← Driver Wages: National Trend
Metro Wage Data · May 2025

Delivery Driver Wages in San Diego, CA

8,240 light truck and delivery drivers work in the San Diego metro area. The median wage is $21.96/hour 1.8% above the national median of $21.57, ranking #23 of 50 major metros on driver pay.

Median hourly
$21.96
national $21.57
Mean hourly
$24.69
national $23.45
Annualized (median)
$45,677
median × 2,080 hrs
Drivers in metro
8,240
SOC 53-3033

What drivers earn in San Diego

The spread matters as much as the median: the 10th-to-90th percentile range is what you compete against when hiring — and what your drivers see when they compare offers.

10th percentile
entry / new drivers
$17.66 · $36,733/yr
25th percentile
$19.62 · $40,810/yr
Median
the market rate
$21.96 · $45,677/yr
75th percentile
$24.71 · $51,397/yr
90th percentile
senior / specialized
$39.83 · $82,846/yr
For Fleet Operators

What a route day actually costs in San Diego

Wages aren’t your labor cost. Add payroll taxes, workers’ comp, and benefits (≈27% on top of base pay) and a median-wage driver in San Diego runs:

Fully-loaded hourly
$27.89
Per 8.5-hour route day
$237
Per driver, annually
$58,010

Driver pay is typically the largest single line in a last-mile P&L. Run your full cost structure — fuel, payments, maintenance, insurance, and San Diego-level wages — through the forecast tool to see where your margin is headed.

Forecast Your Fleet Costs →Plan Fleet Capacity →

Compare driver pay in other metros

San Jose, CA
$25.05/hr median (+14.1% vs San Diego)
San Francisco, CA
$24.43/hr median (+11.2% vs San Diego)
Los Angeles, CA
$22.36/hr median (+1.8% vs San Diego)
Sacramento, CA
$22.28/hr median (+1.5% vs San Diego)
Riverside–San Bernardino, CA
$21.90/hr median (-0.3% vs San Diego)
Philadelphia, PA-NJ-DE
$21.99/hr median (+0.1% vs San Diego)
All 50 metros + national trend →

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES), May 2025Light Truck Drivers (SOC 53-3033), cross-industry estimates for the San Diego metro area (CBSA 41740). Retrieved 2026-07-04. This occupation covers drivers of light trucks and delivery vans, including last-mile delivery. Annual figures are hourly × 2,080 hours. Fully-loaded cost assumes ≈27% burden for payroll taxes, workers’ comp, and benefits — Pexara’s standard modeling assumption; your burden varies by state and benefits package.