How San Diego is run
Who runs San Diego, what it costs, and where your money goes
The city manager, council pay, the budget, your property tax bill and who provides each service, from San Diego's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs San Diego
The elected mayor heads the city government and appoints its top administrator and department heads. The council passes laws, adopts the budget and sets the tax rate.
What they are paid
San Diego city staff
13,044 full-time-equivalent positions, including Police (general fund) 2,697, Fire-Rescue (general fund) 1,406. FY2026-27. Budgeted full-time equivalent positions in all funds, 18.25 fewer than in FY2026. The general fund has 8,127.74. City of San Diego · Jun 23, 2026
The annual Salary Ordinance sets pay ranges for each job class. We found no city-published list of pay by employee name. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is San Diego in the red?
Cities must pass a balanced budget, so "profit" and "deficit" mean something different here. The useful questions: does the city's everyday money (the general fund) cover its everyday costs, how much does it keep in savings compared with its own target, and how big are its pension and debt bills.
The city's own outlook
The city's FY2027-2031 Five-Year Financial Outlook projected deficits through FY2031. The FY2027 budget is balanced, but uses $40.8 million in one-time resources for a net structural deficit of about $23.1 million, about 1.0% of general fund spending. It again delays a planned reserve contribution of about $80.1 million. City of San Diego · Jun 23, 2026
Savings against the city's own target
Unassigned general fund balance: $139M (2025-06-30). The city's own target: Build general fund reserves to 16.7% of average operating revenue by FY2030: an 8.0% Emergency Reserve and an 8.7% Stability Reserve. The city did not meet its FY2025 interim targets of $126.5 million (Emergency) and $111.8 million (Stability) after suspending contributions. On June 30, 2025 the Emergency Reserve was $107.6 million (committed) and the $138.9 million unassigned balance included the $99.5 million Stability Reserve. City of San Diego · Dec 17, 2025
Why we skip the "budgeted deficit": many cities plan to dip into savings, then spend less than planned. The audited result tells you what really happened.
Where the money comes from and goes
The general fund only: the city's everyday money for FY2026-27.
Comes from
- Property tax$881M · 39%
- Sales tax$387M · 17%
- Charges for current services$375M · 17%
- Hotel tax (transient occupancy)$170M · 8%
- Other local taxes (SDG&E and other franchise fees, property transfer tax)$118M · 5%
- Transfers in from other funds$112M · 5%
- Use of money and property (Mission Bay leases, rents, interest)$96.7M · 4%
- Other (licenses and permits, fines, grants, misc.)$119M · 5%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Police$718M · 32%
- Fire-Rescue$402M · 18%
- Citywide program expenditures$215M · 10%
- Parks and Recreation$196M · 9%
- Transportation$134M · 6%
- City Attorney$103M · 5%
- Library$74.3M · 3%
- Stormwater$68.3M · 3%
- Other departments$346M · 15%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Most of a San Diego property-tax bill is the 1% base levy. Voter-approved debt adds about 0.216% for schools and 0.012% for city bonds.
1¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of San Diego
- 1% base levy (county, city, schools and others)1 · 81%
- Schools and community colleges (voter-approved debt)0.21604 · 18%
- City of San Diego (voter-approved debt)0.012 · <1%
- Total (% of assessed value)1.22804
FY2024-25 direct and overlapping rates for property in the city of San Diego (San Diego County). City of San Diego · Dec 17, 2025
See what a San Diego home costs each year, line by line →Who provides your services
Not everything in San Diego is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe citySan Diego Police DepartmentCity of San Diego · Jun 23, 2026
- FireThe citySan Diego Fire-Rescue DepartmentCity of San Diego · Jun 23, 2026
- WaterThe cityCity of San Diego Water UtilityCity of San Diego · Jun 23, 2026
- Trash and recyclingThe cityCity of San Diego Environmental Services (Solid Waste Management and Recycling)City of San Diego · Jun 23, 2026
- StreetsThe cityCity of San Diego Transportation DepartmentCity of San Diego · Jun 23, 2026
- ParksThe cityCity of San Diego Parks & RecreationCity of San Diego · Jun 23, 2026
- LibraryThe citySan Diego Public LibraryCity of San Diego · Jun 23, 2026
- Municipal airportsThe cityCity of San Diego (Airports Fund)City of San Diego · Jun 23, 2026
Compared with similar cities
The cities in this state closest in population that we cover. Read it for scale, not as a ranking: cities provide different services.
| Per city | FresnoCA | San FranciscoCA | San JoseCA | San DiegoCA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 560,948 | 845,658 | 980,434 | 1,419,531 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $328,932 | $397,160 | $456,015 | Not confirmed |
| Council member pay | $97,184 | $180,128 | $171,257 | $183,545 |
| General fund per resident | $974 | $8,986 | $1,953 | $1,590 |
| Debt per resident | $1,556 | $29,826 | $2,651 | $2,869 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $-620 | $5,043 | $2,616 | $2,216 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 8.8 | 38.7 | 7.1 | 9.2 |
Figures as shown in each city's section, divided by its population. Years differ by state, and pension figures are measured differently in each state (each city page says how).
What San Diego publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Yes: Adopted budget posted online City of San Diego
- No: City manager's contract findable onlineSan Diego has no city manager; the mayor eliminated the chief operating officer post in 2025. We found no contract or salary for the Chief Financial Officer. City of San Diego
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member onlineCouncil resolutions posted online carry a vote table listing each council member, e.g. the Oct. 20, 2025 vote confirming the CFO. City of San Diego
- Yes: Meeting videos and minutes onlineThe City Clerk's agenda site posts council agendas, results summaries with a meeting video link, and minutes. City of San Diego
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentA June 30, 2026 CFO memo states council pay of $183,545 and mayor pay of $244,727 for FY2026, still in effect in FY2027. City of San Diego
- Partly: Employee pay published City of San Diego
Questions to ask your council
- The FY2027 budget delays a planned general fund reserve contribution of about $80.1 million. How will the city reach its 16.7% reserve goal by FY2030?
- The FY2027 budget uses $40.8 million in one-time resources and has a net structural deficit of about $23.1 million. What ongoing changes will close that gap?
- In FY2025 the general fund spent $145.0 million more than it took in before transfers, and its balance fell $115.8 million. What will keep that from repeating?
- The city employees' retirement system was 76.76% funded, with a $3.15 billion net pension liability. How fast will yearly pension payments grow?
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