San Diego is grappling with a childcare and affordability crisis for housing that is pinching thousands of families to the point of breaking. San Diego’s case is unique compared to Sacramento’s or San Jose’s because of the perfect storm of off-the-roof rents added onto some of the highest childcare costs in the country—resulting in a double burden taking up close to half of family incomes and threatening the economic stability of working families throughout the region.
When rent and childcare rob half of your paycheck
A recent report by Children First Collective San Diego brings to light a sobering statistic: San Diego households spend about 42.6% of family income on rent and child care expenses in total. This record-breaking outlay easily beats the 30% benchmark for housing expenses alone, leaving households with almost no financial wiggle room for other basic necessities.
The statistics give a chilly portrait of economic struggle. Since the 2025 Area Median Income (AMI) in San Diego County is $130,800 for a household of four, most working families are stuck in the middle with increasing rents and record-level childcare prices with no break from it any time soon. The San Diego County median rent increased by 52% from 2018 to the first quarter of 2025, from $2,071.67 to $3,161.94.
San Diego rental market: Prices aren’t everything
The San Diego rental market is more cutthroat for work families. Recent data indicate the average rent across all types of properties in San Diego now stands at $3,115 per month with modest year-over-year increases of 4.1% county-wide and 9.3% city-wide. But these “modest” gains come on top of a couple of years of stratospheric rent growth.
The rental crisis is extremely acute when it is viewed in the framework of affordability. San Diego County renters must make $45.98 an hour—2.8 times the City of San Diego minimum wage—to pay the average asking monthly price of $2,391. There is an unbreakable gap that exceeds the financial capabilities of many working families, especially those in so-called essential jobs such as health care, education, and child care.
The degree of competition in the rental marketplace has only increased, with vacancy rates falling to 3.6% in the region and 3.12% in the city, far below the healthy level of 5-6% that generally affords tenants a plethora of options and landlords decent turnover.
Childcare: The hidden financial burden
As housing prices fill the headlines, childcare bills impose a similarly strangling economic cost on San Diego families. Raising a San Diego infant to provide it with childcare costs $22,400 per year, with monthly installments from $1,500 and as high as more than $2,000 depending on caregiver and infant’s age.
The scope of San Diego’s childcare crisis is wider than cost. Two-thirds of San Diego’s children live in “childcare deserts” with no affordable care available, leaving parents making impossible decisions about work and family care. Unavailable childcare doubles the affordability crisis, as high demand prices available care beyond reach.
New statistics from the YMCA of San Diego County document the daunting reality for families. For downtown San Diego (92104 ZIP code) child care homes, infant care averages $327.21 per week, with child care centers providing programs up to $549.17 per week for infant care. These costs translate into monthly fees of $1,400 to $2,400, a large percentage of most family budgets.
The spatial geography of financial burden
San Diego’s housing burden is geographically uneven throughout the region. The areas with higher lower-income concentrated populations are disproportionately bearing housing burden. San Diego contains 43% of its population with housing burden and 20% of its population severely housing burdened, paying over half their income towards housing.
The crisis disproportionately affects low-income communities and communities of color. Statistics indicate that 81% of San Diego County’s very low-income families spend over half of their income on housing expenses, as opposed to only 2% of moderate-income families. The disparity of this gap demonstrates how the crisis affects the region’s most vulnerable communities disproportionately.
Some areas are more stressed. Neighborhoods such as University, Linda Vista, southeastern Tierrasanta, City Heights, Barrio Logan, and Southeastern have particularly high housing burden rates, with families trading off housing costs with other necessary expenses.
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