How Much Does it Cost to Live in San Diego?

If you’re interested in purchasing a home in San Diego in 2025 and you’re curious aout what homes sold for in San Diego in 2024, then this blog is for you! This blog will breakdown some of San Diego’s most expensive and inexpensive neighborhoods based on data from 2024. We’ll explain the median price of single-family homes and condos in San Diego, which neighborhoods are the most inexpensive and expensive in San Diego, and the recommended yearly household income needed to afford a home in San Diego.

Median Home Prices and Down Payment Amount

It probably is not surprising that single family homes cost more than condos/townhomes/apartments in San Diego. When looking at the data from 2024, we can see that the median price for Single Family homes in San Diego County at the end of 2024 was $1,010,000, while for condos/townhomes/apartments it was $661,000.

According to data from Redfin and Realtor.com, most people are putting down 20% to purchase their home in San Diego. This means that on average most buyers have saved up anywhere from $120,000 to $200,000 to purchase a home in San Diego.

Cheapest and Most Expensive Neighborhoods

We analyzed the data for 92101, 92116, 92104, 92103, and 92106 from 2024 to see which homes were the most expensive and which were the most inexpensive. We did exclude 92101 when looking at single-family homes since there were only two single-family homes sold in 2023 in that zip code and four sold in 2024. Here’s what we found for 2024:

Most Expensive (highest median sale price):

The most expensive neighborhood for single-family homes was Point Loma (92106), which had a median sale price of $1,822,500.
The most expensive neighborhood for Townhouse-Condos is also Point Loma (92106), with a median sale price of $1,035,000.

Biggest Price Increases (largest year-over-year price jump):

The neighborhood that saw the biggest price increase for single-family homes was Point Loma (92106), which increased from $1,700,000 to $1,822,500, a 7.2% increase.
The neighborhood that saw the biggest price increase for Townhouse-Condos was also Point Loma (92106), which increased from $975,000 to $1,035,000, 6.2% increase.

Most Inexpensive (lowest median sale price):

Most inexpensive neighborhood for single-family homes is North Park (92104), with a median sale price of $1,200,000.
Most inexpensive neighborhoods for Townhouse-Condos are Kensington and Normal Heights (92116), with median sale price of $535,000.

Biggest Price Decreases (largest year-over-year price decrease):

Prices for single-family homes increased in all neighborhoods except Kensington and Normal Heights (92116), where it decreased from $1,257,895 to $1,250,000, a 0.6% decrease.
Prices for Townhouse-Condos decreased in Hillcrest, Mission Hills (92103), and Downtown (92101), with Downtown having the biggest decrease of 2.7% from $745,000 to $725,000.

How Much Money Do I Need to Make to Purchase a Home in San Diego?

In pretty much every San Diego neighborhood, your household would need to earn around six figures to be able to afford the monthly payments on a home. For each example below, we’ll be assuming that a person is following the rule that only around 30% of their income should go towards a housing payment and that they put 20% down on a home purchase in 2024.

For example, if we were to look into one of San Diego’s more expensive neighborhoods for single-family homes like Point Loma, a monthly payment could be around $10,000. This means that if you’re following the rule that only around 30% of your income should be dedicated to housing, then the household income should be around $400,000 a year. Alternatively, in one of San Diego’s more inexpensive neighborhoods for Single Family homes like North Park, a monthly payment would be around $7,500 for a single family home. This means that the household income should be around $300,000 per year.

Now, if we look at condos, a monthly payment for a Downtown SD condo could be around $3,770 if you put 20% down. This means that the household income should be around $150,000 a year. In one of San Diego’s more inexpensive neighborhoods for condos, Kensington and Normal Heights, a monthly payment would be around $3,400 for a condo. This means that the household income should be around $136,000.

Conclusion

In conclusion, housing in San Diego is expensive, with prices increasing in almost every neighborhood that was reviewed. It’s recommended to save up a 20% down payment, and to buy a home whose monthly payment will work for your budget. With the right guidance by your side, an experienced real estate agent can walk you through this process to ensure that you not only find the right home, but that the process goes smoothly.

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Melina Rissone

Having sold properties for more than 20 years and earning various prestigious awards throughout the course of her career, Melina Rissone has more than earned her reputation as one of San Diego's most skilled and trustworthy real estate brokers selling homes and luxury condominiums. Her loyal clientele would share that Melina brings structure and planning to chaos. She specializes in supporting her clients and their referrals; families and individuals going thru divorce and seniors and active adults planning their moves and financial decisions during their retirement years..

Coldwell Banker Global Luxury and Institute of Luxury Home Marketing certified.
Cartus Network Inventory Specialist and Cartus Network Marketing Specialist since 2015.
RCS-D Designation, a Real Estate Collaboration Specialist for Divorce.
SRES Certification through NAR is a Seniors Real Estate Specialist certification.
Melina is bilingual in English and German.
Recognized as the Top 4% of all real estate brokers in San Diego County in 2021 and the Top 3% of Coldwell Banker International.
Coldwell Banker Presidents Elite Award.
Recognize as the Top 2% of Coldwell Banker West in 2024.
Coldwell Banker Global Luxury and Institute of Luxury Home Marketing Certified.