2025 Compare Cities Economy:
San Diego, CA vs Palo Alto, CA

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Highlights
- Household income in Palo Alto, is 118% more than it is in San Diego and is 65% above the National Average.
- San Diego unemployment rate is 6.6%.
- Palo Alto unemployment rate is 3.5%.
 San Diego, CAPalo Alto, CAUnited States
 Unemployment Rate  Unlock3.5%6.0%
 Recent Job Growth  Unlock2.5%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$194,782$69,021
 Family Median Income$106,037  Unlock$85,028
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 Est. Households By Income
 San Diego, CAPalo Alto, CAUnited States
 Income Less Than 15K  Unlock5.2%9.4%
 Income between 15K and 20K2.6%  Unlock3.8%
 Income between 20K and 30K  Unlock3.1%8.1%
 Income between 30K and 40K5.8%  Unlock8.0%
 Income between 40K and 50K  Unlock2.9%7.6%
 Income between 50K and 60K6.3%  Unlock7.2%
 Income between 60K and 75K  Unlock4.6%9.6%
 Income between 75K and 100K12.6%  Unlock12.8%
 Income between 100K and 150K  Unlock12.8%16.3%
 Income between 150K and 200K10.6%  Unlock7.8%
 Income greater than 200K  Unlock49.5%9.5%
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 Population By Occupation
 San Diego, CAPalo Alto, CAUnited States
 Management, business, finance19.0%  Unlock16.4%
 Engineering, computers, science  Unlock29.0%6.5%
 Community, social services1.7%  Unlock1.8%
 Legal  Unlock3.7%1.2%
 Education, library5.7%  Unlock6.2%
 Arts, design, media, sports, entertainment  Unlock3.5%2.0%
 Healthcare practitioners and technology6.4%  Unlock6.2%
 Healthcare support  Unlock1.1%3.3%
 Firefighters, law enforcement1.8%  Unlock2.1%
 Food preparation, serving  Unlock1.6%5.4%
 Building maintenance3.3%  Unlock3.6%
 Personal care  Unlock2.3%2.6%
 Sales, office, administrative support18.3%  Unlock20.9%
 Farming, fishing, forestry  Unlock0.1%0.6%
 Construction, extraction, maintenance/repair5.1%  Unlock8.1%
 Production, transportation, material moving  Unlock2.5%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 Palo Alto    8 Reviews

The Bay Area in general, but Palo Alto specifically provides many of the qualities sought by many; the climate is beautiful, there is access to cultural and recreational  More

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Over 17 years ago

Very  More

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Over 18 years ago

VTA and SamsTrans and Caltrain all provide good service and most times frequency of service is  More

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