Apr 15, 2026 - Real Estate
What San Diego homeowners do for a living
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Business professionals and STEM workers are most likely to own homes in San Diego, according to a recent real estate analysis.
The big picture: The occupations with the highest homeownership rates haven't changed much in the past decade, but a few saw notable shifts.
- Health care and service industry employees had the biggest uptick, while transportation and public safety workers lost the most ground, per the National Association of Realtors analysis of census data.
By the numbers: Management and business professionals continue to lead, with roughly 61% owning homes in 2024, up slightly from 60% in 2014.
- STEM and technical workers' homeownership rate stayed flat but near the top at 59%.
- Health care employees (54%) and service workers (33%) rates each jumped 3% over the decade.
- Sales and real estate pros also gained, climbing to 49% from 47%.
- Education and social services workers (58%) fell slightly, while transportation and public safety dropped the most, from 45% to 39%.
Zoom in: A lack of affordable supply is keeping homeownership out of reach for nearly all of San Diego's median earners.
- The local median single-family home price grew to more than nine times the median household income in 2024, according to a recent Harvard report.
- And the income needed to buy a house keeps rising, making it a tough market even for those looking for starter homes or making high salaries.
What we're watching: The city is working to build more "middle housing" options for families, like cottages, duplexes and townhomes.
- That could lead to more homes costing $600,000 or $700,000 rather than the median $950,000, according to a study by real estate adviser Gary London.