Short answer
San Diego County had 332 architecture offices with paid employees in 2023, employing 2,176 people, according to the Census Bureau; they averaged 6.6 employees, and 212 had fewer than five. California lets unlicensed designers draw wood-frame houses and buildings of up to four units of up to two stories, but not structural or seismic components. Anything larger needs a licensed architect or engineer, checked on the California Architects Board's license search.
- 332 architecture offices in San Diego County employ 2,176 people on a $224 million payroll.
- Offices average 6.6 employees, against 8.2 in the Los Angeles metro; only one has 100 or more.
- Unlicensed designers may draw wood-frame homes and up to four units of up to two stories plus a basement.
- Federal architecture work performed in San Diego County reached $18.3 million in fiscal 2025; local firms received $0.2 million.
- San Diego architects' median wage was $120,040 in May 2025 (BLS).
On this page
This report is for homeowners, developers, institutions and businesses deciding whether and whom to hire for design in San Diego County, for architects and designers weighing employers, and for B2B sellers whose customers are design firms.
San Diego County's architecture offices
County Business Patterns (CBP) 2023 reports NAICS 541310, Architectural Services, for the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA Metro Area (CBSA 41740), which is San Diego County:
| Measure (2023) | San Diego metro |
|---|---|
| Architecture offices | 332 |
| Employees | 2,176 |
| Annual payroll | $224,289,000 |
| Employees per office | 6.6 |
| Average annual pay | $103,074 |
| Share of US architecture offices | 1.46% of 22,805 |
CBP counts establishments with paid staff, not companies: a firm with offices downtown and in Carlsbad counts twice, and an architect or building designer working alone without employees isn't counted.
A market of small studios
| Employees at the office | Offices |
|---|---|
| 1 to 4 | 212 |
| 5 to 9 | 58 |
| 10 to 19 | 35 |
| 20 to 49 | 21 |
| 50 to 99 | 5 |
| 100 or more | Not published |
That's 305 offices with fewer than 20 employees and 26 with 20 to 99. The Census Bureau withholds every class from 100 employees up; the total less the published classes leaves one office of that size. The same release counts 1,159 engineering offices in the county with 22,711 employees, ten times the architecture workforce, and 289 interior design offices.
Do you need a licensed architect?
California's Architects Practice Act lets people who aren't licensed architects or engineers design some buildings, often called building designers. The California Architects Board's consumer guide lists them, citing Business and Professions Code sections 5537 and 5538:
| Project | Licensed architect or engineer required by state law? |
|---|---|
| Single-family home of wood-frame construction, up to two stories and a basement | No |
| Multiple dwellings of up to four units, wood frame, up to two stories and a basement, no more than four units per lot | No |
| Garages and other structures accessory to those buildings | No |
| Agricultural and ranch buildings of wood-frame construction | No, unless the building official finds an undue risk |
| Nonstructural storefronts, interior alterations, fixtures and cabinetwork | No |
| Any structural or seismic component, or anything that affects the building's safety | Yes |
| Larger or non-wood-frame buildings | Yes |
The guide adds that you should ask your local building department whether your project needs a licensed architect or engineer before you hire someone who isn't one, because building officials weigh local conditions such as earthquake activity, flood zones and soil. Even an exempt house will usually need a licensed engineer for its structure. Engineers can also lead larger projects: the guide says a licensed civil engineer may design any building except hospitals and public schools, and a structural engineer any building.
Checking and contracting
The Board licenses individual architects, not firms; verify the person who will sign your drawings with its license search. An architect must give you a written contract before work begins, with the services, the fee basis, their license number and how either side can end it; our Los Angeles report lists every required item. Anyone who uses the title architect, or advertises architectural services in California, must be licensed by the Board.
Federal work goes to firms from elsewhere
USAspending.gov shows that in fiscal 2025, contracts coded NAICS 541310 performed in San Diego County totaled $18.3 million, while firms located in the county received $0.2 million under the code. Federal agencies select architects on qualifications under FAR subpart 36.6, ranking firms before any fee is discussed. For a local studio, teaming with a firm that already holds federal work is a common way in.
Finding a San Diego architect
- Decide whether you need one, using the table above and a call to the permitting department.
- Search AIA San Diego's Architect Finder, which lists member firms; the chapter also publishes a "Why Hire An Architect?" page for clients.
- Ask for completed projects of your size and type within the same city or county jurisdiction, and visit one.
- Compare written contracts, not just fees. AIA's B105-2017 short form suits a small residential or commercial project.
Pay and jobs
BLS counted 1,280 architects in the metro in May 2025, with a mean wage of $123,640 and a median of $120,040, well above the Los Angeles metro's $104,170. Architectural and civil drafters numbered 1,130 at a mean of $79,500. NCARB counts 20,262 California architect licenses in 2025. AIA San Diego posts job openings, and SEC records list no public architecture company based in the county.
Selling to San Diego architecture firms
With 270 offices under ten employees, the buyer is almost always the principal, who also designs, manages and bills. Offers that take a task off the principal's desk sell; offers that need an implementation project don't.
Illustrative example. The company, prices and results are invented.
Mesa Structural (mesastructural.example) engineers wood-frame houses, additions and accessory dwellings, the projects where designers and small studios need a licensed engineer for the structure. It targets the 212 offices with one to four employees, keeps the 90 whose websites show residential work, and offers a fixed-fee structural package. Two emails and a call produce 14 conversations and six first projects at $3,500. Sorting 212 studios by project type is the slow part, and Bebop does that research for each one.
Subject: Structural for [studio]'s next house or ADU Hi [first name], Most of [studio]'s recent work looks residential, which is all we do. We engineer wood-frame houses, additions and ADUs for San Diego County permits, at a fixed fee agreed up front, and we answer plan check comments within five working days. Want a price on whatever you're drawing now? [Your name] [Company], [postal address]
Next step: see San Diego's builders in construction companies in San Diego.
Sources
- County Business Patterns (CBP), 2023, US Census Bureau, accessed 30 October 2026
- Consumer's Guide to Hiring an Architect, California Architects Board, December 2021
- License Search, California Architects Board, accessed 30 October 2026
- Spending by geography, NAICS 541310, fiscal 2025 contracts, USAspending.gov, accessed 30 October 2026
- FAR subpart 36.6, Architect-Engineer Services, Acquisition.gov, accessed 30 October 2026
- Architect Finder and Why Hire An Architect?, AIA San Diego, accessed 30 October 2026
- List of all current AIA Contract Documents, AIA Contract Documents, accessed 30 October 2026
- Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, metropolitan area estimates, US Bureau of Labor Statistics, accessed 30 October 2026
- NCARB by the Numbers 2026: jurisdictions, National Council of Architectural Registration Boards, accessed 30 October 2026
Written by the Bebop team at Blackpearl Group. Published .
Questions people ask
How many architecture firms are in San Diego?
The Census Bureau counted 332 architecture offices with paid employees in San Diego County in 2023, employing 2,176 people. They averaged 6.6 employees; 212 had fewer than five and only one had 100 or more. The count is of office locations with staff, so it leaves out architects and building designers who work alone, and counts a firm with two offices twice.
Do I need an architect to build a house in California?
Not always. Under Business and Professions Code sections 5537 and 5538, as the California Architects Board explains them, unlicensed people may design wood-frame single-family homes and buildings of up to four units of up to two stories plus a basement, and their garages. They may not design structural or seismic components, which need a licensed engineer or architect. Your building department may require more.
Who designs houses in California without an architect license?
Building designers and drafters, who may prepare plans for the exempt building types in Business and Professions Code sections 5537 and 5538, mainly wood-frame homes and small multifamily buildings of up to two stories. They can't call themselves architects or design structural or seismic elements, so most exempt projects still use a licensed engineer for the structure.
How much do architects make in San Diego?
The Bureau of Labor Statistics put the median annual wage for architects in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro at $120,040 in May 2025, with a mean of $123,640 and 1,280 employed. Architectural and civil drafters averaged $79,500. Census payroll data show $103,074 per employee at local architecture offices in 2023, a figure that includes every member of staff.