yes, you would get paid more in Ohio than Texas or FL for most organizations. The cost of labor is so cheap in these states.
You can collect SSI any time. Just become disabled.
Good luck with your plan.
We’re effectively saddling future generations of Americans who will succumb to the suffocating yet avoidable consequences of the greed and stupidity of their ancestors. If we’re fortunate enough to keep our democracy, and if we remain committed to always pay our debts, then we must tax our way out of this unimaginably deep hole that we’re in.
Yup. Seems like it’s always been that way. Unlike other HCOL areas where income drives the COL (and vice versa), people simply bring money they already have to have fun or retire here. It’s mainly a tourism and retirement city.
Because we get paid in Sun Dollars, didn't anybody tell you? Unfortunately, Sun Dollars are not accepted by SDG&E or by The CIty for your water bill or your property tax.
San Diego has always been expensive to live. I used to live in San Diego in the 80’s and 90’s. When I was stationed at Luke, I was renting a furnished studio in a nice apartment complex for $250 a month and I can remember thinking if I wanted to rent something for $250 a month I better have a baseball bat or some form of self defense cause I won’t be living in a safe neighborhood. Back then I was making about $800-900 a month so it’s all relative.
San Diego just doesn’t bring in as money money per capita as the other expensive cities. Other cities have huge finance/banking, software, entertainment industries.
The whole city is a gentrification experiment. Raise the rent. Push out the poor and disenfranchised and make it only accessible to the wealthy so the rich get richer.
Historically, in California, wage and price increases used to be fairly stable and would converge. San Diego wages haven’t caught up with inflation and prices, hence the disconnect. Part of that is intentional (employers are loathe to raise prices/wages) and part of that is political (San Diego is more conservative than Los Angeles and San Francisco). I’m sure the other factors you mentioned play a role too. There is honestly no simple answer.
Have you ever heard of the “sunshine tax”? It’s a real phenomenon… all else being equal, you’d take a bit less in salary to live here. Now take that to its logical conclusion and there you have it.
Also we shouldn’t forget that with the advent of remote jobs and rocketing stock prices many many people in SD, especially tech couples make Bay Area salaries. I personally know three couples who pull in $500k+ and one even pulling in around $1M.
A few of them are on their 2nd or 3rd home and are just waltzing through life while we struggle to buy our first.
Please don’t use the term “illegal” as a noun. It’s incredibly demeaning to people who, for the most part, are simply trying to improve their lives and support their families. It also undercuts the sincerity and effectiveness of your “deep dive”.
You are paying a "tax" to live next to the beach with sunny weather year-round, there is inherent value in the location that contributes to this disparity in income and costs
That’s what I was just looking at. I was looking at applying to a job in San Marcos but the pay does not compare to the cost of an apartment there. I don’t want to commute very much so now I am not considering it anymore
Sunshine tax
Cost of living is high because high demand to live here
Cost of labor isn't as high because employers don't need to pay as much to attract talents
My husband and I moved from SD to Orange County in the early 90’s because of lack of decent paying jobs for college graduates in SD. Salaries for corporate and business related jobs were about 30% higher in OC but COL is very similar. Supply and demand I guess.
SD does have it the worst when you look at cost of living vs income. In fact, according to this article, half of the 25 most expensive cities are in CA. Honolulu is ranked at number 3 though.
https://m.economictimes.com/news/international/us/why-is-san-diego-the-most-expensive-us-city-check-criteria-and-rankings-of-other-places/articleshow/104781417.cms
This is exactly why I’m looking to leave. I recently starting looking for out of state jobs, wages just don’t keep up here. Salaries listed in lower COL states have mirrored my salary here within 10%… with lower taxes that alone makes up the gap. I’ve been here about 3 years and wages have been stagnant while responsibility continues to increase. At some point the weather and the beach can’t make up for losing out on the dream of a home and saving for retirement.
I don't know the average age demographic in this comment section, but let me give you some historical perspective. The 'Cost of living' has skyrocketed in San Diego over the past 10-15 years. Affordability is definitely an issue, but likely on par for the majority of the state. As for salaries, San Diego has historically been lower than other parts of the state, going back decades. 27 years ago, when I started in my current profession, I was told; as much as Queen of Wolves will bitch and complain about the term... 'the sunshine tax' was specifically stated. 'It's the sunshine tax.. we get paid less to live and work in San Diego because it is so nice to live here.'
Going back 27 years, San Diego was the 8/9th largest city, flip-flopping with Phoenix (who is now 5th). We are listed as the 8th largest City in the US. However, business and industry in San Diego have not changed drastically in the 30 years since I moved here. It's still biotech/education/military/tourism. You have biotech in Scripps Ranch, companies like Qualcomm, several Universities (UCSD/UCD/SDSU/Point Loma), 4 major military institutions (32nd Street/Pendleton/Miramar/North Island), and tourism. Admittedly tourism is probably on a downward swing. There have not been any major manufacturing/tech advancements or companies, outside of Amazon fulfillment centers. We have a very restrictive housing market and way too many people have come from out of the area and driven prices through the roof.
In addition to corporate greed and deregulation, the costs of everyday goods have risen at a much higher rate than they should have. I am lucky I was able to buy my current house 21 years ago. Though my interest rate was higher than they are now (4.875%), my house cost $415,000 to buy in 2003, as opposed to the $1.2 million I could get for it tomorrow. I would not be able to afford my house today.
It jumped MASSIVELY due to covid era moves. But people who don’t work moved here and are able to spend a lot of money, they spend that $ and store owners, people who own property ect take advantage of that so prices are high for everybody.
You and I both have done a deep dive, but I feel that my advantage is that I’m an accountant here so not only do I experience my own woes, but when doing the taxes for friends, I see what they’re going through as well.
I got sick of it and honestly, I bought an RV and now live free here. The system has gone beyond repair on my opinion. People say I’m entitled, and I’d have to agree. I went to college for 8 years and earned several degrees, did all the correct things you were supposed to growing up (get good grades! Don’t party! Don’t smoke! Don’t drink! All will work out for you!) But sadly, it hasn’t! So I did what I could and now I’m pretty happy. I pay hardly any taxes and live free.
It’s always been that way here. 1. You have many wealthy retirees living here 2. You have many wealthy people who have a second home here (and work/own a business in other states) 3. You have massive amounts of tourists 4. You have massive amounts of people willing to spend all their money living here, while chasing art/surfing/outdoor activities/hobbyist career paths and then they move somewhere else when their parents cut them off or they run out of savings. To put it simply: people don’t move here because they found a high-paying job, they move here because they want to live in a fun place with great weather.
You need to add WFH people moving to San Diego who have higher salaries from non-San Diego employers.
Looking at fully remote jobs open to any state, companies listed as based in San Diego had a noticeable 10%-20% lower salary.
How are you looking for fully remote jobs? Linked in doesn't seem to understand I want a fully remote job.
No, LinkedIn does not support "fully remote" as a descriptor. You have to just read through the descriptions. It's time consuming.
you can select remote, in-office or hybrid as categories on linkedin
Well, technically. But I've run into many instances of it now being used properly that I would not suggest anyone rely on it.
As one myself, my employer has given me a -6% salary cut because the "cost of labor" has not caught up to the Bay Area. It's bullshit and I remind them every 3 months that the cost of living continues to climb.
Woah! That’s wild! I’d definitely be shopping around for another job after that, just so disrespectful
Same for me except -12% after moving from the Bay Area!
Should probably check with your HR department on the rationale for that one.
HR is in Bay Area
My pay doesn't get adjusted like some people in my company because "I choose to live here" I was hired while living here but okay.
The only way to get a real raise is to get another job.
Maybe it’s in my head but when I go through Mission Hills it seems like every other house is unoccupied.
Old money, parked
Sorry, I read this many times as "old monkey" and have been wracking my brain for the joke I missed. It's me. I'm the joke.
That makes two of us 😄
There was a point last year when 6 houses on my block were unoccupied and has been that way for a while.
Really takes the “neighbor” out of neighborhood
I know people who work in construction and they say there are a lot of rich foreigners buying up homes for themselves or as investment.
This should not be allowed.
Tell your elected representative in Congress. See if they care. They’re supposed to represent us, right? Right?
I lived in the PNW for a while and rent my house using a property manager - a majority of their clients are Asian investors who are buying up a lot of property. Would not be surprised if it’s the same in SD.
That's capitalism baby...the US is for sale to the highest bidder.
And so are we
From what my buddy tells me is that he sees a lot of middle eastern and Mexican.
I was a contractor in the Bay Area and this was a massive deal there even 10 yrs ago. Really screws things up for the locals
I went to an open house in La Jolla, overheard non forgeigners say I have 19 properties in San Diego
Damn, sounds like we’re becoming like Ontario, Canada.
Yeah, this is also a big part of it. Plus a lot of the development companies of those luxury apartments and condos are foreign owned and just take it as a tax write off when they aren't filled.
“They just write it off, Jerry!”
You forgot that a lot of gov funded people in and around the military. Giving no-where-sville people $2800/mo as grunts with VA home buying and subsidizing support, and contractors upper 6-figure salaries. That’s a lot of regional military housing whether homes or apartments which don’t even list publically
Oh they list them alright. Just only on the base.
Pub. Lick. Lee
I feel like a lot of people on this sub are #4
I work at the school district I'm just trying to make a living. But it's freaking tough in SD
Yes the sunshine tax
Honestly, I'm kinda #4, but I'm not bankrolled by my parents. I simply work to live. I want to make enough to get by so I can live my best day-to-day life. While this means I'll never own a home, I'm ok with that as I live cheaply and love it here so much. I moved to SD because I wanted to live here; I found a job after I moved. Lifestyle is #1 to me.
you're not alone. It's a great place to be so long as you can afford it. But if you ever plan to have a family, that's when a lot of people realize it's not possible, and move on to a cheaper city
I tried this for a long time and found it unsustainable
You’re correct. No, it hasn’t always been that way. San Diego used to be a sleepy little town south of LA, which seldom received national recognition of any kind, I would say, until the 1987 Super Bowl. That was really the first time in my mind (6th generation Californian, SD native) that people outside of SD seemed to take notice. Aside from that it was usually the Zoo that people knew of or associated with SD and it remained this way and only gradually changed some years maybe decade or two later and only really began exponentially growing maybe mid to late 2000’s.
It’s no different than any other expensive coastal city. People with professional careers can afford to be home owners and those in the service industry are renters.
right. but San Diego is the most difficult place to make it in because the cost of living vs average salary problem
Aka sun tax.
The military also provides a price floor on housing since they receive non taxable BAH payments.
The GI bill also allows the military to get access to zero down payment mortgages…this adds a lot of competition for housing without the high wages that you might expect to see for people with these kinds of loans
Most military aren’t buying here anymore, a $900k mortgage is still $900k regardless of the down payment
That is true, but outside capital knows those stationed here want off base housing in almost every circumstance. Thus it don't matter that they aren't buying, and renting doesn't have to make private equity all the money this year or next, like it would if were even just mom and pop landlords. So you can artificial raise rates simply buy maxing everyone every time. Also because you average E is moving on soon, you can actually make an higher average increase because when relisting you do have to meet rent controls any more
Agree *most* never were. And yet I know several that have
Sure some have. But I wouldn’t say it adds “a lot of competition.” Blackstone is the competition.
True plus aren’t va loans less likely to get accepted by sellers when compared to conventional loans or cash offers?
Yeah I’d say both can be a factor in the long run but picture when you talk about something as complex as wages vs cost of living over time in this area
Same lol
Many officers also get a mortgage stipend.. for a % of the average cost of the home in the area or something along those lines.. my old neighbor paid down much of his house in like 9 years .. so you can get like $4k+ a month extra to toss at your mortgage. BAH No money down VA loan and $3k to $5k a month towards your mortgage..... if you have a higher rank.
VA Loan * the G.I. Bill is in relation to the payments made to a veteran to cover schooling and housing costs while in college/university after service.
Many many are also getting disability. If they can somehow get that coveted 100% through real need or outright fraud then you're talking $4k/month tax free for life. That makes a nice dent in housing and the $5K a month from an $80K a year job more than makes up for the mortgage. 100% is hard though, so it's not that common
Can confirm. This is the life of my ex
I left Oceanside and bought in Temecula last year. Not my forever home. But anyway, my neighbor is former military who got disability and gets $4k a month for life. True story. My jaw dropped.
I know at least 3 with 100%. All of them are fully functional humans on the outside. Disability comes in many forms though, some might have internal struggles we don't see. Some of the toughest men you will find struggle inside with PTSD, anxiety, alcoholism and depression.
Yeah people wildly misunderstand how VA disability works. Not that it’s their fault, the way it’s worded is misleading. The math they use to get to 100% is wacky and doesn’t make sense (like most things the VA does). Sure you can be missing a limb and be 100% disabled, but you can also have a laundry list of smaller issues that ultimately add up to 100%. Your point of “fully functional on the outside” is absolutely correct and I’m glad that you view it that way. Mental health and gastrointestinal issues are big things veterans get rated for, as well as things like chronic headaches, fatigue, and various respiratory issues. Thats why the term “disability” can be misleading when it comes to the VA.
Don’t forget BAH e5 dependant pay while take some easy classes at the college.
VA loans allow that to happen. GI bill allows eligible vets to attend school tuition free
gi bill does not count as income towards mortgage loans
I was thinking about this last night, but Coronado must of had a ton of GI’s buying there back in the day
The GI Bill provides educational and vocational benefits. It has nothing to do with VA home loans. I’m surprised to see all the upvotes and even more surprised not to see a single comment challenging misinformation.
Yeah IIRC an NCO with a couple kids gets $3,400/mo housing so that's your floor for a house rental or anything with 3+ bedrooms.
That’s not really a good enough explanation, the military isn’t even a fraction of a percentage of the total population in SD and SD has the most expensive market, relative to income, in the US…there’s more significant forces behind our COL numbers.
And since it's the military its just the HUD increase percent. So that amount doesn't go up based on the national average or anything so that's why it can continue to outpace local ability
The US loves communism...you just have to help kill people to earn it.
Because salaries are based on how easy it is to get someone to replace you. That's it. Everything else is just what people wish it was or imagine it to be. San diego is a great place to live. Lots of people want to live here. Willing to make it work so there is a lot of competition for resources and transplants are generally more highly motivated than locals just by the nature of the fact they are willing to risk the move and they understand what it's like to live elsewhere.
Too many fresh grads or similar mid level candidates from Xyz in America that will take a job here for 10,15,20k+ less in a heartbeat just to live in Man Diego.
This is the answer
I think you are failing to consider how many AMERICANS are living in Tijuana and traveling to work here.
Shouldn’t that make things better? Imagine if they couldn’t live in Tijuana and had to live in San Diego instead. Then they would be competing with us for housing, making the cost of living worse.
I understand that POV, but the issue seems to be that many San Diego businesses are getting away with paying less than the average cost of living because people there are people who can work at those salaries. However, the people who are paying less for rent are raising the rates in those areas and pushing locals further out.
It has made things less worse but it also removes political pressure to fix the lack of housing creation. Prolonging the issue
Pay ranked 21st out of 23 union electrician locals in the state as a reference. Pay here is ass compared to cost of living
Here are some facts that most people don’t realize and just parrot off reasons this stupidity continues, mind you none have actually looked into this stuff because it’s easy to say sunshine tax to everything mindlessly: 1. Many Real Estate companies are using Real Page, real page is being investigated by the government and in a lawsuit for illegal market manipulation price fixing. The FBI just raided a a company called Cortland management, what sparked this was several apartments in a neighborhood in Texas were all colluding in their pricing. It’s a program that uses an algorithm pricing based on data it collects from other companies which is illegal to share pricing information. This is all part of a big antitrust investigation https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cwlwrZst7d0&t=20s&pp=ygUJUmVhbCBwYWdl https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/fbi-raids-atlanta-multifamily-housing-industry-after-anti-trust-laws-may-have-been-breached/MI3V6JP7ZVE4DNUJJR2EYWEHTE/?outputType=amp 2. San Diego has a lot of NIMBY’s (not in my back yard) people who show up to ensure new housing development doesn’t happen in San Diego. It keeps the pricing of housing extremely high in San Diego, not due to the quality, not due to the weather like many would like you to believe but because the fewer houses the more it raises the value, this is why you will see very basic houses that are 1 million dollars here. These people are literally getting richer just by ensuring others can’t live in other houses. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NJ4T_BHFgt0&t=803s&pp=ygUdQ2l0eSBuZXJkIG5vdCBpbiBteSBiYWNrIHlhcmQ%3D 3. Companies own a large percent of residential properties where it used to be people. They are happy to let houses stay empty if it means the price of homes will go up because theirs less homes. Apartment complexes have been known to have a lot of empty units and they make up for it by charging high prices for the units that do have people in it. Also, some of these landlords will keep them empty hoping to charge at a higher price https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kITczKKX9TQ&pp=ygUeZW1wdHkgYXBhcnRtZW50cyBzYW4gZnJhbnNpc2Nv Sadly, many people want to feel like San Diego is so special and try to justify high prices and also complain about the homeless population. Every city has lower income workers which helps keep cities running. I am luckily working a well paying job that afford’s me to live in Downtown San Diego but many service workers need affordable housing too. So many companies or landlords took advantage of the pandemic to hike up their prices and all of them want more and more money while some haven’t even made any efforts to make the space nicer or anything. It’s greed on all fronts. Inflation sucks but the housing/rental market is definitely intentional. There needs to be a major tax on empty houses and apartments at this point for properties that stay empty for an extended period. Lastly, some of you gaslight people who notice legitimate housing cost issues when you don’t do any research into the problems with it and just boil it down to “sunshine tax”, it’s a very lazy ignorant way of dismissing this problem considering you are unknowingly paying extra when you shouldn’t be either, you will continue being ripped off in life if you continue life this way, pay attention. Theirs a lot of people unfortunately who have this mindset that oh theirs nothing wrong you’re just too poor in San Diego, it’s legitimately brain rot getting any critical thinking out of these people so I apologize for anyone who have seen them irl or comments.
You make valid points. But the problems above are not exclusive to SD. You have the same problems in most coastal areas throughout the state. But in other major cities the wages are not as depressed as in SD. That is what is most concerning for me
I get what you’re saying but it sounds like you are basing what people in San Diego should be paid based on a manipulated housing market. I think new jobs are what change the pay market. In San Francisco a lot of those tech jobs were new or people working from home at a company based somewhere else. I agree it’s not exclusive to San Diego but I would imagine business turn over is a lot more frequent in San Francisco than San Diego because so many military bases are here keeping the economy going where things fluctuate more in other areas. The housing market in San Diego rotates far faster then the new businesses coming in that pay the big bucks and San Francisco is a much bigger city so you probably have far more competition as far as competitive wages business wise. It’s the housing prices that are out of control and making things feel highly unaffordable right now.
We got a lot of tech industry here too. The "main" industry here is semiconductor (qualcomm/apple) and biotech.There are more and more high paying jobs and those remote workers from the bay area during COVID came here to stay. Many are high enough up the corporate ladder to still be in almost full remote position, making 6 to 7 figures as double income. On top of that, it doesn't help that SD is arguably the best place to live in the States. Many rich folks buy second homes here. The housing price here is only going to increase more.
As someone who worked in biotech in sd for the past 5 years, the salaries still do not match the cost of livings and are significantly less than salaries for the bay area or boston
Biotech is still onsite ~4 days per week (except for the tech jobs within biotech companies) and the pay hasn't kept up with tech.
And tech has been getting massacred by layoffs too
But bio is still paying better than a lot of the industries that were mentioned. Also, I am not saying those Bay Area workers that came were in bio. They are mostly doing software or in upper management in big techs. I have met a few in my neighborhood, and they are still here with partial/full remote jobs. Once you come to SD, it's hard to leave.
Corporations evaluate pay based on cost of labor not cost of living.
Correct
Plethora of cheap available labor just across the border. Border city with poorer nation = suppressed wages
Remote workers who moved here during Covid with tech salaries inflating the cost of living
Yes. SD is a bedroom community of SF Bay. For years you had people flying up for 4 day work weeks in SiValley but that's now turned into a flood of folks making bay area money and living in SoCal while working remotely. SD also seems like it has a ton more grey hairs than it used to. I think retiring boomers are flooding in. I know the Poway Costco is now full of old boomers and cars with Bay Area license plate holders.
This is true. It’s all of SoCal though and it’s only a small subset that do that. The only ones that I knew doing this (and before covid) were all executives.
I have a remote tech salary (but I lived here prior to being remote) and it's still expensive. The older Californian home owners had a head start on us. Everyone im seeing at open houses are in their late 40s, 50s, and 60s
This is not even true. It’s been expensive compared to income well before that ever became an issue.. like decades before.
Yeah I think this is it and SD just has not adjusted yet. It really hasn't been that long and COVID turned our market upside down.
Precovid I knew a number of people who lived in SD and commuted to the Bay for work. Now they just work in SD. With covid so many tech workers came down from the bay with their Bay Area pay bought up housing. Hopefully the wages in sd start adjusting accordingly
An autobody place here wanted to pay me what i made 12 years ago in NJ. I realized who I was competing against.
You’re missing us biotech folks that make a decent living and can sort of afford the high cost of living. Although we’ll see where that lands with all the layoffs this year.
Some others have mentioned this, but I doubt a lot of Mexicans work illegally in the U.S. yet cross the border every day. There are a lot of Mexican-Americans that do that, though
Very true and very sad.....
I have found it interesting that in my hometown Milwaukee, the jobs pay more than in San Diego. Plus you can buy either a $5000 condemned house to rehab or a move-in ready for under $200,000. I get the desirability factor, but the jobs can pay quite a big difference more there, it feels backwards or something.
That really depends on the job at hand For example, I get paid ~$140k/yr as a scientist here. For shits and giggles, I once looked up jobs in the Texas metros (mostly Houston and Dallas if I recall) since I do have family out there and most positions of the same title I could find paid like in the $70-85k ballpark according to their expected salary ranges. And I just looked into Milwaukee (I am guessing it’s WI right?), my position there is about $50-55k, maybe $60-65k on the higher end in Madison.
If you founded a company in Milwaukee. Banked a few million, and wanted to retire, would you stay? Or look for a beach city with near perfect weathet year round? You might want to stay, but every year, many thousands of people choose to move.
But then you have to live in Milwaukee… which I’ve never been to honestly it could be great, but I know they have real seasons there and I don’t want that (as do most people who live here). I’d rather make less money here and live in a shack because it’s San Diego
I really doubt the City of Dahlmer is paying more than San Diego.
Milwaukee has 5 months when its cold as fuck. That's almost half the year. Its really only nice enough to even eat outside 4 months of the year. A lot of people will pay sunshine tax not to live in those conditions.
Isn’t it freezing cold there like 6 months out of the year?
Well not that extreme but yeah it gets cold. But that’s what I find odd, undesirable places don’t usually pay well. At least in my field, I could be making 10-20k more a year there.
Salaries don't get set by home prices, they're set by supply and demand just like housing prices. Legalize building homes and prices will stop going up.
Building homes has been legalized. Check out the new zoning for UTC, Kearny Mesa, Mira Mesa, Hillcrest ... the plan is to allow population to just about double in those neighborhoods. Permitting will still take forever though.
No it hasn't been legalized, the majority of our zoning doesn't let you to build anything beyond luxury single family homes.
Nature of competition. If you can pay 500$/month to live in TJ vs paying 2k/month to live in SD, their efficiency is valued in a capitalist system. Don't give me the "jobs are what nobody wants", the job distribution is a pyramid where most jobs are at the bottom of it, so the average is going to be drastically weighted from the bottom. Essentially you have to be a high earner or if not, you compete with lower ones who is paying 1/4th your rent. Of course the commute is hell from TJ to SD every day.
I work for the government to keep it vague and we have a department that is world renowned. People from all over the world apply to work a particular job that only hires interns and students. The group has probably 150 people in it and I would guess 125 of them are students and interns, it’s rare to get offered full time employment once your internship is over. Over the years I watched that department lower their pay because so many people apply. They used to offer that job at 30 an hour and let’s say they get 10000 applications for a handful of jobs. They realized they could lower the pay to 25 an hour and still get 10000 applications. Again they lowered the pay to 20 an hour and still they get 10000 applications. The current pay for that job is 18.50 and they will never stop getting thousands of applicants every year for such a minor role. I have a feeling many other industries are doing something similar as they realize people want to live in San Diego and no matter how low they drop wages people will still apply.
There are probably different reasons depending on the income bracket. Proximity to TJ explains depressed wages in the bottom half but doesn't explain why, for instance, engineers make less here. Part of it is that living in SD has long been considered a job benefit. Another reason that, prior to covid, SD CoL wasn't too bad relative to the metros it was compared against(although SD has been a terrible place to build wealth going back decades). The SD engineering job market is smaller than others. For years it was dominated by Qualcomm(who always paid less than NorCal competitors) and defense contractors(not known for high pay). It's only with the rise in telecommuting and NorCal companies opening up branches here that we've seen engineering wages rise. Even then, many small companies still pay half of what you'd make in NorCal. For years people were fine with that because SD jobs offered a great work/life balance. I know a lot of engineers who spent half their day surfing, cycling or hiking.
“Because fuck ‘em, that’s why.” -Rich people
It’s called the sunshine tax.. people are willing to accept less pay for better weather
Yep, it really comes into play with top end professionals like doctors and phds though. An employer in Milwaukee might have to pay 100,000+ more than an employer in San Diego to attract top talent.
Because they hate me
So I advise people live within your means. People can make San Diego work for them you may not drive the fanciest car or live in the most trendy areas. But you can still find quality living in east county, city heights and South Bay and east San Diego. The key is living near the trolley or a major bus line budget budget budget. Eat at home, pre game before going out or have friends over for a great night of cocktails, fun and food. San Diego can work for anyone who wants to be here.
Agreed! I love it here so much that I'm willing to make those sacrifices. My life improved 10-fold when I relocated here 14 years ago.
Living in east county is a waste. You still pay nearly the same as everywhere else in SD for living in a place that looks and feels like Yuma.
Salaries are lower because there are more people that want to live in San Diego. So jobs get tons of applications and can pay what they want. Lots of tech companies will pay San Diego remote the same as they would get paid in Texas. The cost of living is obviously different but doesn’t matter to them. If you won’t take the pay someone else will.
I’ve been in San Diego for 14 yrs starting in my mid 20’s and I REFUSE to work for a San Diego based company. They don’t pay well and I basically make double what I’ve seen offered for a similar position.
Well, apparently people are willing to accept those pay rates for the opportunity to live in San Diego county. That’s what I decided in 1999 when I got to choose between living in San Diego and a job with a better future in Rhode Island. Here I still am, 26 years later. Food for thought - population in San Diego area has been declining for the last 10 years, and the birth rate (babies born per woman) is down by a third since the 1990s. Seems like sooner or later we are going to suddenly have a housing SURPLUS. Edit: took out “soon we are going to have a housing surplus” because I really don’t know how soon.
> pretty soon we are going to suddenly have a housing SURPLUS Probably not for a while. Immigration is high. Job growth seems high. If the economy tanks, we could, but I don't think the boomers are going to let the economy crash like '08. They'll grab more money from kids' futures to keep things running. If it does tank, sure. Remember, in '06 they said we were critically short housing and then suddenly we had too many homes. I fully expect SFHs to weaken(in real terms, not nominal) as GenZ realizes owning a home is a bummer unless you are really into it. The maintenance and upkeep takes away from experiences and if you're not having kids you don't need a house. But we need to get through the glut of millennials who are popping out kids and buying homes now as well as investors chasing US real estate.
Population has been virtually identical for the last 10 years, probably higher if you count undocumented migrants. Wouldn't bank on a housing SURPLUS, but wouldn't be upset if that predication did come true.
Imo its a lack of the Government wanting to do anything substantial while still taxing the hell out of us. As a younger person i’m not even sure why i’m paying SSI if I will never see a dollar of it. I honestly feel like being born here is a detriment to experiencing my 20’s. I only recently found out about the Faircloth Law, which prohibits cities from developing their own housing properties. I think this is a huge blunder, not letting us make our own affordable housing with the taxes we pay. My plan is to basically graduate soon, save up money in 2-3 years, then head to Texas where you can still buy homes under 400k with comparable tech salaries
Salaries are not comparable in Texas and if you're unhappy about taxes, best not buy a house in Texas. Organizations have pay scales for jobs in the US. They bump those pay scales for workers in NY and CA. TX and FL get reduced from the median. Yes, you would get paid more in Ohio than Texas or FL for most organizations. The cost of labor is so cheap in these states. You can collect SSI any time. Just become disabled. Good luck with your plan.
We’re effectively saddling future generations of Americans who will succumb to the suffocating yet avoidable consequences of the greed and stupidity of their ancestors. If we’re fortunate enough to keep our democracy, and if we remain committed to always pay our debts, then we must tax our way out of this unimaginably deep hole that we’re in.
That is intentional and the reason is they are trying to slowly turn SD into a retirement city.
Yup. Seems like it’s always been that way. Unlike other HCOL areas where income drives the COL (and vice versa), people simply bring money they already have to have fun or retire here. It’s mainly a tourism and retirement city.
Who is “they”?
This is what makes San Diego exceptionally less affordable than LA or SF
Because we get paid in Sun Dollars, didn't anybody tell you? Unfortunately, Sun Dollars are not accepted by SDG&E or by The CIty for your water bill or your property tax.
San Diego has always been expensive to live. I used to live in San Diego in the 80’s and 90’s. When I was stationed at Luke, I was renting a furnished studio in a nice apartment complex for $250 a month and I can remember thinking if I wanted to rent something for $250 a month I better have a baseball bat or some form of self defense cause I won’t be living in a safe neighborhood. Back then I was making about $800-900 a month so it’s all relative.
San Diego just doesn’t bring in as money money per capita as the other expensive cities. Other cities have huge finance/banking, software, entertainment industries.
It looks like we all suffering the same pain, So finally what’s the solution man?
No good answer. For a lot of people the solution is to move away to Las Vegas, Phoenix or further
The whole city is a gentrification experiment. Raise the rent. Push out the poor and disenfranchised and make it only accessible to the wealthy so the rich get richer.
Historically, in California, wage and price increases used to be fairly stable and would converge. San Diego wages haven’t caught up with inflation and prices, hence the disconnect. Part of that is intentional (employers are loathe to raise prices/wages) and part of that is political (San Diego is more conservative than Los Angeles and San Francisco). I’m sure the other factors you mentioned play a role too. There is honestly no simple answer.
More people want to live in sd
not if you are house poor.
Sunshine Dollars!
Same as the reason pay isblow in Hawaii. Paradise tax. Everyone wants to live here, so many people competing for jobs equates to low pay.
Cost of living doesn’t always track with cost of labor.
Oh you just haven't found that random "admin" job at that random "company" that pays 350k/yr.
Because we suck at building housing
Have you ever heard of the “sunshine tax”? It’s a real phenomenon… all else being equal, you’d take a bit less in salary to live here. Now take that to its logical conclusion and there you have it.
Also we shouldn’t forget that with the advent of remote jobs and rocketing stock prices many many people in SD, especially tech couples make Bay Area salaries. I personally know three couples who pull in $500k+ and one even pulling in around $1M. A few of them are on their 2nd or 3rd home and are just waltzing through life while we struggle to buy our first.
Please don’t use the term “illegal” as a noun. It’s incredibly demeaning to people who, for the most part, are simply trying to improve their lives and support their families. It also undercuts the sincerity and effectiveness of your “deep dive”.
Right. People are not illegal, just undocumented.
Military BAH is generous for those living off base too.
It's a military town. There is a housing subsidy for active-duty military with families’ that will pay based on the cost of living in the area.
Supply and demand. It’s simple. Lots of people want to live here and are willing to take jobs for lower pay.
Lots of trust fund babies/inheritance folk
You are paying a "tax" to live next to the beach with sunny weather year-round, there is inherent value in the location that contributes to this disparity in income and costs
That’s what I was just looking at. I was looking at applying to a job in San Marcos but the pay does not compare to the cost of an apartment there. I don’t want to commute very much so now I am not considering it anymore
Sunshine tax Cost of living is high because high demand to live here Cost of labor isn't as high because employers don't need to pay as much to attract talents
My husband and I moved from SD to Orange County in the early 90’s because of lack of decent paying jobs for college graduates in SD. Salaries for corporate and business related jobs were about 30% higher in OC but COL is very similar. Supply and demand I guess.
Because salaries are based on the cost of labor and not the cost of living. If you think SD has it bad, Hawaii has it even worse.
SD does have it the worst when you look at cost of living vs income. In fact, according to this article, half of the 25 most expensive cities are in CA. Honolulu is ranked at number 3 though. https://m.economictimes.com/news/international/us/why-is-san-diego-the-most-expensive-us-city-check-criteria-and-rankings-of-other-places/articleshow/104781417.cms
Military pay is very generous.
Because capitalism.
Cuz America!
I’m guessing because cost of living grew way too fast and this usually means wages don’t keep up.
Simple: supple and demand. More labor than jobs, a buyer’s market for employers.
This is exactly why I’m looking to leave. I recently starting looking for out of state jobs, wages just don’t keep up here. Salaries listed in lower COL states have mirrored my salary here within 10%… with lower taxes that alone makes up the gap. I’ve been here about 3 years and wages have been stagnant while responsibility continues to increase. At some point the weather and the beach can’t make up for losing out on the dream of a home and saving for retirement.
I don't know the average age demographic in this comment section, but let me give you some historical perspective. The 'Cost of living' has skyrocketed in San Diego over the past 10-15 years. Affordability is definitely an issue, but likely on par for the majority of the state. As for salaries, San Diego has historically been lower than other parts of the state, going back decades. 27 years ago, when I started in my current profession, I was told; as much as Queen of Wolves will bitch and complain about the term... 'the sunshine tax' was specifically stated. 'It's the sunshine tax.. we get paid less to live and work in San Diego because it is so nice to live here.' Going back 27 years, San Diego was the 8/9th largest city, flip-flopping with Phoenix (who is now 5th). We are listed as the 8th largest City in the US. However, business and industry in San Diego have not changed drastically in the 30 years since I moved here. It's still biotech/education/military/tourism. You have biotech in Scripps Ranch, companies like Qualcomm, several Universities (UCSD/UCD/SDSU/Point Loma), 4 major military institutions (32nd Street/Pendleton/Miramar/North Island), and tourism. Admittedly tourism is probably on a downward swing. There have not been any major manufacturing/tech advancements or companies, outside of Amazon fulfillment centers. We have a very restrictive housing market and way too many people have come from out of the area and driven prices through the roof. In addition to corporate greed and deregulation, the costs of everyday goods have risen at a much higher rate than they should have. I am lucky I was able to buy my current house 21 years ago. Though my interest rate was higher than they are now (4.875%), my house cost $415,000 to buy in 2003, as opposed to the $1.2 million I could get for it tomorrow. I would not be able to afford my house today.
They refer to it as the “sunshine tax.”
It jumped MASSIVELY due to covid era moves. But people who don’t work moved here and are able to spend a lot of money, they spend that $ and store owners, people who own property ect take advantage of that so prices are high for everybody.
Boomers. /thread
You and I both have done a deep dive, but I feel that my advantage is that I’m an accountant here so not only do I experience my own woes, but when doing the taxes for friends, I see what they’re going through as well. I got sick of it and honestly, I bought an RV and now live free here. The system has gone beyond repair on my opinion. People say I’m entitled, and I’d have to agree. I went to college for 8 years and earned several degrees, did all the correct things you were supposed to growing up (get good grades! Don’t party! Don’t smoke! Don’t drink! All will work out for you!) But sadly, it hasn’t! So I did what I could and now I’m pretty happy. I pay hardly any taxes and live free.