Entry-level Accountant salary in San Diego, CA

Based on 29 certified H-1B filings at DOL wage level I in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metro area, FY2025–FY2026. Includes La Jolla, Solana Beach, Cardiff, Carlsbad, Imperial Beach.

Also listed as: Auditor, Tax Accountant

Median salary$70,500
Middle 50%$64.9k–$88k
vs. all levels here−22%comparison median $90,300
Filings29FY2025–FY2026 · latest two fiscal years

Salary range

Box: middle 50% of filings. Whiskers: 10th–90th percentile. 99% of filings are between $63,274 and $104,720.
PercentileSalary
10th$63,274
25th$64,875
50th (median)$70,500
75th$88,000
90th$94,000

Salary by year

Median salary

$40k $60k $80k FY2020: median $56,000 (19 filings) FY2021: median $52,000 (23 filings) FY2022: median $60,000 (21 filings) FY2023: median $59,114 (15 filings) FY2024: median $65,520 (14 filings) FY2025: median $69,500 (18 filings) FY2026: median $74,540 (11 filings) FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25 FY26

Filings per year

FY2020: 19 filings FY20 FY2021: 23 filings FY21 FY2022: 21 filings FY22 FY2023: 15 filings FY23 FY2024: 14 filings FY24 FY2025: 18 filings FY25 FY2026: 11 filings FY26 23
Shaded: FY2025–FY2026, the years behind the figures above. Median shown for years with at least 10 filings. FY2026 covers Q1–Q3 only.
Show as table
Fiscal yearMedianP25P75Filings
FY2020$56,000$52,000$65,00019
FY2021$52,000$51,584$60,00023
FY2022$60,000$52,416$65,00021
FY2023$59,114$56,680$66,53815
FY2024$65,520$59,336$70,74114
FY2025$69,500$63,274$87,72518
FY2026$74,540$64,938$88,00011

Cost of living

San Diego's median entry-level Accountant salary of $70,500 is worth about $63,000 at national average prices.

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024 (U.S. = 100; San Diego = 111.9).

Compared with all workers here

All Accountants and Auditors in the San Diego, CA area earned a median of $96,340 in May 2025 (13,450 employed). The H-1B median here is $70,500, 27% lower.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS metropolitan area estimates. BLS wages include some incentive pay; H-1B figures are base salary.

Employers filing at this level

EmployerMedianFilings
Deloittetoo few8
EYtoo few5

Employers with at least 2 filings here. Median shown at 10+ filings.

By experience level

Wage levelMedianFilings
Entry-level · Level I $70,500 29
Mid-level · Level II $84,718 55
Senior · Level III $113,915 22
Expert · Level IV $145,835 10

Median shown when a level has at least 10 filings.

Minimum H-1B salary by level

Wage levelPrevailing wage (most common)Median offered salaryFilings
Entry-level · Level I$63,274$70,50029
Mid-level · Level II$80,912$84,71855
Senior · Level III$98,571$113,91522
Expert · Level IV$124,384$145,83510

The prevailing wage is the minimum an employer must pay for this job and area. Amounts vary by county within a metro and by wage source.