Los Angeles vs. San Francisco
Data Scientists. Median, spread and buying power, side by side.
Data released May 2025
BLS OEWS · SOC 15-2051
Fig. 1 — Side by side
Both distributions, one scale
10th to 90th percentile, median struck in red
Table 1 — Adjusted
San Francisco's median is 31.1% higher — but after local prices, San Francisco still leads by 28.8%.
Los Angeles's median $129,740 buys $114,200 at national prices (price parity 113.6); San Francisco's $170,110 buys $147,100 (115.6).
Table 2 — The figures
Point by point
Published percentiles for both metros; the last column is San Francisco against Los Angeles.
| Los Angeles | San Francisco | Δ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employment | 9,850 | 10,460 | +6.2% |
| 10th percentile | $71,080 | $99,170 | +39.5% |
| 25th percentile | $91,350 | $130,430 | +42.8% |
| Median | $129,740 | $170,110 | +31.1% |
| 75th percentile | $168,420 | $212,970 | +26.5% |
| 90th percentile | $208,280 | $272,430 | +30.8% |
Sources
How this page was made
- Wage data
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 release. Public domain.
- Price parity
- Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.
- Full pages
- Data Scientists in Los Angeles · Data Scientists in San Francisco
Percentiles are reported exactly as released. Derived (price-adjusted) figures round to the nearest hundred. We take no payment for how any figure is presented.