San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA · CBSA 41860
Software Engineer Salary in San Francisco
VerifiedPublished metro-area wages for software engineers in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA, from the BLS OEWS May 2024 release — with the local distribution set against California and the national benchmark.
Software Engineers in San Francisco earn a median of $174,910 per year, per BLS OEWS May 2024. The middle 50% earn $160,060–$213,420; the top 10% earn at least $239,200. That is 31% above the national median and 2% above the California median. BLS reports 76,900 employed locally.
Median wage
Verified$174,910
+31% vs national
Top 10% earn
≥$239,200
BLS topcodes at this level
Employed in metro
76,900
Reliability High (2% RSE)
Software Engineer pay — San Francisco vs California vs national
All three distributions are published BLS percentiles on a single shared scale.
| Percentile | Annual wage | vs national |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentileentry / low | $128,140 | +60% |
| 25th percentile | $160,060 | +55% |
| Median50th percentile | $174,910 | +31% |
| 75th percentile | $213,420 | +26% |
| 90th percentiletop earners | ≥$239,200 | +13% |
| Meanaverage | $187,840 | +30% |
How concentrated software engineers are in San Francisco
Location quotient compares local concentration to the national rate. Above 1.00 means this metro employs the occupation more densely than the country overall.
Location quotient
2.98
Jobs per 1,000
31.96
Metro rank (pay)
#2 of 381
All engineering roles
$165,321
At a location quotient of 2.98, San Francisco is a genuine hub for this discipline — the occupation is roughly 3.0× as concentrated here as nationally, which usually means deeper employer competition and more lateral options.
Frequently asked questions
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Source details
Published wage from BLS OEWS May 2024 for SOC 15-1252 (Software Developers), San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA (metro area).
Benchmarks come from published government wage data via BLS OEWS. Local and emerging-role figures are labeled estimates. Full methodology →