Principal Civil Engineer Salary in San Diego, CA

How much does a Principal Civil Engineer make in San Diego, CA?

As of April 01, 2025, the average annual salary for a Principal Civil Engineer in San Diego, CA is $182,582. Salary.com reports that pay typically ranges from $163,559 to $205,468, with most professionals earning between $146,240 and $226,304.

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Salary range for a Principal Civil Engineer

$163,559 to $205,468

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Principal Civil Engineer

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Job Openings for Principal Civil Engineer in San Diego, CA

What does a Principal Civil Engineer do?

Common responsibilities of a Principal Civil Engineer

Provides technical oversight, reviews plans by private developers, inspects work in progress and ensures that all work complies with contract specifications and applicable codes and standards.

August 03, 2022

Support the Business Unit Profit Center Manager as required in efforts to market and obtain future civil-structural work from new or existing clients .

February 10, 2023

Manage construction schedules and budgets, negotiate contract change orders and maintain necessary.

March 21, 2023

Assists Technical VP and Regional Director in expanding on existing markets in local region.

March 25, 2023

Participates in the selection of contractors and administers professional service contracts.

April 14, 2023

Reviews/develops all proposals for technical division for projects managed by their office.

April 14, 2023

Attends meetings on all types of engineering systems and interacts with internal and external customers to provide assistance as needed.

April 22, 2023

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Principal Civil Engineer Salary By Experience Levels in San Diego, CA

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RELEVANT JOB EXPERIENCE

Length of experience is a pay differentiator. Those with greater experience may have an advantage in negotiating salary. For those with less experience, other factors such as education or special skills could impact your pay. Please visit Professional Salary Report for more details.

Principal Civil Engineer Salary By Level of Education in San Diego, CA

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LEVEL OF EDUCATION

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Average Salary Range for Principal Civil Engineer in San Diego, CA

Average Base Salary

Core compensation

163559

205468

182582

Average Total Cash Compensation

Includes base and annual incentives

167250

214774

189417

What is the average salary for Principal Civil Engineer in 2025?

These charts show the average base salary (core compensation), as well as the average total cash compensation for the job of Principal Civil Engineer in San Diego, CA. The base salary for Principal Civil Engineer ranges from $163,559 to $205,468 with the average base salary of $182,582. The total cash compensation, which includes base, and annual incentives, can vary anywhere from $167,250 to $214,774 with the average total cash compensation of $189,417.

View Average Salary for Principal Civil Engineer as table

	Average Salary	Average Salary Range
Base Salary	$182,582	$163,559 - $205,468
Bonus	$6,835	$3,690 - $9,306
Total Pay	$189,417	$167,250 - $214,774

* Base Salary represents gross income before taxes and deductions. It does not include additional pay such as benefits, bonuses, profit sharing or commissions.

* Total Pay combines base salary, bonuses, profit sharing, tips, commissions, overtime pay and other forms of cash earnings, as applicable for this job.

Principal Civil Engineer Salary Near San Diego, CA

CITY, STATE	AVERAGE SALARY RANGE	COMPARE TO San Diego, CA
CITY, STATE El Cajon, CA	AVERAGE SALARY RANGE $163,076 - $204,860	COMPARE TO San Diego, CA
CITY, STATE Chula Vista, CA	AVERAGE SALARY RANGE $163,559 - $205,468	COMPARE TO San Diego, CA 0%
CITY, STATE Escondido, CA	AVERAGE SALARY RANGE $162,653 - $204,329	COMPARE TO San Diego, CA
CITY, STATE Oceanside, CA	AVERAGE SALARY RANGE $163,181 - $204,993	COMPARE TO San Diego, CA
CITY, STATE Carlsbad, CA	AVERAGE SALARY RANGE $162,653 - $204,329	COMPARE TO San Diego, CA
CITY, STATE Murrieta, CA	AVERAGE SALARY RANGE $162,396 - $204,006	COMPARE TO San Diego, CA

See salaries for Principal Civil Engineer in locations close to San Diego, CA. Pay for the same job may vary based on the location and on the location and on other factors such as the size of company, the industry, and other local conditions.

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 Canyon and Point Loma fault zones are part of the San Andreas Fault system. About 40 miles (64 km) east of the bay are the Laguna Mountains in the Peninsular Ranges, which are part of the backbone of the American continents. The city lies on approximately 200 deep canyons and hills separating its mesas, creating small pockets of natural open space scattered throughout the city and giving it a hilly geography. Traditionally, San Diegans have built the...

Source: Wikipedia (as of 04/11/2019). Read more from Wikipedia

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163559

205468

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

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

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

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