What Does Landscape Lighting Cost to Install in San Diego?
A basic low-voltage landscape lighting install in San Diego runs roughly $2,500 to $6,000 for 10 to 20 fixtures, wire, and a transformer. Larger estate systems with path, uplight, and step fixtures across a half-acre lot generally land between $8,000 and $20,000, depending on fixture grade and trenching.
Last updated: July 2026
People call us in June and July. The days are long, the backyard finally looks good, and then the sun drops and the whole thing disappears at 8pm.
That is when landscape lighting earns its keep.
What actually drives the price
Three things move the number more than anything else. Fixture count, fixture quality, and how far the wire has to run. A tidy front-yard system with a dozen path lights and two uplights on a specimen tree is a one-day job for our crew. An estate in Rancho Santa Fe with lighting wrapped around a pool, a long driveway, and stone steps is a different animal.
We run everything at 12 volts off a transformer. On a recent Del Mar job we set a 300-watt stainless transformer and split the load across two runs so the far fixtures did not dim from voltage drop. Over about 100 feet of 12-gauge wire you lose enough voltage to matter, so we upsize the wire or add a tap. Cheap installers skip that and the last three lights look brown.
LED vs halogen: which is worth it in San Diego?
We stopped installing halogen years ago. The math is not close.
| Factor | LED | Halogen |
|---|---|---|
| Fixture wattage | 3 to 7 watts | 20 to 35 watts |
| Bulb life | 25,000+ hours | 2,000 to 4,000 hours |
| Transformer load | Low, more fixtures per run | High, fewer fixtures per run |
| Heat | Runs cool | Runs hot, harder on lenses |
With LED you can hang more fixtures on a smaller transformer and you are not up on a ladder swapping bulbs every couple of summers. The coastal salt air is already rough on hardware. We use brass and copper fixtures near the water because painted aluminum corrodes fast in La Jolla and Cardiff.
Where the money goes on a typical job
For a mid-size San Diego backyard, here is roughly how a $4,500 system breaks down: fixtures and lamps run about half, the transformer and wire another chunk, and the rest is labor for trenching, connections, and aiming. Aiming matters more than people expect. We come back after dark to adjust throw and glare, because a light aimed wrong washes out the plant it is supposed to show.
Permits and HOA rules
Low-voltage lighting usually does not need a permit in the City of San Diego, which keeps it simple. But some coastal HOAs in Carmel Valley and Del Mar cap fixture brightness and ban up-lighting that spills past a property line, so we check the rules before we design the layout.
Lighting is also the cheapest way to make a finished yard feel finished. If you already paid for pavers or a hardscape patio, a lighting pass shows off the work you already did instead of letting it vanish at dusk.
We install and service landscape lighting across La Jolla, Del Mar, and North County. See the full service breakdown on our landscape lighting page. Arcadian Landscape is owner-led by Evan Weisman, a licensed C-27 Landscape Contractor, bonded and insured. If we light your yard, mention your neighborhood in a Google review so nearby homeowners can find real local work.