Tech Salaries in San Francisco 2026: The Full Breakdown by Role
San Francisco still pays the highest tech salaries in the US - but is it worth the cost of living?
San Francisco is still the undisputed capital of tech compensation. No other city on the planet pays software engineers, ML researchers, and product managers as much in raw dollars. The numbers are staggering - median salaries that would be ceiling salaries in most other markets.
But there is always a catch. California takes 9-13% of your income in state taxes. A one-bedroom apartment in a decent neighborhood runs $3,000-$4,500 per month. A burrito costs $18. And the commute from anywhere affordable enough to actually save money is soul-crushing.
So the real question is not "how much does SF pay?" - it is "how much do you actually keep?" This guide breaks down every major tech role in San Francisco, the real salary ranges, and what the numbers actually mean after you factor in the Bay Area tax on your wallet and your sanity.
ML Engineer - $156K-$301K
Machine learning engineers in San Francisco command the highest base salaries of any tech role in the city, fueled by the AI arms race between OpenAI, Anthropic, Google DeepMind, Meta FAIR, and dozens of well-funded AI startups. Salary range: $156K-$301K Median: ~$217KSan Francisco is ground zero for the AI revolution. More large language model research happens within a 20-mile radius of downtown SF than anywhere else on Earth. This concentration of AI talent and capital has pushed ML engineer salaries into territory that would have seemed absurd five years ago. Senior ML engineers at frontier labs regularly earn $400K-$800K+ in total compensation.
The demand is insatiable. Every company - not just AI labs - wants ML engineers to build recommendation systems, automate workflows, and integrate LLMs into their products. If you have production experience with transformer architectures, distributed training, or ML infrastructure, SF will pay you more than anywhere else.
Backend Engineer - $124K-$291K
Backend engineers in San Francisco remain the backbone of the Bay Area tech ecosystem. Every product needs a backend, and SF has thousands of companies competing for experienced systems engineers. Salary range: $124K-$291K Median: ~$190KThe salary range here is enormous because "backend engineer" in SF covers everything from a Series A startup building their first API to a Staff engineer at Google designing systems that serve billions of requests per day. The $124K floor is for early-career engineers at smaller companies; the $291K ceiling reflects senior-to-staff roles at FAANG or well-funded growth-stage startups.
Golang, Rust, and distributed systems experience command the highest premiums. If you have built services that handle real scale (millions of QPS, sub-millisecond latency requirements), you are in the top tier.
Security Engineer - $112K-$313K
Security engineers in San Francisco have the widest salary range of any role, reflecting the massive gap between entry-level security analysts and senior security architects at companies handling sensitive data at scale. Salary range: $112K-$313K Median: ~$187KThe cybersecurity talent shortage is real, and it is most acute in SF where fintech companies (Stripe, Plaid, Brex), crypto firms, and cloud providers all need security engineers who understand modern threat landscapes. Application security engineers who can do code review, penetration testing, and threat modeling at the same time are especially scarce and well-compensated.
The $313K ceiling is not an outlier - senior security engineers at financial services companies and cloud infrastructure providers routinely earn $250K+ base because the cost of a breach dwarfs any salary.
Cloud Architect - $145K-$216K
Cloud architects in San Francisco benefit from proximity to all three major cloud providers' engineering offices and the dense ecosystem of companies building cloud-native infrastructure. Salary range: $145K-$216K Median: ~$180KThe range here is tighter than some other roles because cloud architect is already a senior-level position. You do not get the title without significant experience. Multi-cloud expertise (AWS + GCP + Azure) and experience with Kubernetes, Terraform, and cloud security are table stakes.
Product Manager - $124K-$249K
Product managers in San Francisco earn some of the highest PM salaries in the world, particularly at companies where product-led growth is the primary business strategy. Salary range: $124K-$249K Median: ~$176KSF product management roles skew toward technical PM positions - you are expected to understand the engineering trade-offs, read a system design document, and make data-driven decisions using SQL and experimentation platforms. This technical bar keeps salaries high because the talent pool that combines product instinct with engineering fluency is relatively small.
Android Developer - $114K-$272K
Android developers in San Francisco have seen salary increases as mobile-first companies compete for engineers who can build polished, performant apps. Salary range: $114K-$272K Median: ~$176KKotlin expertise, Jetpack Compose proficiency, and experience with large-scale Android codebases (millions of users) drive the premium end of this range.
DevOps Engineer - $125K-$243K
DevOps engineers in San Francisco sit at the intersection of infrastructure and software engineering, with salaries reflecting the increasing complexity of modern deployment pipelines. Salary range: $125K-$243K Median: ~$174KPlatform engineering - building internal developer platforms, CI/CD pipelines, and infrastructure abstraction layers - is the hot specialization within DevOps. Engineers who can reduce deployment friction for large engineering organizations command premium compensation.
Software Engineer - $116K-$252K
Software engineers in San Francisco is the broadest category, covering generalist roles across every type of company from two-person startups to trillion-dollar corporations. Salary range: $116K-$252K Median: ~$171KThe generalist software engineer role in SF pays well across the board. The career path from junior ($116K-$140K) to senior ($180K-$220K) to staff ($220K-$252K+) is well-defined at most companies. Total compensation at FAANG for senior SWE roles typically reaches $350K-$500K including equity.
Data Engineer - $107K-$300K
Data engineers in San Francisco have one of the widest salary ranges, driven by the explosion of data-intensive AI applications that need robust data pipelines. Salary range: $107K-$300K Median: ~$171KThe $300K ceiling reflects senior data engineers at companies where data infrastructure is the product (Databricks, Snowflake, dbt Labs - all with significant SF presence). Experience with Spark, Kafka, Airflow, and real-time streaming architectures pushes you toward the top of the range.
Full Stack Developer - $122K-$207K
Full stack developers in San Francisco fill a versatile role, particularly valued at startups where wearing multiple hats is expected. Salary range: $122K-$207K Median: ~$158KStartups love full stack developers because one person can build a complete feature from database to UI. React/Next.js + Node/Python + PostgreSQL is the most common and marketable stack in SF. The ceiling is lower than specialized roles because companies willing to pay $200K+ typically want specialists.
Frontend Engineer - $89K-$240K
Frontend engineers in San Francisco have seen salaries climb as the complexity of web applications has increased and the distinction between "frontend" and "full stack" has blurred. Salary range: $89K-$240K Median: ~$148KThe $89K floor reflects entry-level roles at smaller companies. Experienced frontend engineers who can build complex, accessible, performant UIs with React/TypeScript and manage state at scale earn $180K-$240K. Design systems engineers and frontend infrastructure roles pay at the top of this range.
Data Scientist - $108K-$198K
Data scientists in San Francisco occupy an interesting middle ground - the role has matured and salaries have stabilized as the hype cycle from 2018-2022 gave way to more realistic expectations. Salary range: $108K-$198K Median: ~$147KPure data science roles (statistical modeling, A/B testing, business analytics) pay less than ML engineering roles because the engineering bar is lower. However, data scientists who can deploy their own models, write production Python, and own the full lifecycle from experimentation to deployment effectively earn ML engineer compensation.
iOS Developer - $87K-$235K
iOS developers in San Francisco have a wide range reflecting the spectrum from junior Swift developers to senior iOS architects at companies like Apple, Airbnb, and Uber. Salary range: $87K-$235K Median: ~$135KSwiftUI expertise and experience with large, modular iOS codebases are the most valuable skills. Apple being headquartered in nearby Cupertino creates a unique local market dynamic.
UX Designer - $101K-$168K
UX designers in San Francisco round out the tech salary spectrum. While UX salaries are the lowest among the 14 roles tracked, they are still substantially higher than UX salaries in any other US city. Salary range: $101K-$168K Median: ~$115KProduct designers who combine UX research, interaction design, and visual design in one skillset earn the most. The trend toward "full stack design" - designers who can prototype in code - continues to push the ceiling higher.
The Bottom Line
San Francisco salaries are unmatched. Full stop. ML engineers here earn more than cloud architects in most other cities. Even UX designers - the lowest-paid role on this list - earn six figures.
But the real question is purchasing power. A $200K salary in San Francisco after 13% state tax and $42K annual rent leaves you roughly the same discretionary income as a $155K salary in Seattle (no state tax, $30K rent) or a $140K salary in Austin (no state tax, $22K rent).
So why does anyone still choose SF? Three reasons: equity upside (the next OpenAI is being built here), career acceleration (the density of opportunity is unmatched), and network effects (the people you meet over coffee in Hayes Valley can change your career trajectory).
The salary is the floor. The real money in San Francisco is in what happens next.
Quick reference - all 14 roles:Or compare SF against other top tech markets: Seattle (no state tax advantage), New York (finance-tech crossover), Austin (also no state tax, lower cost of living), London (GBP salaries), Toronto (Canadian market in CAD), and remote roles to understand the full compensation landscape.
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