How Much Does a Usability Engineer Make in San Diego, CA ? (2026 Salary Guide)

Usability Engineer Salary in San Diego, CA

As of April 01, 2026, the average annual salary for Usability Engineer in San Diego, CA is $167,185, equivalent to $80 per hour, $3,215 weekly, or $13,932 monthly. These figures, sourced from Salary.com’s real-time job posting scans, highlight competitive earning potential for Usability Engineer in cities like Santa Clara, San Jose, and Fremont.

Annually Salaries for Usability Engineer in San Diego, CA vary widely, spanning from $146,011 to $195,443. Most professionals fall between the 25th percentile ($156,101) and 75th percentile ($181,976), while top earners (90th percentile) make $195,443 per year. This $25,875 pay gap underscores opportunities for salary growth through certifications, specialized skills like Adobe or CRM, or targeting high-paying regions like District of Columbia or California.

Location and experience significantly influence earnings. For example, San Diego Usability Engineer often earn 1.9% higher than national averages. However, San Diego currently ranks 135 statewide for Usability Engineer job salary. Professionals are advised to focus on high-growth sectors like to offset market challenges.

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Usability Engineer Salaries by Percentile
Percentile Salary Location Last Updated
10th Percentile Usability Engineer Salary $146,011 San Diego, CA April 01, 2026
25th Percentile Usability Engineer Salary $156,101 San Diego, CA April 01, 2026
50th Percentile Usability Engineer Salary $167,185 San Diego, CA April 01, 2026
75th Percentile Usability Engineer Salary $181,976 San Diego, CA April 01, 2026
90th Percentile Usability Engineer Salary $195,443 San Diego, CA April 01, 2026
25% $156,101 10% $146,011 90% $195,443 75% $181,976 $167,185 50%(Median) Didn’t find job title? Click
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What is a Usability Engineer ?

Usability is the ease of use and learnability of a human-made object such as a tool or device. In software engineering, usability is the degree to which a software can be used by specified consumers to achieve quantified objectives with effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction in a quantified context of use. The object of use can be a software application, website, book, tool, machine, process, vehicle, or anything a human interacts with. A usability study may be conducted as a primary job function by a usability analyst or as a secondary job function by designers, technical writers, marke...

Source: Wikipedia (as of 04/18/2019). Read more from Wikipedia

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Job Openings for Usability Engineer in San Diego, CA

Career Path for this job

  1. Down a level:

    UX Designer III

    4 - 7 years experience
    Bachelor's Degree

  2. This Job:

    Usability Engineer

    7 + years experience
    Bachelor's Degree

  3. Up a level:

    UX Designer V

    10 + years experience
    Bachelor's Degree

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Understand the total compensation opportunity for a Usability Engineer, base salary plus other pay elements

Average Base Salary

Core compensation

 
 
 
156101
181976
167185

Average Total Cash Compensation

Includes base and annual incentives

 
 
 
171945
214299
192151
These charts show the average base salary (core compensation), as well as the average total cash compensation for the job of Usability Engineer in San Diego, CA. The base salary for Usability Engineer ranges from $156,101 to $181,976 with the average base salary of $167,185. The total cash compensation, which includes base, and annual incentives, can vary anywhere from $171,945 to $214,299 with the average total cash compensation of $192,151.

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156101
181976

 

About San Diego, California    According to SDSU professor emeritus Monte Marshall, San Diego Bay is "the surface expression of a north-south-trending, nested graben". The Rose Cany....More

San Diego, California  area prices were up 2.6% from a year ago

Usability Engineer Salary in popular cities: Los Angeles, San Jose, San Francisco

Skills associated with Usability Engineer: Design, Planning, TEAMS, User

Recently searched related titles: Staff Reliability Engineer, Usability Specialist, Staff Ux Researcher

Learn more about: Compensation Packages, Employee Flight Risk, Gender Pay Gap, Job Openings for This Role