San Diego
Prop 22 engaged-time floor (derived)
tap to expand auditWhat was directly verified: sandiego.gov Office of Labor Standards and Enforcement notice, dated October 1, 2025: "The City of San Diego's minimum wage rate will increase to $17.75 per hour, effective January 1, 2026." Confirmed by official sandiego.gov press release PDF (October 6, 2025) and city press coverage. California Proposition 22 (codified in Business and Professions Code § 7453 (the pay-floor provision; § 7451 is the independent-contractor classification section)) requires app-based rideshare and delivery contractors to receive at least 120% of the minimum wage at the location where the delivery is picked up, applied to engaged time only. $17.75 × 1.20 = $21.30/hr.
What was directly verified: sandiego.gov Office of Labor Standards and Enforcement notice, dated October 1, 2025: "The City of San Diego's minimum wage rate will increase to $17.75 per hour, effective January 1, 2026." Confirmed by official sandiego.gov press release PDF (October 6, 2025) and city press coverage. California Proposition 22 (codified in Business and Professions Code § 7453 (the pay-floor provision; § 7451 is the independent-contractor classification section)) requires app-based rideshare and delivery contractors to receive at least 120% of the minimum wage at the location where the delivery is picked up, applied to engaged time only. $17.75 × 1.20 = $21.30/hr.
What was assumed (not directly verified)
- That platforms (Uber Eats, DoorDash, Grubhub) are actually paying the Prop 22 floor in San Diego specifically. Same as LA/SF — we have no independent observation that platforms are complying.- The published
net_hourly_usd: 15.34is approximated (~72% of gross) — does not account for individual driver fuel/maintenance costs.
Caveats a journalist should understand
Identical caveats to LA/SF. This is the ENGAGED-TIME GROSS floor — what platforms are required to pay during active courses. It does NOT include waiting time between orders.No public body measures California delivery couriers' actual earnings per hour worked — Prop 22 carries no reporting requirement — so the gap between the engaged-time floor and full-shift reality is unquantified. 43/hr after expenses, far below the engaged-time floor. The $21.30 figure is what's legally mandated for engaged time, not what San Diego drivers take home per hour worked. Cite as "Prop 22 engaged-time floor" not "what San Diego drivers earn." Methodologically identical to LA and SF entries; only the city minimum wage value differs.
What would invalidate this
City minimum wage change (San Diego raises annually with CPI). Prop 22 repeal or amendment (currently legally challenged but standing as of 2026-04). California legislative reclassification of platform workers as employees.
Re-verify by
2026-10-27
Earnings (USD per hour)
Source: BLS OES + market estimate
What would you take home in San Diego?
Take-home, weekly
n/a
Take-home, monthly
n/a
Gross, weekly
$639
Gross, monthly
$2,769
Take-home is gross hourly minus an estimated tax/expense rate per country. See the methodology page for the derivation. This widget assumes you actually work the hours you set. For app-based delivery, a portion of logged-in time is unpaid waiting; the headline rate reflects engaged time only where regulators have defined it.
Cost of living vs. earnings
Pay vs. local labour market
Gross hourly is 56% of local minimum wage, 37% of local median.
Notes
Same Prop 22 caveats as LA/SF: this is the engaged-time legal floor, not actual full-shift earnings.No public body measures California delivery couriers' actual earnings per hour worked, Prop 22 carries no reporting requirement. So the gap between the engaged-time floor and full-shift reality is unquantified. 43/hr after expenses. San Diego city min wage rises annually by CPI (auto-adjustment, no City Council vote required).
View San Diego on the interactive map
See full source citations for this city on the sources page. Read about how each metric is computed in the methodology.
Primary earnings source: www.sandiego.gov/sites/default/files/2025-10/2025-10-6-city-of-san-diego-hourly-minimum-wage-will-increase-to-17.75-effective-jan-1-2026.pdf · archived