Medical Assistant salary in San Diego, CA: $49,420 median.
BLS reports occupational wages for the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metropolitan statistical area (CBSA 41740), which includes San Diego, Chula Vista and Carlsbad and surrounding communities. Figures describe that whole area, not San Diego city limits.
Medical Assistants in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metropolitan area earned a median annual wage of $49,420 in May 2025, according to BLS (OEWS, SOC 31-9092); the OEWS mean annual wage was $53,430. That median is 8% above the U.S. median of $45,690. BLS estimates about 9,370 people work in this occupation across the metro.
Data Among the 224 metro areas whose estimate for this occupation meets TryHired's reliability rule, this metro ranks 26 by median wage.
Data Separately, BEA puts 2024 price levels across the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metropolitan area at 111.9 (U.S. = 100): prices for the average consumer are about 12% above the national level. That is context, not an adjusted salary. Cost of living in San Diego, CA.
What area these numbers cover
Data The BLS geography behind every figure on this page.
- Search label
- San Diego, CA
- BLS source geography
- San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA
- Geography type
- Metropolitan Statistical Area
- CBSA code
- 41740
- States
- California
- Delineation
- OMB Bulletin 23-01, as used by BLS OEWS May 2025
Local, state and national pay
Data Same occupation (SOC 31-9092), same BLS release (May 2025).
| Geography | Median annual wage | Mean annual wage | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA (metro, CBSA 41740) | $49,420 | $53,430 | 9,370 |
| California (state) | $49,660 | $55,100 | 117,060 |
| United States | $45,690 | $46,120 | 817,870 |
Medical Assistant salary in California · National Medical Assistant salary · Careers in San Diego, CA.
Data Nationally, BLS projects employment in this occupation to change +12.9% from 2025 to 2035. BLS does not publish metro projections in this dataset, so that is national context, not a local forecast.
Reliable metro medians in California
Data Metro areas that include part of this state and pass the reliability rule.
Use the local number
Advice Uses only what you type. A local, sourced median is easier to agree to than a national one.
How this page is built
BLS OEWS May 2025 estimates for the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metropolitan statistical area (CBSA 41740) and SOC 31-9092 (Medical Assistants). San Diego, CA is the search label for that area; BLS does not publish city-limit wages. Employment is the number of people working in the occupation (excluding the self-employed), not job openings. Ranks use only metro estimates that pass the reliability rule (500+ jobs, employment PRSE ≤ 20%, mean-wage PRSE ≤ 10%, non-degenerate distribution); suppressed values are never imputed. Searches this page answers include “medical assistant salary san diego”, “how much do medical assistants make in san diego”, “how much does a medical assistant make in san diego” (Ahrefs, U.S.).
- Cost of living: wages are not adjusted for local prices.
- Pay at a specific employer, in one city's limits, or for self-employed workers.
- Local outlook: BLS projections here are national.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 metropolitan-area estimates (2018 SOC; metropolitan statistical areas per OMB Bulletin 23-01), public domain.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections program, national occupational projections 2025–35 (no metro projections are published in this dataset).
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024 (released February 19, 2026).
More for Medical Assistants
What the job is, skills, tools, pay and related roles.
Open →SalaryMedical Assistant salaryPay by percentile, state and metro, with a negotiation script.
Open →How to becomeMedical Assistant how to becomeEducation, training and the skills to build first.
Open →ResumeMedical Assistant resumeKeywords, bullet formulas and the skills to prove.
Open →Interview questionsMedical Assistant interview questionsQuestions with what they test, plus practice mode.
Open →Career changeMedical Assistant career changeWhere these skills transfer, with skill match and pay change.
Open →Free toolCheck your resumeParsed text, evidence per bullet, fixes first.
Open →