Last updated:
Jobs in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA area: pay, hiring and remote work
The San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metro area has 17,941 open job postings from 1504 employers in our data. 73.7% list a pay range, the median posted pay is $205,000 a year, 21.5% are remote and 47% have been open 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.
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).
City by city inside the metro area
| Place | Postings | Employers | Pay listed | Median posted pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco, CA | 13514 | 1176 | 76.2% | $212,500 |
| San Mateo, CA | 521 | 61 | 76.6% | $199,500 |
| South San Francisco, CA | 456 | 31 | 62.6% | $185,000 |
| Redwood City, CA | 339 | 46 | 72.8% | $202,000 |
| Oakland, CA | 317 | 75 | 57% | $177,000 |
| Berkeley, CA | 273 | 30 | 84.6% | $166,500 |
| Menlo Park, CA | 260 | 29 | 79.1% | $200,000 |
| Fremont, CA | 251 | 39 | 49% | $170,500 |
| Foster City, CA | 232 | 13 | 81.4% | $215,000 |
| San Carlos, CA | 230 | 12 | 88.6% | $175,000 |
| Walnut Creek, CA | 147 | 51 | 42.4% | $145,000 |
| Pleasanton, CA | 140 | 32 | 40.8% | $152,500 |
| Hayward, CA | 117 | 24 | 65.7% | $150,000 |
| Emeryville, CA | 114 | 18 | 76.3% | $186,500 |
| Alameda, CA | 108 | 11 | 58.7% | $153,000 |
| Newark, CA | 107 | 8 | 80.4% | $171,000 |
| Burlingame, CA | 107 | 13 | 75.3% | $165,000 |
| Livermore, CA | 102 | 17 | 50.5% | $163,000 |
| San Leandro, CA | 81 | 14 | 73.1% | $167,500 |
| Concord, CA | 71 | 19 | 40.7% | $71,500 |
| San Bruno, CA | 69 | 5 | 55.6% | $197,500 |
| Brisbane, CA | 64 | 6 | 62.5% | $193,500 |
| San Rafael, CA | 55 | 18 | 29.6% | – |
| Novato, CA | 50 | 8 | n/a | – |
| San Ramon, CA | 46 | 12 | 60% | $187,000 |
| Dublin, CA | 27 | 9 | n/a | – |
| Union City, CA | 24 | 8 | n/a | – |
| Daly City, CA | 23 | 5 | 85.7% | – |
| Millbrae, CA | 22 | 5 | 52.4% | – |
| Richmond, CA | 21 | 15 | n/a | – |
| Pleasant Hill, CA | 21 | 7 | n/a | – |
| Brentwood, CA | 17 | 6 | 80% | – |
| Mill Valley, CA | 15 | 8 | n/a | – |
Places with at least 15 postings from 3 employers. Shading shows where median posted pay is higher. Pay figures need 8 postings with pay.
City pages: San Francisco, Oakland.
Posted pay vs official wages
| Kind of job | Median posted pay | Closest official occupation | Official median wage (BLS, May 2025) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Software developers | $231,000 2016 postings | software developers | $186,500 |
| Accountants | $120,500 50 postings | accountants and auditors | $110,500 |
| Data scientists | $225,000 154 postings | data scientists | $170,000 |
| People and recruiting | $170,000 309 postings | human resources specialists | $103,000 |
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
| Kind of job | Median posted pay | Postings with pay |
|---|---|---|
| Nursing and clinical care | $250,000 | 85 |
| Security and IT | $235,000 | 523 |
| Software developers | $231,000 | 2016 |
| Legal and compliance | $226,500 | 330 |
| Data scientists | $225,000 | 154 |
| Software engineering | $220,000 | 555 |
| Product and design | $211,500 | 773 |
| Finance and accounting | $191,000 | 383 |
| Data and analytics | $190,000 | 98 |
| Marketing | $190,000 | 722 |
| Operations and logistics | $187,500 | 526 |
| Sales | $180,000 | 869 |
| Engineering (other) | $175,000 | 231 |
| Customer support and success | $170,500 | 205 |
| People and recruiting | $170,000 | 309 |
| Accountants | $120,500 | 50 |
Who is hiring, by industry
| Industry | Postings |
|---|---|
| Software & Technology | 10045 |
| Healthcare & Life Sciences | 1449 |
| Financial Services | 1219 |
| Other | 931 |
| Logistics & Transportation | 843 |
| Manufacturing & Industrial | 707 |
| Energy & Utilities | 632 |
| Media & Entertainment | 480 |
| Consulting & Professional Services | 452 |
| Retail & E-commerce | 348 |
| Real Estate & Construction | 340 |
| Education | 220 |
| Government & Nonprofit | 166 |
| Insurance | 77 |
| Telecommunications | 32 |
Employers with the most openings
- OpenAI: 1124 postings
- Anthropic: 473 postings
- Crusoe: 292 postings
- Flyzipline: 264 postings
- DoorDash USA: 234 postings
Federal government hiring
356 federal job announcements open to the public list San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA, with a median posted salary range midpoint of $95,000. Agencies hiring most: Department of the Air Force Headquarters (117), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (29), Veterans Health Administration (27), Federal Aviation Administration (17), U.S. Coast Guard (16). Source: USAJOBS, 2026-10-10.
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.
How it compares with similar-sized metro areas
| Metro area | Pay listed | Posted pay | Official wage | Prices | Paycheck power |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | 73.7% | $205,000 | $74,500 | 115.6 | $64,000 |
| Phoenix | 20.5% | $117,500 | $51,500 | 103.3 | $49,500 |
| Seattle | 61.3% | $182,500 | $72,500 | 111.1 | $65,500 |
| Boston | 59.8% | $159,000 | $66,500 | 108.3 | $61,500 |
| Miami | 21.2% | $115,000 | $48,500 | 114.2 | $42,500 |
| Minneapolis | 37.4% | $110,000 | $59,500 | 104.8 | $56,500 |
| Atlanta | 25.9% | $134,500 | $51,000 | 100.1 | $51,000 |
Compare any metro areas side by side
Download this data
Free to use with credit: Second Summit, October 2026. Data (CSV) · Data (JSON) · paycheck power chart (SVG) · posted vs official chart (SVG) · prices chart (SVG) · industries chart (SVG) · biggest jobs chart (SVG)
Related pages
- State pages: California
- Compare San Francisco with other metro areas
- Paycheck calculator: what a salary in San Francisco is worth elsewhere
- Mentioned in: October 2026 report
Where it ranks
- #1 highest of 99: Metro areas where employers say what the job pays
- #1 highest of 77: Median posted pay by metro area
- #1 highest of 99: Metro areas with the most remote job postings
- #1 highest of 99: Where job postings stay open the longest
- #2 highest of 99: Share of job postings open more than 60 days
- #2 lowest of 99: Metro areas with the most entry-level openings
- #5 highest of 99: Where a paycheck goes furthest: typical wage adjusted for local prices
- #1 highest of 99: Price levels by metro area (US average = 100)
- #2 highest of 99: Housing costs by metro area (US average = 100)
- #4 highest of 77: Posted pay adjusted for local prices
A posting that lists several places counts once in the metro. Metro areas are the Census Bureau's 2023 definitions. This covers employers whose career pages we read, not every job in the area. Methodology · All metro areas (CSV)