Senior Biomedical Engineer salary in San Diego, CA

Based on 14 certified H-1B filings at DOL wage level III in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metro area, FY2025–FY2026. Includes La Jolla, Carlsbad, Vista, Del Mar, Oceanside.

Median salary$125,000
Middle 50%$123.2k–$132.1k
vs. all levels here+5%comparison median $118,545
Filings14FY2025–FY2026 · latest two fiscal years

Salary range

Box: middle 50% of filings. Whiskers: 10th–90th percentile. 99% of filings are between $117,790 and $177,630.
PercentileSalary
10th$118,243
25th$123,219
50th (median)$125,000
75th$132,131
90th$134,700

Salary by year

Median salary

$80k $110k $140k FY2020: median $90,147 (10 filings) FY2021: median $102,280 (10 filings) FY2022: median $95,000 (13 filings) FY2023: median $102,500 (10 filings) FY2025: median $125,000 (12 filings) FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25 FY26

Filings per year

FY2020: 10 filings FY20 FY2021: 10 filings FY21 FY2022: 13 filings FY22 FY2023: 10 filings FY23 FY2024: 7 filings FY24 FY2025: 12 filings FY25 FY2026: 2 filings FY26 13
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$90,147$90,147$97,53710
FY2021$102,280$95,725$126,25010
FY2022$95,000$92,000$114,70413
FY2023$102,500$99,147$116,75010
FY2024–––7
FY2025$125,000$123,575$132,63112
FY2026–––2

Cost of living

San Diego's median senior Biomedical Engineer salary of $125,000 is worth about $111,700 at national average prices.

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

Compared with all workers here

All Bioengineers and Biomedical Engineers in the San Diego, CA area earned a median of $128,270 in May 2025 (410 employed). The H-1B median here is $125,000, 3% 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
Aperture Companiestoo few2
Becton, Dickinson and Companytoo few2
Element Biosciencestoo few2
Illuminatoo few2

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

By experience level

Wage levelMedianFilings
Entry-level · Level I too few 2
Mid-level · Level II $104,541 17
Senior · Level III $125,000 14
Expert · Level IV $159,150 12

Median shown when a level has at least 10 filings.

Minimum H-1B salary by level

Wage levelPrevailing wage (most common)Median offered salaryFilings
Mid-level · Level II$104,541$104,54117
Senior · Level III$117,790$125,00014
Expert · Level IV$141,898$159,15012

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.