PublicPayData

California · 2026 pay

How much do San Francisco employees make?

$129,221typical pay, counting everyone paid in 2026

$84,781 – $187,946what most people earned

Includes everyone paid during 2026, including part-year and seasonal workers. The source doesn't show who worked the full year.

SF Controller's Office publishes pay by position without employee names, so there is no name search here.

Common jobs: Transit OperatorRegistered NursePolice Officer 3

✓ Official data from SF Controller's OfficeMatches the agency's latest releasesf.gov ↗

How is pay spread across workers?

A year of pay for a lower-paid, typical and higher-paid worker (counting everyone paid), and the top earner, split into regular pay, overtime and extra pay.

$84,409

$129,016

$187,703

$1,488,810

Lower-paid workerearns more than 1 in 4 coworkers

Typical workerright in the middle

Higher-paid workerearns more than 3 in 4 coworkers

Highest paidone person

Regular payOvertimeExtra pay

Is pay going up?

Yes. Typical pay went from $81,361 in 2017 to $129,221 in 2026 (+59%).

What changed since 2025

  • +10.2%Typical pay went up from $117,293 to $129,221.
  • −43740,342 people were paid in 2026, compared with 40,779 in 2025.
  • +59%Since 2017, typical pay has gone from $81,361 to $129,221, while the number of people paid went up from 39,587 to 40,342.

The next update is expected after each fiscal year (July-June) and calendar year closes.

Pay slip · 2026

A typical worker's year

San Francisco

10years of
official data
2017–2026
Average pay of people in the middle of the pay range
Regular pay$118,522
Overtime$6,716
Extra pay$3,778
Total for the year$129,016

Average of the 2,017 workers in the middle of the pay range. Does not include benefits.

Official source: San Francisco Controller's Office, sf.gov ↗
Matches the agency's latest release

Worth knowing about pay at San Francisco

What stands out in the payroll data, checked against the rest of our data before it is shown.

  • 9¢

    Of every dollar San Francisco paid in 2026, about 9 cents was overtime.

    Usual among the 8 other counties of a similar size in our data: about 6 cents. 3rd highest of 9.

    The data shows what was paid, not why. Overtime is pay for hours beyond the regular schedule.

  • +66%

    Since 2017, total pay at San Francisco went up 66% while the number of people paid went up 2%.

    Counts everyone paid during each year. Not adjusted for inflation.

Pay by job

Jobs held by 5 or more people in 2026.

JobPeopleTypical payMost earnSince 2025
Transit Operator2,510$108,705$66k – $137k▲ 10.6%
Registered Nurse1,703$230,772$197k – $270k▲ 10.5%
Police Officer 31,136$249,994$107k – $317k▲ 10.3%
Firefighter876$192,106$141k – $227k▲ 5.0%
Custodian866$87,173$74k – $93k▲ 8.0%
Certified Nursing Assistant615$107,700$89k – $124k▲ 9.5%
Public Service Trainee599$4,000$2k – $16k▼ 48.8%
Hsa Senior Eligibility Worker566$91,677$78k – $118k▲ 6.9%
EMT/Paramedic/Firefighter547$185,312$131k – $236k▲ 10.1%
Special Nurse533$109,102$55k – $187k▼ 4.2%
Recreation Leader471$8,918$4k – $16k▲ 8.5%
Attorney Civil/Criminal450$235,767$176k – $282k▲ 8.7%
Senior Administrative Analyst449$152,363$137k – $155k▲ 11.1%
Deputy Sheriff Sfers438$201,084$158k – $251k▲ 9.7%
Sergeant 3410$346,460$282k – $420k▲ 8.8%

How many people earn what

  • Under $10k2,516
  • $10k – $30k2,301
  • $30k – $50k1,684
  • $50k – $70k1,721
  • $70k – $90k2,926
  • $90k – $110k4,587
  • $110k – $150k8,838
  • $150k or more15,769

Includes part-time and seasonal workers, which is why many earn under $10k.

Pay by department

DepartmentPeopleTypical pay
Public Health8,788$132,167
Municipal Transportation Agcy6,037$125,254
Police2,962$219,983
Human Services Agency2,679$108,377
Public Utilities Commission2,670$148,281
Recreation and Park Commission2,095$21,200
Fire Department2,033$204,044
Airport Commission2,011$113,317
Public Works1,559$130,921
City Administrator1,059$116,267
Sheriff1,041$198,376
Public Library918$87,610

Common questions

How much does a San Francisco employee make?

The typical employee was paid $129,221 in 2026: half of the 40,342 people paid earned more, half earned less. Most earned between $84,781 and $187,946.

Why do so many people earn very little?

The list includes everyone who got a paycheck during the year: part-time, seasonal and short-term workers, and people who joined or left partway through. 2,516 people (6.2%) were paid under $10,000.

Does this include benefits like health insurance or pension?

No. It is the pay people received: regular salary or wages (86.0% of all pay), overtime (9.0%) and extra pay such as allowances, longevity and severance (5.0%).

Where does this data come from, and when is it updated?

From San Francisco Controller's Office (sf.gov). Our figures match the agency's latest release; the next update is expected after each fiscal year (July-June) and calendar year closes.

"Typical pay" is the median: half earn more, half earn less. "Most earn" is the middle half of workers. Figures are calculated by PublicPayData from the official dataset; 5 records with $0 or negative pay are left out. How we calculate this · Corrections & removals