This Sunny California City Was Ranked a Most Expensive Place To Retire. Here’s What You Should Know

San Diego, Calif., has a well-deserved estimation arsenic 1 of the astir desirable status destinations successful the United States. Unfortunately, it is besides among the country’s astir costly places to retire, according to caller probe from Travel + Leisure and Investopedia.

We examined spot prices, authorities and section taxes, and the wide outgo of living—as good arsenic the galore factors that marque San Diego appealing contempt the large terms tag.

Understanding the Costs of Retiring successful San Diego

Overall Cost of Living

San Diego isn’t cheap. The website Payscale pegs the cost of living determination arsenic 44% higher than the nationalist average. Breaking that down, the tract recovered that lodging costs were 115% higher, proscription costs 35% higher, utilities costs 20% higher, and market costs 14% higher.

According to the Economic Policy Institute’s Family Budget Calculator (which takes into relationship housing, food, transportation, wellness care, taxes, and different necessities), a household with 2 adults and nary children surviving successful San Diego County would walk $86,243 a year, connected average.

That’s precocious adjacent for a status haven. The comparable fig for Beaufort County, S.C., location to Hilton Head Island, is $74,229. For Maricopa County, Ariz., which includes Phoenix and Scottsdale, it’s $68,525.

Property Prices

The precocious outgo of retiring to San Diego County starts with the terms of admission: location prices. According to Census Bureau data, the median location terms successful San Diego was precocious $791,600.

That compares with the nationalist median location terms of $403,700, arsenic of May 2025, according to the National Association of Realtors.

A hunt of Realtor.com showed galore homes successful the $1 million-plus category, rather a fewer with $2 cardinal and $3 cardinal asking prices. Coastal properties are peculiarly desirable and, fixed that determination is lone truthful overmuch coastline, are often successful constricted supply.

In different words, spot prices unsocial tin enactment the country retired of scope for galore retirees. 

Even for retirees who tin scrape up the cash, devoting excessively ample a information of their fund to lodging tin mean forgoing different pleasures, specified arsenic question oregon eating out. In fact, lodging accounts for astir 38% of San Diegans’ yearly spending, compared with a nationalist mean of conscionable implicit 33%.

Local Taxes

California is known arsenic a high-tax state, and San Diego is nary exception. While not circumstantial to retirees, the Economic Policy Institute’s Family Budget Calculator estimates that a household with 2 adults and nary children successful San Diego County tin expect to wage an mean of $1,055 a period successful taxes. Those taxes instrumentality a assortment of forms.

Sales taxes: California has the highest authorities income taxation successful the U.S., astatine 7.25%, according to the Tax Foundation. San Diego County adds different 0.5% to that, for a combined full of 7.75%.

Counterbalancing that somewhat, California exempts galore of the items that are apt to beryllium connected retirees’ buying lists, including medicine drugs and astir nutrient products, but for heated prepared foods.

Income taxes: California has a progressive income tax, with marginal taxation rates ranging from 1% to 12.3%. A joined mates whose income was betwixt $80,490 and $111,732, for example, would wage a apical complaint of 6%.

Property taxes: California really has comparatively debased spot taxation rates, owed successful portion to the restrictions imposed by the transition of Proposition 13 successful 1978. According to the Tax Foundation, residents wage an mean effectual complaint of 0.68%. However, due to the fact that of the precocious section lodging values, that tin inactive adhd up. In 2022, San Diegans paid median spot taxes of $5,214.

Estate taxes: Also connected the positive side, California doesn’t person either an estate tax oregon an inheritance tax, which tin beryllium a interest for wealthier retirees.

Health Care Costs

San Diego has abundant and high-quality wellness care. For example, the Medicare.gov website lists 18 hospitals wrong a 25-mile radius, galore with coveted four- oregon five-star prime ratings.

Health attraction costs successful San Diego thin to beryllium nary higher and, successful immoderate cases, little than those successful galore different parts of the country. While its figures don’t absorption specifically connected retirees, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics recovered that successful 2022-2023, San Diegans had mean wellness attraction expenses of $5,514 a year, compared with a nationalist mean of $6,042. In Denver, for example, the comparable fig was $7,118, and successful Phoenix, $7,550.

What Makes San Diego So Expensive?

Desirable Coastal Location

The southernmost large metropolis connected California’s Pacific coast, San Diego offers agreeable upwind year-round. The county’s 70 miles of coastline are dotted with an array of nationalist beaches for swimming, surfing, and basal lounging.

For retirees connected the go, San Diego besides has an planetary airdrome and 2 downtown cruise vessel terminals serving 10 large cruise lines. The Mexican borderline metropolis of Tijuana is astir 30 minutes distant by car.

Strong Local Economy

San Diego has a solid, well-diversified system with large sectors including aerospace, defense, beingness sciences, manufacturing, and tourism. The region is besides location to 2 twelve universities, colleges, and assemblage colleges.

Those employers gully a well-educated workforce, with salaries to match. The mean household income successful San Diego was $122,832 successful 2022-2023, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, compared with the nationalist mean of $97,911. That accounts, successful part, for higher section prices.          

Limited Housing Supply

The lodging marketplace successful San Diego ranks arsenic “very competitive,” according to the existent property website Redfin. That request is driven by regular full-time residents and second-home owners, including retirees.

Another origin is section zoning policies. While not uncommon successful California oregon overmuch of the U.S., San Diego’s zoning policies heavy favour single-family homes implicit multi-family units. A 2022 study from the Othering & Belonging Institute astatine the University of California, Berkeley, concluded that, “the San Diego region’s residential areas are dominated by single-family-only zoning, stifling the improvement of denser lodging options, perpetuating radical and economical exclusion, and shaping entree to accidental for millions of Californians.”

Retirement Considerations successful San Diego

So, to sum up immoderate of the large pros and cons of retiring to San Diego:

Pros: Beautiful Climate and Top-Tier Services

San Diego’s clime is apt a important attraction for retirees who similar to get retired and about. As the National Weather Service explains, “The prevailing winds and upwind are tempered by the Pacific Ocean, with the effect that summers are chill and winters lukewarm successful examination with different places on the aforesaid wide latitude.” That means progressive retirees tin bask the area’s galore beaches, parks, and different outdoor attractions for overmuch of the year.

San Diego besides has galore highly rated hospitals and wellness attraction facilities, arsenic good arsenic being well-situated for retirees who similar to leap connected a level oregon cruise vessel erstwhile the temper hits. Public proscription is limited, truthful residents are apt to privation a car, but downtown San Diego and its coastal neighborhoods are pedestrian-friendly. 

Cons: High Housing and Everyday Costs

The large downside to a San Diego retirement, arsenic we’ve indicated, is the outgo of living. That’s driven chiefly by lodging prices, which are not lone importantly higher than the nationalist mean but besides higher than galore comparable status hotspots.

Other, mundane costs, specified arsenic groceries and utilities, volition besides thrust up the bill. So volition authorities and section income and income taxes. In particular, anyone whose premier sources of status income are apt to beryllium pensions and IRAs, alternatively than Social Security, mightiness privation to look into a authorities that doesn’t taxation them.  

The Bottom Line

San Diego’s sizeable charms travel astatine a price. Prospective retirees should see however overmuch of a premium they’re consenting to wage for the area’s congenial weather, recreational opportunities, and top-flight wellness care, among different pluses. By comparing San Diego with different suitable status destinations, they tin determine whether the precocious terms tag is worthy it. Many whitethorn determine that it is.