San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metro area
Highest-Paying Occupations in San Francisco Metro
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metro area
Figures describe the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metropolitan statistical area as defined by BLS/OMB — the whole multi-county metro region, not San Francisco city limits. Occupations are ranked by published median annual wage; occupations where BLS suppressed the annual median or publishes only hourly wages are not ranked (13 such occupations here).
Top 25 of 688 occupations
| # | Occupation | Median annual | Median hourly | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric | $429,080 | $206.29 | Not published |
| 2 | Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers | $374,680 | Not published | 2,900 |
| 3 | Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary | $357,220 | Not published | 4,340 |
| 4 | General Internal Medicine Physicians | $351,670 | $169.07 | Not published |
| 5 | Emergency Medicine Physicians | $338,990 | $162.98 | 370 |
| 6 | Family Medicine Physicians | $304,560 | $146.42 | 2,170 |
| 7 | Physicians, All Other | $294,360 | $141.52 | 3,530 |
| 8 | Chief Executives | $288,690 | $138.79 | 5,190 |
| 9 | Dentists, All Other Specialists | $279,820 | $134.53 | 30 |
| 10 | Nurse Anesthetists | $239,200 or more | $115.00 or more | 460 |
| 11 | Computer and Information Systems Managers | $232,890 | $111.97 | 23,830 |
| 12 | Materials Scientists | $231,710 | $111.40 | 380 |
| 13 | Psychiatrists | $230,560 | $110.85 | Not published |
| 14 | Natural Sciences Managers | $225,230 | $108.28 | 5,530 |
| 15 | Architectural and Engineering Managers | $221,580 | $106.53 | 5,000 |
| 16 | Marketing Managers | $220,480 | $106.00 | 11,170 |
| 17 | Nurse Practitioners | $219,080 | $105.33 | 3,110 |
| 18 | Financial Managers | $216,150 | $103.92 | 17,040 |
| 19 | Nurse Midwives | $212,630 | $102.23 | 190 |
| 20 | Lawyers | $212,500 | $102.17 | 18,470 |
| 21 | Managers, All Other | $210,080 | $101.00 | 21,550 |
| 22 | Human Resources Managers | $209,340 | $100.65 | 4,960 |
| 23 | Veterinarians | $208,080 | $100.04 | 1,350 |
| 24 | Pediatricians, General | $207,450 | $99.74 | 810 |
| 25 | Radiation Therapists | $205,670 | $98.88 | 220 |
The full list of every published occupation here is on the San Francisco metro area overview.
About this data. Estimates are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, May 2025 release, retrieved from bls.gov/oes/tables.htm on July 24, 2026. OEWS estimates describe metropolitan/nonmetropolitan areas and states — not city limits — and are not designed for year-over-year comparisons. See BLS methodology, our plain-English methodology, and sources. CitySalaryData is independent and not affiliated with BLS.