San Diego Police Department: pay, hiring and what the job is like

The largest agency in the county. Patrols the City of San Diego.

Department size

2,031 sworn

Budgeted for FY2026, with more than 200 vacant

Chief

Scott Wahl

Chief of Police (the City's 36th Chief of Police, promoted June 7, 2024)

About San Diego Police

Filled: San Diego city limits, within western San Diego County. Outlines: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files, 2023, 1:500,000.

To maintain public safety by providing the highest quality police services to all of our communities.Mission statement, source

Area covered: Polices the city limits of San Diego. The department's home page lists 372.4 square miles in the City of San Diego and 1.41 million residents (as of Feb. 2026).
Headquarters: 1401 Broadway, San Diego, CA 92101
Stations: 9 area commands plus Traffic Division, Police Plaza and the headquarters building; the City is divided into 19 service areas and 125 neighborhoods
Founded: 1889
Specialty units: SWAT/SRT, Canine Unit, ABLE (Air Support), Motor Officer, Harbor Unit, Accident Investigation
First assignment: Patrol

Departments whose areas border this one. Most applicants shortlist by where they want to work.

San Diego Police

Average of 11

12am3am6am9am12pm3pm6pm9pm

Darker means a larger share of stops in that hour.

The contract approved in September 2026 has no raises until July 2028.

More than 200 of 2,031 budgeted officer positions were vacant, per the city budget analyst in March 2026.

Colors, fonts and logo from sandiego.gov.

Photo: Downtown San Diego skyline. St Diego Skyline Panorama 2013.jpg by Tuxyso, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and tinted.