In Oakland, 57% of the 317 job postings we track list a pay range, and the median posted pay is $177,000 a year. 8.2% are remote, 8.5% are entry level, and 40% have been open for more than 60 days (data as of October 2026).
What stands out
A $205,000 posted salary in the San Francisco area buys about what $177,500 buys in the average US metro area, because prices here run 16% above the national average.
Housing costs run 95% above the US average here (BEA regional price parities).
After adjusting for local prices, the typical worker's official median wage ($74,500) is worth $64,000 in average-US dollars, 5th of 99 metro areas.
73.7% of open job postings list a pay range, the highest of 99 metro areas.
21.5% of postings are remote, the highest of 99 metro areas.
San Francisco compared with similar-sized metro areas: the median wage divided by the local price level (US average prices = 100). Download this chart (SVG)
317open postings from 75 employers
57%list a pay range (#9 of 71 published cities)
$177,000median posted pay (middle half: $135,000 to $211,500), from 174 postings with pay
8.2%remote, 0% hybrid
42 daysmedian time a posting has been open; 40% over 60 days
$74,500official median wage for all jobs in the metro area (BLS)
8.5%entry-level postings
CA requires employers to include a pay range in job postings (since 2023).
The metro area's unemployment rate was 4.6% in 2026-08 (4.9% a year earlier) (BLS, not seasonally adjusted). Across California, employers had 674,000 job openings in 2025-12, an openings rate of 3.6% (BLS JOLTS). Indeed's own measure of job postings in the metro area is 28.6% below its February 2020 level and 14.9% higher than a year ago (Indeed Hiring Lab, 2026-10-02).
Posted pay vs official wages
Kind of job
Median posted pay
Closest official occupation
Official median wage (BLS, May 2025)
Software developers
$192,500 19 postings
software developers
$186,500
Official wages are the Bureau of Labor Statistics median annual wage for all workers in that occupation in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metro area. Posted pay is the middle of the ranges in open postings, so the two measure different things: pay for open jobs versus pay for everyone already employed.
Posted pay by kind of job in Oakland
Kind of job
Median posted pay
Postings with pay
Nursing and clinical care
$262,500
10
Product and design
$227,000
10
Sales
$195,000
11
Software developers
$192,500
19
Marketing
$157,000
10
Finance and accounting
$139,000
11
Kinds of job are grouped by title wording. Pay is the midpoint of the range in the posting, annualized for hourly postings.
Who is hiring, by industry
Industry
Postings
Software & Technology
110
Healthcare & Life Sciences
36
Real Estate & Construction
33
Manufacturing & Industrial
30
Other
28
Consulting & Professional Services
28
Employers with the most openings
Fivetran: 51 postings
Everlaw: 26 postings
Charles River Associates: 19 postings
Esselenvironmental: 17 postings
DoorDash USA: 14 postings
What applications ask in Oakland
Among 82 application forms we read: 19.5% ask applicants for a salary expectation, 82.9% ask about visa sponsorship, 61% include the equal-opportunity section, and 2.4% carry an AI-use notice. Question wording only; no applicant answers are ever collected.
What your paycheck buys here
Prices in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA area run 16% above the national average, and housing runs 95% above it. The official median wage for all jobs is $74,500, which is worth $64,000 in average-US dollars. The median posted pay of $205,000 is worth $177,500.
Local prices compared with the national average, where 100 is the US average. Download this chart (SVG)Median wages for the ten occupations with the most workers here (worker count in parentheses). Download this chart (SVG)Official median wage next to the median pay in open postings for the same jobs. Download this chart (SVG)Which industries have the most open postings in our data. Download this chart (SVG)
Postings that list several cities count in each one. This covers employers whose career pages we read, not every job in Oakland. Methodology · All cities (CSV)
