Curators pay range in San Diego
New workers and the lowest-paid 10% earn about $60,020 a year or less, while the top 10% make $125,300 or more. The middle half of curators in San Diego earn between $73,930 and $104,630.
- $60K10th
- $74K25th
- $76KMedian
- $105K75th
- $125K90th
median average · bar = middle 50% of workers
| Pay level | Per year | Per month | Per hour* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average | $88,290 | $7,358 | $42.45 |
| Median | $75,800 | $6,317 | $36.44 |
| Entry level (25th percentile) | $73,930 | $6,161 | $35.54 |
| Experienced (75th percentile) | $104,630 | $8,719 | $50.30 |
*Hourly figures assume 2,080 paid hours a year.
Curators salary after taxes in San Diego
On the average salary of $88,290, a single filer in San Diego takes home about $66,823 a year, or $5,569 a month and $2,570 every two weeks. Taxes take 24% of gross pay.
Single filer, standard deduction: federal income tax (2026 brackets), Social Security, Medicare and state income tax (2025 rules). California State Disability Insurance (1.3% of wages, paid by employees) is not included.
Is San Diego a good place for curators? Pay vs. cost of living
Prices in the San Diego area are 12% above the U.S. average (BEA price parity 111.9), so the average $88,290 buys what about $78,910 would buy in a typical U.S. metro. This job pays 1.3 times the median wage of all jobs in San Diego ($58,690). A typical home costs $946,365, or 10.7 years of this average salary before tax.
Curators salary in other California cities
San Diego ranks 2nd of 6 California metro areas for this job; San Francisco pays the most ($98,200).
- San Francisco$98,200
- San Diego$88,290
- Los Angeles$85,350
- Sacramento$84,900
- Riverside$75,370
- Santa Maria$72,660
Highest-paying cities for curators
New York, NY pays this job the most of the metro areas we cover ($99,910).
- New York, NY$99,910
- New Haven, CT$99,830
- San Francisco, CA$98,200
- Ann Arbor, MI$95,110
- Washington, DC$93,030
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Curators salary in San Diego: questions
How much do curators make an hour in San Diego?
$42.45 an hour on average, and $36.44 at the median (BLS, May 2025).
What is the entry-level curators salary in San Diego?
The lowest-paid 10% earn about $60,020 a year and the 25th percentile is $73,930, a fair guide to starting pay.
What is the curators take-home pay in San Diego?
About $66,823 a year ($5,569 a month) for a single filer on the average salary of $88,290. California State Disability Insurance (1.3% of wages, paid by employees) is not included.
Do curators earn more in San Diego than elsewhere?
The average here is 14% more than the U.S. metro average for this job ($77,297).
Sources and how to read this page
- Wages: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 estimates for metropolitan areas. SOC code 25-4012; area San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA (41740). Relative standard error of the mean wage: 2.0%.
- Cost of living: Bureau of Economic Analysis regional price parities (RPP), 2024; 100 = U.S. average.
- Home value: Zillow Home Value Index. Typical-wage figure: OEWS all occupations, same metro.
- Take-home pay: Single filer, standard deduction: federal income tax (2026 brackets), Social Security, Medicare and state income tax (2025 rules). California State Disability Insurance (1.3% of wages, paid by employees) is not included.
- Job concentration: location quotient 1.38, this job is 1.4 times as concentrated as in the U.S. overall.
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