San Francisco, CA
Login To Save This
H1BIndex City Grade
i
A
FY 2026
2023
A
2024
A
2025
A+
City Visa Volume i
2,044
Filings in FY 2026
Median City Pay i
$187,574
Typical yearly salary
True Purchasing Power i
$123,641
Adjusted for Cost of Living
Top Local Sponsor i
Salesforce, Inc
130 Filings
City Data Overview
An automated review of San Francisco's tech ecosystem, salaries, and residency sponsorship.Top Hiring Market: A
Finding a sponsored job in San Francisco is very common. The government approved 2,044 applications, achieving an H1B Index Grade of A.
High Remote Work
Working remotely for out-of-state companies is common here. Exactly 23.8% of sponsored workers living in San Francisco work for employers in other states.
In-House Projects
External client work is rare in this area. Roughly 97.8% of the workforce works strictly on their employer’s own internal products.
Experience Compensation
Sticking with your career in this market brings high rewards. The pay gap between beginners and experts in San Francisco is 1.9x.
Junior-Level Opportunities
The experience needed for a long-term job in San Francisco is just 24 months. This makes it a great market for early-career workers.
Stable Job Market
The local job market is fairly safe. Only 0.5% of companies in San Francisco reported layoffs, and the visa denial rate is 2.0%.
Top Companies
The leading companies driving the foreign talent market in San Francisco.Hiring & Green Card Data
How companies acquire and retain talent.Talent Origin Pipeline
Fresh Hires (34.7%)Transfers/Poached (65.3%)
Green Card (PERM) Conversion i
21.30% of active filings transition to residency.
10-Year Salary Trends
Tracking the 10-year salary growth for tech workers in San Francisco.Most Common Job Titles
The most frequently sponsored positions.O*NET Wage Level Distribution
Experience requirements matched against pay tiers.| Experience Level | Total Filings | Median Salary |
|---|---|---|
| Entry Level (Level I) | 190 | $121,612 |
| Qualified (Level II) | 571 | $165,000 |
| Experienced (Level III) | 580 | $194,513 |
| Fully Competent (Level IV) | 508 | $230,000 |
Top Local Industries
The top sectors operating in San Francisco.| Economic Sector | Total Filings |
|---|---|
| Professional, Scientific, and Tech Services | 1,033 |
| Information & Tech | 471 |
| Finance & Insurance | 164 |
| Other/Corporate Services | 105 |
| Retail Trade | 87 |
Law Firms & Third-Party Work
Leading legal counsel for visas.Berry Appleman & Leiden Llp
Legal Partner
332
Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy, Llp
Legal Partner
220
Corporate Immigration Partners, P.C.
Legal Partner
92
Wolfsdorf Rosenthal Llp
Legal Partner
61
Erickson Immigration Group
Legal Partner
57
Top Third-Party End Clients
Where consultants are deployed.Wells Fargo
End-Client Placement
4
Hp Inc
End-Client Placement
2
Adobe Inc
End-Client Placement
2
San Francisco Unified School District
End-Client Placement
2
San Francisco International Airport
End-Client Placement
2
Highest Density Zip Codes
The most active areas for talent.Zip Code: 94105
Local Median: $190,000
735
Zip Code: 94107
Local Median: $187,574
247
Zip Code: 94103
Local Median: $191,500
218
Zip Code: 94104
Local Median: $190,000
202
Zip Code: 94158
Local Median: $185,994
175
Historical Visa Volume
10-Year Labor Condition Application history for San Francisco.💡 Click on the legend labels below to filter data.
Historical Green Card Data
10-Year Permanent Residency sponsorship volume.💡 Click on the legend labels below to filter data.
Noticing a difference in dates? Salary metrics reflect real-time DOL filings, while approval metrics rely on finalized USCIS historical data. View timelines
Complete Employer List
A detailed ledger of all employers operating in San Francisco.| Local Employer | Total Filings | Maximum Salary | Median Salary | Minimum Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salesforce, Inc. | 130 | $543,344 | $233,778 | $87,500 |
| University Of California, San Francisco | 68 | $402,000 | $86,500 | $58,600 |
| Amazon.Com Services Llc | 49 | $350,000 | $178,296 | $80,891 |
| Uber Technologies, Inc. | 46 | $285,200 | $196,550 | $133,000 |
| Anthropic, Pbc | 45 | $500,000 | $165,000 | $113,000 |
| Openai Opco, Llc | 37 | $555,000 | $310,000 | $165,000 |
| Linkedin Corporation | 35 | $311,000 | $165,021 | $123,000 |
| Ernst & Young U.S. Llp | 34 | $299,775 | $159,912 | $101,700 |
| Crusoe Energy Systems, Inc. | 30 | $310,000 | $240,500 | $165,000 |
| Airbnb, Inc. | 24 | $336,000 | $191,000 | $145,000 |
| Google Llc | 21 | $280,000 | $212,000 | $138,000 |
| Resolve Ai, Inc. | 20 | $300,000 | $240,000 | $200,000 |
| Microsoft Corporation | 18 | $275,770 | $188,547 | $162,030 |
| Meta Platforms, Inc | 18 | $289,786 | $222,250 | $151,131 |
| Autodesk, Inc. | 18 | $355,700 | $197,940 | $163,613 |
| Doordash, Inc. | 17 | $387,600 | $196,914 | $96,000 |
| Amazon Web Services, Inc. | 15 | $229,994 | $175,000 | $121,091 |
| Adobe Inc. | 14 | $405,000 | $210,000 | $166,000 |
| Lendingclub Bank National Association | 13 | $272,750 | $194,305 | $125,000 |
| Sephora Usa, Inc. | 13 | $306,300 | $164,112 | $133,952 |
| Scale Ai, Inc. | 12 | $340,000 | $240,250 | $180,000 |
| Pinterest, Inc. | 12 | $264,514 | $225,608 | $157,647 |
| Cisco Systems, Inc. | 12 | $323,600 | $161,117 | $109,970 |
| Sierra Technologies, Inc. | 11 | $360,000 | $200,000 | $170,000 |
| Databricks, Inc. | 11 | $328,600 | $178,506 | $125,694 |
| Mercor.Io Corporation | 11 | $500,000 | $161,637 | $120,000 |
| Social Finance, Llc | 10 | $297,000 | $219,885 | $173,250 |
| Atlassian Us, Inc. | 10 | $280,000 | $185,000 | $120,000 |
| Discord, Inc. | 10 | $315,000 | $242,128 | $186,125 |
| Docusign Inc. | 10 | $395,500 | $204,175 | $161,637 |
| Boston Consulting Group, Inc. | 10 | $268,400 | $225,400 | $149,365 |
| Notion Labs, Inc. | 9 | $265,000 | $231,000 | $165,000 |
| Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, Inc. | 9 | $362,000 | $214,000 | $114,795 |
| Deloitte Consulting Llp | 9 | $227,730 | $161,637 | $100,339 |
| Decagon Ai, Inc. | 8 | $350,000 | $267,500 | $180,000 |
| Pricewaterhousecoopers Advisory Services Llc | 8 | $227,000 | $197,000 | $145,000 |
| Jpmorgan Chase & Co. | 8 | $325,000 | $175,000 | $166,400 |
| Ebay Inc. | 8 | $276,573 | $209,404 | $176,000 |
| Lyft, Inc. | 8 | $222,000 | $148,000 | $100,000 |
| Ziphq, Inc. | 8 | $235,000 | $165,000 | $150,000 |
| Together Computer, Inc. | 8 | $310,000 | $200,626 | $159,328 |
| Thumbtack, Inc. | 8 | $220,000 | $175,000 | $126,610 |
| Dropbox, Inc. | 7 | $388,100 | $225,300 | $185,700 |
| Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum, Inc. | 7 | $165,000 | $96,762 | $84,926 |
| Reddit, Inc. | 7 | $320,000 | $300,000 | $213,450 |
| Skwid Inc. | 7 | $250,000 | $240,000 | $170,000 |
| Okta, Inc. | 7 | $330,000 | $203,836 | $139,235 |
| Chime Financial, Inc. | 7 | $400,000 | $170,000 | $133,300 |
| Baseten Labs, Inc. | 7 | $315,000 | $161,637 | $133,952 |
| Ucsf Medical Center | 6 | $375,066 | $156,874 | $124,509 |
Complete Salary Matrix by Job Title
Salary breakdown across all job titles in this city.| Local Job Title | Total Filings | Maximum Salary | Median Salary | Minimum Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Software Engineer | 156 | $500,000 | $188,000 | $112,000 |
| Senior Software Engineer | 75 | $361,000 | $200,000 | $147,368 |
| Member Of Technical Staff | 46 | $500,000 | $191,417 | $134,139 |
| Staff Software Engineer | 36 | $445,000 | $247,800 | $184,000 |
| Software Engineering Smts | 29 | $257,000 | $220,000 | $193,545 |
| Product Manager | 22 | $342,000 | $166,700 | $130,000 |
| Postdoctoral Scholar | 19 | $84,908 | $77,030 | $70,762 |
| Associate Specialist | 18 | $88,000 | $83,600 | $75,600 |
| Data Scientist | 17 | $320,000 | $190,600 | $133,952 |
| Software Engineering Lmts | 16 | $293,754 | $248,855 | $210,000 |
| Research Engineer | 16 | $500,000 | $240,000 | $120,000 |
| Product Designer | 13 | $279,594 | $153,691 | $120,000 |
| Chief Technology Officer | 12 | $310,000 | $184,253 | $120,000 |
| Software Engineering | 11 | $212,913 | $199,176 | $175,000 |
| Specialist | 10 | $110,300 | $93,200 | $90,000 |
| Sr. Software Engineer | 10 | $279,100 | $191,576 | $182,648 |
| Software Development Engineer Ii | 10 | $200,000 | $165,240 | $152,800 |
| Associate | 10 | $370,000 | $242,500 | $100,000 |
| Senior Product Manager | 9 | $245,000 | $185,994 | $165,000 |
| Founding Engineer | 9 | $285,000 | $187,574 | $114,795 |
| Member Of Technical Staff (Software Engineer) | 8 | $325,000 | $255,000 | $210,000 |
| Senior Data Engineer | 8 | $259,000 | $191,000 | $190,500 |
| Software Engineer Ii | 8 | $215,000 | $175,000 | $150,000 |
| Engineering Manager | 8 | $400,000 | $244,922 | $150,000 |
| Machine Learning Engineer | 8 | $325,000 | $235,150 | $198,500 |
| Forward Deployed Engineer | 7 | $275,000 | $160,000 | $125,923 |
| Software Development Engineer I | 7 | $169,900 | $148,400 | $133,100 |
| Member Of Technical Staff (Hardware Engineering) | 7 | $555,000 | $380,000 | $310,000 |
| Software Engineering Pmts | 7 | $325,000 | $295,000 | $273,181 |
| Senior Data Scientist | 7 | $325,200 | $195,000 | $138,130 |
| Director | 7 | $330,000 | $196,000 | $160,000 |
| Software Engineering Mts | 7 | $189,000 | $174,556 | $167,503 |
| Manager, Engineering | 7 | $275,000 | $246,050 | $204,363 |
| Data Engineer | 6 | $270,000 | $220,000 | $145,000 |
| Software Development Engineer | 6 | $249,600 | $187,188 | $140,000 |
| Senior Machine Learning Engineer | 6 | $315,400 | $202,256 | $191,000 |
| Analyst | 6 | $150,000 | $123,750 | $95,000 |
| Senior Product Designer | 6 | $245,000 | $191,775 | $186,125 |
| Senior Manager | 6 | $227,000 | $210,000 | $176,000 |
| Sr Software Engineer | 6 | $259,000 | $209,000 | $182,523 |
| Senior Associate | 5 | $400,000 | $157,000 | $145,000 |
| Chief Of Staff | 5 | $210,000 | $170,000 | $135,000 |
| Assistant Professional Researcher | 5 | $99,100 | $93,400 | $93,400 |
| Research Operations | 5 | $500,000 | $125,000 | $125,000 |
| Head Of Engineering | 5 | $250,000 | $250,000 | $200,000 |
| Manager | 5 | $284,800 | $179,285 | $177,932 |
| Vice President | 5 | $300,000 | $242,500 | $195,000 |
| Ai Engineer | 5 | $250,000 | $215,000 | $149,365 |
| Speech Language Pathologist | 5 | $142,397 | $89,398 | $89,398 |
| Account Executive | 5 | $327,500 | $112,778 | $95,000 |
Historical Compensation Averages
Year-over-year salary data comparing historical averages.| Fiscal Year | Maximum | Median | Average | Minimum |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | $750,000 | $187,870 | $189,640 | $32 |
| 2025 | $690,000 | $175,000 | $173,562 | $22 |
| 2024 | $800,000 | $168,500 | $166,790 | $23 |
| 2023 | $530,000 | $158,623 | $158,080 | $15 |
| 2022 | $650,000 | $156,105 | $155,867 | $19 |
| 2021 | $642,032 | $145,246 | $145,603 | $21 |
| 2020 | $550,000 | $135,000 | $133,804 | $20 |
| 2019 | $305,000 | $125,000 | $127,789 | $22 |
| 2018 | $741,331 | $119,246 | $117,505 | $15 |
| 2017 | $640,000 | $110,000 | $109,147 | $15 |
| 2016 | $514,000 | $103,952 | $103,979 | $16 |
Recent Visa Applications (FY 2026)
Raw, unedited federal disclosures showing individual labor applications filed in this city.City Specific Intelligence (FAQ)
Common questions and insights about San Francisco.What is the average base pay for work visas in San Francisco?
The median base pay in San Francisco is $187,574, while specialized roles often push past $226,138.
How far does a standard salary go in San Francisco?
After calculating state taxes and local living costs, the true purchasing power for an average professional here adjusts to about $123,641.
How much is the state income tax in San Francisco, CA?
In San Francisco, state taxes sit around 9.3%. You should expect an estimated $17,444 to be withheld for state taxes annually.
Where are the most sponsored jobs in San Francisco?
Our database shows that Salesforce, Inc submits the highest volume of visa sponsorships in the city, with 130 recent approvals.