2025 Compare Cities Economy:
San Diego, CA vs Monterey, CA

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Highlights
- Household income in Monterey, is 5% less than it is in San Diego and is 19% above the National Average.
- San Diego unemployment rate is 6.6%.
- Monterey unemployment rate is 3.8%.
 San Diego, CAMonterey, CAUnited States
 Unemployment Rate  Unlock3.8%6.0%
 Recent Job Growth  Unlock1.8%1.6%
 Future Job Growth34.9%  Unlock33.5%
 Sales Taxes7.8%  Unlock6.2%
 Income Taxes  Unlock8.0%4.6%
 Income per Cap.$46,460  Unlock$37,638
 Household Income  Unlock$85,365$69,021
 Family Median Income$106,037  Unlock$85,028
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 Est. Households By Income
 San Diego, CAMonterey, CAUnited States
 Income Less Than 15K  Unlock5.2%9.4%
 Income between 15K and 20K2.6%  Unlock3.8%
 Income between 20K and 30K  Unlock7.0%8.1%
 Income between 30K and 40K5.8%  Unlock8.0%
 Income between 40K and 50K  Unlock5.9%7.6%
 Income between 50K and 60K6.3%  Unlock7.2%
 Income between 60K and 75K  Unlock11.4%9.6%
 Income between 75K and 100K12.6%  Unlock12.8%
 Income between 100K and 150K  Unlock18.0%16.3%
 Income between 150K and 200K10.6%  Unlock7.8%
 Income greater than 200K  Unlock13.7%9.5%
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 Population By Occupation
 San Diego, CAMonterey, CAUnited States
 Management, business, finance19.0%  Unlock16.4%
 Engineering, computers, science  Unlock9.7%6.5%
 Community, social services1.7%  Unlock1.8%
 Legal  Unlock1.5%1.2%
 Education, library5.7%  Unlock6.2%
 Arts, design, media, sports, entertainment  Unlock4.5%2.0%
 Healthcare practitioners and technology6.4%  Unlock6.2%
 Healthcare support  Unlock2.6%3.3%
 Firefighters, law enforcement1.8%  Unlock2.1%
 Food preparation, serving  Unlock7.9%5.4%
 Building maintenance3.3%  Unlock3.6%
 Personal care  Unlock3.3%2.6%
 Sales, office, administrative support18.3%  Unlock20.9%
 Farming, fishing, forestry  Unlock1.1%0.6%
 Construction, extraction, maintenance/repair5.1%  Unlock8.1%
 Production, transportation, material moving  Unlock5.1%13.1%
Reviews for San Diego    319 Reviews

I have lived in San Diego for more than half my life (I am 30) and love it. It has something for everyone and more from arts, to sporting events, and all cuisine is  More

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The only real knock again San Diego is the cost of living, but it is paradise compared to most cities of similar size. Those who complain about the traffic here or say  More

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I have lived in San Diego since 1968 and I am now almost 62 years old. I love San Diego, I really do. But it has become so crowded and so expensive over the years. It  More

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Reviews for Monterey    21 Reviews

Over 8 years ago

The Monterey city area is an excellent place to live and one of the few California locales where it's relatively safe to raise a family. If I could no longer live here I  More

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I grew up on the Monterey Peninsula and had to leave to climb out of poverty. The median income is $35,000 and outside of the military, the jobs are mostly service  More

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My husband and I are just crazy about Monterey. I wonder if we take housing expenses (mortgage or rent) out of the picture, is Monterey still a very expensive city to  More

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