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Startup Salaries and Equities in San Diego 2026
What is the average startup salary in San Diego? The average expected salary for San Diego-based startups is 114 per year, with a range from 55k to 259k. These amounts were gathered from Wellfound self-reported data and represent the median salary range. The startup salary range in San Diego varies depending on factors such as industry, experience, skills, and startup stage.
114.0k
Average Salary
2 years
Average years of experience
Salary
The average startup salary in San Diego is $114,042, which is 1.1% higher than the average startup salary of $112,833. Salaries in San Diego are based on exclusive Wellfound data. All data is updated on a weekly basis. Factors that may influence salary include: role, years of experience, title, size of company, skill-set, and industry.
Top of market
$202,042/yr
Range $145k - $259k
Average
$114,042/yr
Range $85k - $145k
Below Average
$69,417/yr
Range $55k - $90k
Industries
The highest average salary in San Diego employee can get in PaaS, that is $229,000. This pay is 12.1% higher than the average San Diego salary in startups, which is $204,300. The highest-paying industries in 2023 are: PaaS (avg $229,000 per year), Search (avg $227,500 per year), Aerial Robotics (avg $219,000 per year).
Tech Stack
The highest average salary in San Diego employees can get with Ruby, that is $197,500. This pay is 75.0% higher than the average salary in startups, which is $112,833. Salary range for specific skills will vary based on the supply and demand in the current market.
Top Tech Stacks
The top-paying developer skills in San Diego of 2026 are:
1. Ruby
$197.5k
2. Ruby on Rails
$197.5k
3. Java
$175k
4. AWS
$165k
5. Node.js
$160k
6. Javascript
$132k
7. GraphQL
$130k
8. Android
$125k
9. DynamoDB
$125k
10. PostgreSQL
$120k
Years of experience
Below Average
Average
Top of Market
The highest average salary in San Diego employee can get with 10+ years of experience, that is $57,000. This pay is 49.5% lower than the average salary in San Diego startups, which is $112,833. The salary range varies with years of experience and depends on other factors such as skill set, size of company, and industry.
Popular roles in San Diego
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