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Power Plant Operators · SOC 51-8013

Power Plant Operators Salary in the San Francisco Metro Area

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.

Median annual wage$132,600
Median hourly wage$63.75

Power Plant Operators in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metro area earned a median of $132,600 per year ($63.75 per hour) as of the May 2025 BLS OEWS estimates. Pay ranged from $77,470 at the 10th percentile to $171,800 at the 90th. BLS estimates 300 people work in this occupation in the area.

Pay distribution

Half of Power Plant Operators in the San Francisco metro area earn more than $132,600 per year, half earn less; the middle half earn between $104,720 and $171,800.

Wage percentiles (BLS OEWS)
Wage10th25thMedian75th90th
Annual$77,470$104,720$132,600$171,800$171,800
Hourly$37.25$50.35$63.75$82.60$82.60

A percentile is a cut point: 25% of workers in this occupation and area earn less than the 25th-percentile wage. The median is the 50th percentile — half earn less, half earn more.

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How this area compares

  • San Francisco metro areathis metro area
    $132,600
  • Californiastate (CA)
    $105,210
  • United Statesnational
    $102,040

Bars span the 25th–75th percentile (the middle half of workers); the tick marks the median.

The median here is +26% vs California overall and +30% vs the U.S. median for this occupation.

Compare with other areas

Where this metro sits nationally

$57,980$87,157$116,333$145,510Las Cruces, NM — $57,980Savannah, GA — $59,010Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL — $62,080Wichita, KS — $63,240Richmond, VA — $63,640Glens Falls, NY — $64,580Green Bay, WI — $66,080Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC — $66,500Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ — $67,580Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, FL — $71,070San Juan-Bayamon-Caguas, PR — $71,180Madison, WI — $73,300Watertown-Fort Drum, NY — $75,140Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI — $75,300Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA — $76,550Gainesville, FL — $78,890Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT — $79,450Columbia, SC — $79,600Charleston-North Charleston, SC — $79,900Rochester, NY — $80,820Greenville-Anderson-Greer, SC — $81,580Lexington-Fayette, KY — $84,150Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL — $84,690Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX — $85,350Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY — $86,280Portland-South Portland, ME — $88,520Fairbanks-College, AK — $88,870Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR — $89,460Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV — $92,320Pittsburgh, PA — $93,870Duluth, MN-WI — $94,390Longview-Kelso, WA — $94,660Bakersfield-Delano, CA — $94,760Springfield, MA — $94,860Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT — $95,780Anchorage, AK — $96,630Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT — $96,650Syracuse, NY — $97,300Providence-Warwick, RI-MA — $97,320Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA — $97,640El Paso, TX — $97,670Burlington-South Burlington, VT — $97,800Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA — $98,060Manhattan, KS — $98,840Bay City, MI — $98,930San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA — $98,950Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI — $99,000Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY — $99,020San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA — $99,470Longview, TX — $100,180Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH — $100,300Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA — $100,700Oklahoma City, OK — $101,140Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD — $101,350Worcester, MA — $101,420Tulsa, OK — $101,470College Station-Bryan, TX — $101,560St. Louis, MO-IL — $101,820Lubbock, TX — $101,900Springfield, IL — $102,130Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC — $102,240Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO — $102,780Alexandria, LA — $102,830Stockton-Lodi, CA — $102,940Terre Haute, IN — $103,030Lansing-East Lansing, MI — $103,230Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY — $103,300Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH — $103,900Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN — $104,120Gulfport-Biloxi, MS — $104,190New Orleans-Metairie, LA — $104,440Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX — $104,620Cedar Rapids, IA — $104,920Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN — $105,370Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL — $105,740Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA — $105,870Omaha, NE-IA — $106,520Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL — $106,540Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX — $106,720Birmingham, AL — $106,990Montgomery, AL — $107,080Toledo, OH — $107,440Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI — $108,050Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN — $109,090Port St. Lucie, FL — $109,090Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN — $109,820Columbus, OH — $110,030Kansas City, MO-KS — $110,410San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX — $110,950Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD — $111,260Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC — $113,540Chattanooga, TN-GA — $115,920Decatur, AL — $115,920Knoxville, TN — $115,920Provo-Orem-Lehi, UT — $117,850Memphis, TN-MS-AR — $119,080Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA — $119,380Jacksonville, FL — $119,550Urban Honolulu, HI — $122,020Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN — $123,540New Haven, CT — $123,840Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA — $124,950Salt Lake City-Murray, UT — $126,190Reno, NV — $129,020New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ — $131,770Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC — $132,030San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA — $132,600Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV — $133,140Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA — $133,380Boise City, ID — $134,050Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA — $137,030Fresno, CA — $138,930Wenatchee-East Wenatchee, WA — $145,510

Each dot is one metro area with a published median — hover any dot for the name and figure. Metros without published estimates are not drawn.

The San Francisco metro area has the 7th-highest published median for this occupation among the 113 metro areas where BLS publishes it. Higher medians often track higher living costs — this is a pay comparison, not a ranking of where the job is “best”.

Other metro areas in California

Metro areas in the same state with published May 2025 medians for power plant operators, highest first. Areas without published estimates are not listed.

  • San Francisco metro areathis page
    $132,600
  • Fresno metro area
    $138,930
  • Sacramento metro area
    $133,380
  • Los Angeles metro area
    $105,870
  • Stockton metro area
    $102,940
  • San Diego metro area
    $99,470
  • San Jose metro area
    $98,950

Bars span the 25th–75th percentile (the middle half of workers); the tick marks the median.

Keep exploring

Other occupations in the same SOC group with published medians here, largest employment first:

Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators$60,250Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers$62,340First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers$91,500Bakers$46,600Electrical, Electronic, and Electromechanical Assemblers, Except Coil Winders, Tapers, and Finishers$56,400Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders$46,310

Highest-paying metro areas for power plant operatorss · Highest-paying occupations in San Francisco Metro

About this estimate

These figures are survey estimates from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program — modeled from employer reports collected over three years and benchmarked to May 2025. They describe what employers in this area currently pay across all industries, not what any individual worker will be offered.

Employment counts wage-and-salary jobs in the occupation (self-employed workers are excluded). Estimates carry sampling error; percentile wages are rounded by BLS. Some values are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality or quality — suppressed values appear here as “not published”, never as zero. Read the full methodology.

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.