The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) produces annual wage estimates for 22 major employment sectors and more than 800 individual occupations. Below are two lists of newly released 2012 figures for the San Francisco-Oakland market (officially known as the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA, metropolitan area).
The first list shows average annual pay for all employees within each of the market's 22 major sectors. The second list shows the area's 100 highest-paying individual occupations, again based on average annual pay.
If a given occupation is among the 100 top-paying jobs in America, its title will be highlighted. Click on the link to see a detailed breakdown of its overall wage structure.
Each sector and occupation is followed by its six-digit BLS code in brackets. All sector and occupation titles are the bureau's official designations.
Click here to see definitions and descriptions of all sectors and occupations, along with additional national data. And click here to find the highest-paying jobs in any other major market.
22 major sectors (ranked by average annual pay) in San Francisco-Oakland
- 1. Management Occupations [11-0000], $135,790
- 2. Legal Occupations [23-0000], $134,510
- 3. Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations [29-0000], $101,780
- 4. Computer and Mathematical Occupations [15-0000], $98,490
- 5. Architecture and Engineering Occupations [17-0000], $96,240
- 6. Business and Financial Operations Occupations [13-0000], $87,660
- 7. Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations [19-0000], $85,500
- 8. Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations [27-0000], $65,980
- 9. Construction and Extraction Occupations [47-0000], $61,170
- 10. Education, Training, and Library Occupations [25-0000], $60,790
- 11. Protective Service Occupations [33-0000], $60,490
- 12. Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations [49-0000], $54,550
- 13. Community and Social Service Occupations [21-0000], $54,110
- 14. Sales and Related Occupations [41-0000], $49,630
- 15. Office and Administrative Support Occupations [43-0000], $44,080
- 16. Transportation and Material Moving Occupations [53-0000], $40,610
- 17. Production Occupations [51-0000], $40,170
- 18. Healthcare Support Occupations [31-0000], $37,590
- 19. Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance Occupations [37-0000], $32,790
- 20. Personal Care and Service Occupations [39-0000], $30,740
- 21. Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Occupations [45-0000], $28,250
- 22. Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations [35-0000], $24,780
100 highest-paying occupations (ranked by average annual pay) in San Francisco-Oakland
- 1. Obstetricians and Gynecologists [29-1064], $213,790
- 2. Internists, General [29-1063], $212,320
- 3. Anesthesiologists [29-1061], $209,570
- 4. Chief Executives [11-1011], $205,310
- 5. Family and General Practitioners [29-1062], $182,100
- 6. Natural Sciences Managers [11-9121], $181,510
- 7. Lawyers [23-1011], $165,740
- 8. Marketing Managers [11-2021], $165,370
- 9. Physicians and Surgeons, All Other [29-1069], $163,600
- 10. Architectural and Engineering Managers [11-9041], $163,280
- 11. Computer and Information Systems Managers [11-3021], $162,620
- 12. Psychiatrists [29-1066], $159,860
- 13. Physics Teachers, Postsecondary [25-1054], $157,640
- 14. Financial Managers [11-3031], $156,410
- 15. Dentists, General [29-1021], $156,100
- 17. Pediatricians, General [29-1065], $152,350
- 18. Nurse Anesthetists [29-1151], $149,960
- 19. Sales Managers [11-2022], $143,850
- 20. General and Operations Managers [11-1021], $140,540
- 21. Training and Development Managers [11-3131], $138,560
- 22. Public Relations and Fundraising Managers [11-2031], $137,940
- 23. Managers, All Other [11-9199], $135,010
- 24. First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives [33-1012], $134,890
- 25. Human Resources Managers [11-3121], $134,660
- 26. Compensation and Benefits Managers [11-3111], $134,550
- 27. Air Traffic Controllers [53-2021], $134,250
- 28. Surgeons [29-1067], $133,330
- 29. Podiatrists [29-1081], $133,080
- 31. Pharmacists [29-1051], $129,540
- 32. First-Line Supervisors of Fire Fighting and Prevention Workers [33-1021], $127,610
- 34. Industrial Production Managers [11-3051], $126,660
- 35. Dentists, All Other Specialists [29-1029], $126,510
- 36. Purchasing Managers [11-3061], $126,310
- 37. Materials Scientists [19-2032], $124,800
- 38. Petroleum Engineers [17-2171], $122,610
- 40. Art Directors [27-1011], $120,880
- 41. Chemical Engineers [17-2041], $120,560
- 42. Advertising and Promotions Managers [11-2011], $119,570
- 43. Computer Hardware Engineers [17-2061], $118,140
- 45. Atmospheric and Space Scientists [19-2021], $116,800
- 46. Veterinarians [29-1131], $116,760
- 47. Engineering Teachers, Postsecondary [25-1032], $116,620
- 49. Computer Network Architects [15-1143], $115,660
- 50. Medical and Health Services Managers [11-9111], $115,580
- 51. Sales Engineers [41-9031], $115,450
- 53. Emergency Management Directors [11-9161], $114,610
- 54. Personal Financial Advisors [13-2052], $112,820
- 55. Physicists [19-2012], $112,500
- 56. Construction Managers [11-9021], $112,400
- 57. Software Developers, Systems Software [15-1133], $112,260
- 58. Registered Nurses [29-1141], $112,140
- 59. Financial Analysts [13-2051], $111,410
- 60. Software Developers, Applications [15-1132], $110,950
- 61. Information Security Analysts [15-1122], $110,060
- 64. Detectives and Criminal Investigators [33-3021], $108,890
- 65. Optometrists [29-1041], $108,880
- 66. Administrative Services Managers [11-3011], $108,850
- 67. Physical Scientists, All Other [19-2099], $107,930
- 68. Nurse Midwives [29-1161], $107,790
- 69. Epidemiologists [19-1041], $107,410
- 70. Nurse Practitioners [29-1171], $107,340
- 71. Management Analysts [13-1111], $106,920
- 72. Aerospace Engineers [17-2011], $106,580
- 73. Economists [19-3011], $106,050
- 74. Electrical Engineers [17-2071], $105,910
- 75. Financial Examiners [13-2061], $105,890
- 76. Political Scientists [19-3094], $105,620
- 77. Business Teachers, Postsecondary [25-1011], $105,450
- 78. Industrial Engineers [17-2112], $105,040
- 81. Physician Assistants [29-1071], $104,490
- 82. Biomedical Engineers [17-2031], $104,030
- 83. Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels [53-5021], $103,940
- 84. Statisticians [15-2041], $103,730
- 85. Education Administrators, Postsecondary [11-9033], $103,680
- 86. Engineers, All Other [17-2199], $103,500
- 87. Civil Engineers [17-2051], $103,420
- 88. Radiation Therapists [29-1124], $103,380
- 89. Diagnostic Medical Sonographers [29-2032], $103,140
- 90. Environmental Engineers [17-2081], $102,610
- 91. Electronics Engineers, Except Computer [17-2072], $102,170
- 92. Fire Inspectors and Investigators [33-2021], $101,520
- 93. Dental Hygienists [29-2021], $101,300
- 94. Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Products [41-4011], $101,240
- 95. Broadcast News Analysts [27-3021], $101,120
- 96. Arbitrators, Mediators, and Conciliators [23-1022], $99,750
- 97. Architects, Except Landscape and Naval [17-1011], $99,660
- 98. Mechanical Engineers [17-2141], $99,580
- 99. History Teachers, Postsecondary [25-1125], $99,260
- 100. Computer Programmers [15-1131], $99,240