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Tax Preparers · SOC 13-2082

Tax Preparers 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$84,240
Median hourly wage$40.50

Tax Preparers in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metro area earned a median of $84,240 per year ($40.50 per hour) as of the May 2025 BLS OEWS estimates. Pay ranged from $47,420 at the 10th percentile to $105,230 at the 90th. BLS estimates 1,410 people work in this occupation in the area.

Pay distribution

Half of Tax Preparers in the San Francisco metro area earn more than $84,240 per year, half earn less; the middle half earn between $71,700 and $97,630.

Wage percentiles (BLS OEWS)
Wage10th25thMedian75th90th
Annual$47,420$71,700$84,240$97,630$105,230
Hourly$22.80$34.47$40.50$46.94$50.59

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
    $84,240
  • Californiastate (CA)
    $70,030
  • United Statesnational
    $54,920

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

The median here is +20% vs California overall and +53% vs the U.S. median for this occupation.

Compare with other areas

Where this metro sits nationally

$30,160$48,187$66,213$84,240Fort Smith, AR-OK — $30,160Sumter, SC — $30,410Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC — $30,930Clarksville, TN-KY — $34,600Vineland, NJ — $34,780Urban Honolulu, HI — $34,860Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH — $35,100Memphis, TN-MS-AR — $35,410Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR — $35,650Waterbury-Shelton, CT — $35,740Sherman-Denison, TX — $35,960Columbia, SC — $36,150Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ — $36,300Lake Charles, LA — $36,480Bowling Green, KY — $37,010Yuma, AZ — $37,260Eau Claire, WI — $37,420College Station-Bryan, TX — $37,630Lake Havasu City-Kingman, AZ — $37,680Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT — $37,760Killeen-Temple, TX — $37,760Lubbock, TX — $37,770Tulsa, OK — $38,000Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR — $38,140Spartanburg, SC — $38,390Albuquerque, NM — $38,490Lexington-Fayette, KY — $38,510Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA — $39,400Grants Pass, OR — $39,560McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX — $39,580Terre Haute, IN — $39,990Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA — $40,160Chico, CA — $41,600Omaha, NE-IA — $41,600Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA — $42,700Corpus Christi, TX — $42,990Jacksonville, NC — $43,550Janesville-Beloit, WI — $43,850Evansville, IN — $44,200Bellingham, WA — $44,250Kennewick-Richland, WA — $44,250Prescott Valley-Prescott, AZ — $44,250Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC — $44,320Chattanooga, TN-GA — $44,560Warner Robins, GA — $44,620Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ — $44,770Green Bay, WI — $44,840Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC — $44,920Knoxville, TN — $44,940Greensboro-High Point, NC — $45,250Fayetteville, NC — $45,620Charleston, WV — $45,650Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL — $45,660Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN — $45,780Madison, WI — $45,810Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL — $45,820Fort Wayne, IN — $45,930Boise City, ID — $46,000Port St. Lucie, FL — $46,100Midland, TX — $46,210Lafayette-West Lafayette, IN — $46,300St. George, UT — $46,380Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI — $46,450Coeur d'Alene, ID — $46,680Tucson, AZ — $46,960Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX — $47,020Tyler, TX — $47,210Raleigh-Cary, NC — $47,290Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX — $47,320Lincoln, NE — $47,590San Juan-Bayamon-Caguas, PR — $47,590Dover, DE — $47,720Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA — $47,860Winston-Salem, NC — $47,860Asheville, NC — $47,930Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC — $47,940Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek, OH — $48,030Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN — $48,080Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX — $48,150Ogden, UT — $48,210Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL — $48,310Logan, UT-ID — $48,500Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL — $48,550Sioux City, IA-NE-SD — $48,650Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN — $48,670Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN — $48,730Oklahoma City, OK — $49,450Jacksonville, FL — $49,500Shreveport-Bossier City, LA — $49,500Brownsville-Harlingen, TX — $49,630Tallahassee, FL — $49,650Gulfport-Biloxi, MS — $49,680Racine-Mount Pleasant, WI — $49,830Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA — $50,070Portland-South Portland, ME — $50,070Duluth, MN-WI — $50,170Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL — $50,220Punta Gorda, FL — $50,300Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC — $50,350Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI — $50,430Cedar Rapids, IA — $51,820Lansing-East Lansing, MI — $51,870Wilmington, NC — $52,220Sioux Falls, SD-MN — $52,530Manchester-Nashua, NH — $52,570Roanoke, VA — $53,630Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI — $54,570Binghamton, NY — $54,880Ocala, FL — $54,880Grand Junction, CO — $55,640Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD — $56,160Anchorage, AK — $56,740Springfield, MO — $56,820Barnstable Town, MA — $56,960Durham-Chapel Hill, NC — $57,090Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN — $57,220Medford, OR — $57,640Providence-Warwick, RI-MA — $57,680Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA — $57,770Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV — $57,890Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL — $57,920Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL — $58,020Albany, OR — $58,220Salem, OR — $58,330Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT — $58,370Erie, PA — $58,460Colorado Springs, CO — $58,900North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL — $58,910Fresno, CA — $58,970Helena, MT — $59,170St. Cloud, MN — $59,290Sebastian-Vero Beach-West Vero Corridor, FL — $59,330Bakersfield-Delano, CA — $59,490Lancaster, PA — $59,550Naples-Marco Island, FL — $59,610Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH — $59,630El Paso, TX — $59,990Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY — $60,040Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV — $60,170Rochester, NY — $60,180Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY — $60,210Wichita, KS — $60,260Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL — $60,280Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA — $60,430San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA — $60,480Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI — $60,650Rapid City, SD — $61,100Pittsburgh, PA — $61,140Redding, CA — $61,200Syracuse, NY — $61,290Eugene-Springfield, OR — $61,300Dubuque, IA — $61,330Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA — $61,350Greeley, CO — $61,420Stockton-Lodi, CA — $61,460Reno, NV — $61,790Vallejo, CA — $61,930Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD — $62,010Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA — $62,050Richmond, VA — $62,160Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY — $62,290Charleston-North Charleston, SC — $62,350Bend, OR — $62,950Salinas, CA — $63,060Greenville-Anderson-Greer, SC — $63,460Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA — $63,560Florence, SC — $63,600Provo-Orem-Lehi, UT — $64,240Modesto, CA — $64,630Waco, TX — $65,020Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA — $65,120Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO — $65,150Fargo, ND-MN — $65,320Boulder, CO — $65,410Billings, MT — $65,930Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA — $65,930Salt Lake City-Murray, UT — $66,920St. Louis, MO-IL — $69,210San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA — $70,170Amarillo, TX — $70,980New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ — $71,300Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA — $71,800Jefferson City, MO — $75,990Kansas City, MO-KS — $78,920San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA — $81,180San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA — $84,240

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 1st-highest published median for this occupation among the 186 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 tax preparers, highest first. Areas without published estimates are not listed.

  • San Francisco metro areathis page
    $84,240
  • San Jose metro area
    $81,180
  • Santa Cruz metro area
    $71,800
  • San Diego metro area
    $70,170
  • Santa Rosa metro area
    $65,930
  • Los Angeles metro area
    $65,120
  • Modesto metro area
    $64,630

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:

Accountants and Auditors$110,730Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists$123,250Management Analysts$126,730Business Operations Specialists, All Other$104,500Project Management Specialists$135,040Human Resources Specialists$103,140

Highest-paying metro areas for tax preparerss · 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.