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Technical Writers · SOC 27-3042

Technical Writers 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$135,470
Median hourly wage$65.13

Technical Writers in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metro area earned a median of $135,470 per year ($65.13 per hour) as of the May 2025 BLS OEWS estimates. Pay ranged from $78,810 at the 10th percentile to $207,360 at the 90th. BLS estimates 1,020 people work in this occupation in the area.

Pay distribution

Half of Technical Writers in the San Francisco metro area earn more than $135,470 per year, half earn less; the middle half earn between $93,920 and $169,550.

Wage percentiles (BLS OEWS)
Wage10th25thMedian75th90th
Annual$78,810$93,920$135,470$169,550$207,360
Hourly$37.89$45.15$65.13$81.51$99.69

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
    $135,470
  • Californiastate (CA)
    $104,000
  • United Statesnational
    $90,390

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

The median here is +30% vs California overall and +50% vs the U.S. median for this occupation.

Compare with other areas

Where this metro sits nationally

$46,950$78,200$109,450$140,700San Juan-Bayamon-Caguas, PR — $46,950Dubuque, IA — $57,400Fort Wayne, IN — $60,480Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR — $61,180Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR — $61,860El Paso, TX — $62,830New Orleans-Metairie, LA — $62,990Elkhart-Goshen, IN — $63,570Gainesville, FL — $63,730Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek, OH — $64,380Toledo, OH — $65,310Lincoln, NE — $66,610Greenville-Anderson-Greer, SC — $67,910Asheville, NC — $68,180Lexington-Fayette, KY — $68,900Cedar Rapids, IA — $69,410Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA — $69,450Lafayette, LA — $70,140Akron, OH — $70,790Tulsa, OK — $70,910Oklahoma City, OK — $71,210Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA — $71,580Fargo, ND-MN — $72,990Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ — $73,720Oshkosh-Neenah, WI — $74,360Provo-Orem-Lehi, UT — $74,890Tucson, AZ — $75,070Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA — $75,140Boise City, ID — $75,210Baton Rouge, LA — $75,310Billings, MT — $75,330Cleveland, OH — $75,810Tallahassee, FL — $75,990Fresno, CA — $76,030Bakersfield-Delano, CA — $76,170Logan, UT-ID — $76,540Kansas City, MO-KS — $76,590Wichita, KS — $76,820Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL — $77,170Eugene-Springfield, OR — $77,210Columbia, SC — $77,640Portland-South Portland, ME — $78,160Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY — $78,300Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL — $78,310Rochester, NY — $78,370Columbus, OH — $78,870Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI — $79,080Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN — $79,140Richmond, VA — $79,200Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC — $79,340Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN — $79,550Mobile, AL — $79,980Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA — $80,610Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL — $80,640St. Louis, MO-IL — $80,840Anchorage, AK — $81,110Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA — $81,540Salt Lake City-Murray, UT — $82,050Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI — $82,370San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX — $82,520Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC — $82,610Lansing-East Lansing, MI — $82,670Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV — $82,860Birmingham, AL — $82,870Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN — $82,970Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ — $83,480Reno, NV — $83,920Salem, OR — $84,000Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA — $84,300Syracuse, NY — $84,520Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL — $84,750Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA — $85,050Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA — $85,500Ogden, UT — $85,780Madison, WI — $86,180Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI — $86,340Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX — $86,520Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL — $86,600Albuquerque, NM — $86,790Peoria, IL — $87,090Montgomery, AL — $87,270Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX — $87,360Warner Robins, GA — $87,810Winston-Salem, NC — $87,940Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX — $88,360Charleston-North Charleston, SC — $88,610Greensboro-High Point, NC — $88,840Burlington-South Burlington, VT — $89,140Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL — $89,210Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN — $89,260Jacksonville, FL — $89,440Ann Arbor, MI — $89,840Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN — $89,960Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ — $90,230Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY — $90,500Memphis, TN-MS-AR — $90,710Providence-Warwick, RI-MA — $92,240Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD — $92,330Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI — $92,390Waterbury-Shelton, CT — $92,880Charlottesville, VA — $93,530Raleigh-Cary, NC — $93,580Fort Collins-Loveland, CO — $93,700Wilmington, NC — $93,750Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA — $94,400Durham-Chapel Hill, NC — $94,520North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL — $94,750Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL — $95,690Colorado Springs, CO — $96,100Huntsville, AL — $96,470Manchester-Nashua, NH — $97,360Lexington Park, MD — $97,810Worcester, MA — $98,020Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA — $98,800Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV — $99,910Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT — $100,650Knoxville, TN — $101,430San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA — $101,750Idaho Falls, ID — $101,790Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD — $102,140Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT — $102,470Savannah, GA — $103,000Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO — $103,360Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC — $103,730Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA — $104,000Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA — $104,450Boulder, CO — $105,840Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT — $106,900Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA — $107,580New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ — $111,050Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH — $111,750Trenton-Princeton, NJ — $117,130Kennewick-Richland, WA — $119,160Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA — $129,590San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA — $135,470San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA — $140,700

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 2nd-highest published median for this occupation among the 136 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 technical writers, highest first. Areas without published estimates are not listed.

  • San Francisco metro areathis page
    $135,470
  • San Jose metro area
    $140,700
  • Santa Rosa metro area
    $129,590
  • Santa Maria metro area
    $104,450
  • Los Angeles metro area
    $104,000
  • San Diego metro area
    $101,750
  • Oxnard metro area
    $98,800

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:

Public Relations Specialists$102,520Coaches and Scouts$54,770Producers and Directors$130,640Graphic Designers$92,050Art Directors$165,210Editors$102,940

Highest-paying metro areas for technical writerss · 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.