Side-by-side distribution
Denver
$125,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 69.9%
- Live roles
- 2,832
San Francisco
$200,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 76.1%
- Live roles
- 13,929
Highest-paying jobs
Education Market Leader I
S&T Market Leader I
HVAC Comfort Advisor
Executive Operations & Advancement Associate at Hillel of Colorado
Senior Account Executive, Startups (Denver)
Transaction Advisory Services (TAS) – Private Equity Principal
Principal/Partner - Forensic Accounting & Litigation Support
Relief Registered Veterinary Technician - Cherry Creek
Psychiatrist Medical Director
Outpatient Psychiatrist
Highest-paying jobs
VP of Growth
Performance Marketing Manager
Grants Manager
Co-Founder & CEO - AI Retail Planning Autopilot
Account Executive
Paid Growth Specialist
Strategic Account Executive - San Francisco (Remote)
Field Applications Engineer
Director Of Influencer Marketing
Director / VP Sales
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Esri
|
$135,200 | 141 |
Crusoe
|
$159,185 | 62 |
Fivetran
|
$203,643 | 54 |
Gusto, Inc.
|
$147,000 | 45 |
Xometry
|
$99,000 | 45 |
DoorDash USA
|
$130,200 | 43 |
| TA True Anomaly | $170,000 | 39 |
Datadog
|
$123,000 | 38 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
OpenAI
|
$307,500 | 482 |
Anthropic
|
$360,000 | 316 |
Fluidstack
|
$218,000 | 289 |
|
DoorDash USA
|
$161,300 | 232 |
Brex
|
$195,264 | 227 |
Databricks
|
$216,740 | 174 |
Airwallex
|
$205,000 | 147 |
|
Crusoe
|
$210,000 | 139 |
Highest-paying roles in Denver
| Role | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Data Scientist | $187,500 | 6 |
| UX Designer | $171,500 | 12 |
| DevOps | $161,000 | 65 |
| Recruiter | $158,808 | 255 |
| Software Engineer | $157,500 | 328 |
| Product Manager | $145,000 | 346 |
| Marketing Manager | $137,000 | 236 |
| Customer Success | $136,792 | 690 |
| Sales | $135,318 | 780 |
| Project Manager | $126,900 | 231 |
Highest-paying roles in San Francisco
| Role | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Software Engineer | $216,000 | 3,000 |
| Data Scientist | $208,750 | 359 |
| DevOps | $205,000 | 288 |
| Product Manager | $195,900 | 2,524 |
| Sales | $195,900 | 3,626 |
| UX Designer | $194,500 | 97 |
| Customer Success | $192,500 | 2,644 |
| Recruiter | $188,000 | 1,557 |
| Marketing Manager | $175,000 | 1,104 |
| Project Manager | $171,250 | 806 |
Denver vs San Francisco: which pays more?
The median for Denver is $125,000 per year (typically $80,040–$175,500), versus $200,000 for San Francisco ($155,000–$250,000). That puts San Francisco about 60% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Denver 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.