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QA Engineer Salary and Equity in San Diego 2026
How much does a QA Engineer expect to make at San Diego-based startups? The average expected salary for QA Engineers in San Diego-based startups is 155k per year, with a range from 105k to 237k. These amounts were gathered from Wellfound self-reported data and represent the median salary range. The salary range for QA Engineers in San Diego startups varies depending on factors such as industry, experience, skills, and startup stage.
155.0k
Average Salary
3 years
Average years of experience
Salary
The average salary for a QA Engineer in San Diego is $155,000, which is 14.5% higher than the average San Diego startup salary of$135,375. QA Engineer salaries in San Diego are based on exclusive Wellfound data. All data is updated on a weekly basis. Factors that may influence salary include: years of experience, title, size of company, skill-set, and industry.
Top of market
$204,857/yr
Range $189k - $237k
Average
$155,000/yr
Range $134k - $193k
Below Average
$127,857/yr
Range $105k - $168k
Industries
The highest average salary a QA Engineer in San Diego can get in Computers, that is $198,500. This pay is 2.5% higher than the average QA Engineer salary in San Diego, which is $193,700. The highest-paying industries in 2023 are: Computers (avg $198,500 per year), Consumer Electronics (avg $198,500 per year), Artificial Intelligence (avg $192,500 per year).
Tech Stack
The highest average salary a QA Engineer in San Diego can get with AWS, that is $241,000. This pay is 78.0% higher than the average salary in San Diego startups, which is $135,375. Salary range for specific skills will vary based on the supply and demand in the current market.
Top Tech Stacks
The top-paying QA Engineer skills in San Diego of 2026 are:
1. AWS
$241k
2. GCP
$220k
3. Perl
$171.5k
4. Android
$168k
5. Swift
$165k
6. C#
$153k
7. Docker
$151k
8. Selenium
$132.5k
9. C++
$130k
10. C
$130k
Years of experience
Below Average
Average
Top of Market
The highest average salary a QA Engineer in San Diego can get with 10+ years of experience, that is $220,000. This pay is 62.5% higher than the average salary in San Diego startups, which is $135,375. The salary range varies with years of experience and depends on other factors such as skill set, size of company, and industry.
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