Side-by-side distribution
California
$155,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 73.7%
- Live roles
- 13,947
San Francisco
$200,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 76.2%
- Live roles
- 13,896
Highest-paying jobs
Wholesale Account Executive, National
Senior Product Sourcing Engineer, Autonomous Airpower
Co-Founder & CEO - AI Retail Planning Autopilot
Account Director - Growth Marketing (Paid Social)
Co-Founder & CEO - AI Retail Planning Autopilot
Director / VP Sales
Senior Software Engineer, Machine Learning (Audio)
Field Applications Engineer
Strategic Account Executive - Southern California (Remote)
Business Development Manager
Highest-paying jobs
VP of Growth
Performance Marketing Manager
Grants Manager
Co-Founder & CEO - AI Retail Planning Autopilot
Senior Account Executive, Startups (San Francisco)
Director Of Influencer Marketing
Create Your Own Role
Account Executive
Field Applications Engineer
Paid Growth Specialist
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
|
Anduril Industries
|
$170,000 | 1,227 |
Databricks
|
$216,104 | 279 |
Relativity Space
|
$165,000 | 231 |
NoGigiddy
|
$43,680 | 200 |
Cheer Home Care
|
$44,720 | 177 |
Revolution Medicines
|
$209,500 | 165 |
Archer
|
$171,100 | 153 |
ALO
|
$79,175 | 143 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
OpenAI
|
$307,500 | 486 |
Anthropic
|
$360,000 | 316 |
Fluidstack
|
$217,500 | 268 |
DoorDash USA
|
$161,300 | 239 |
Brex
|
$195,264 | 227 |
|
Databricks
|
$217,375 | 171 |
Airwallex
|
$205,000 | 149 |
Crusoe
|
$210,000 | 138 |
Highest-paying roles in California
| Role | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Software Engineer | $186,952 | 2,519 |
| DevOps | $186,713 | 238 |
| Recruiter | $180,525 | 1,016 |
| Data Scientist | $175,500 | 170 |
| Product Manager | $170,000 | 1,557 |
| Customer Success | $169,000 | 1,939 |
| UX Designer | $168,475 | 32 |
| Sales | $150,000 | 2,093 |
| Project Manager | $146,977 | 940 |
| Marketing Manager | $137,500 | 679 |
Highest-paying roles in San Francisco
| Role | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Software Engineer | $216,000 | 2,990 |
| Data Scientist | $208,297 | 361 |
| DevOps | $205,000 | 281 |
| Product Manager | $195,000 | 2,530 |
| Sales | $195,000 | 3,626 |
| Customer Success | $192,500 | 2,653 |
| UX Designer | $192,250 | 94 |
| Recruiter | $189,000 | 1,562 |
| Marketing Manager | $175,000 | 1,111 |
| Project Manager | $171,000 | 819 |
California vs San Francisco: which pays more?
The median for California is $155,000 per year (typically $100,000–$200,000), versus $200,000 for San Francisco ($155,000–$250,000). That puts San Francisco about 29% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so California and San Francisco are compared on equal terms regardless of the currency each role was originally posted in. Only roles that publish a salary range feed the medians; numbers refresh every few hours as new roles post and older ones close, so this comparison reflects the market right now rather than a fixed survey. Use it as a directional benchmark when weighing one path against the other.