San Francisco vs. San Jose
Software Developers. Median, spread and buying power, side by side.
Data released May 2025
BLS OEWS · SOC 15-1252
Fig. 1 — Side by side
Both distributions, one scale
10th to 90th percentile, median struck in red
Table 1 — Adjusted
San Jose's median is 14.2% higher — but after local prices, San Jose still leads by 19.5%.
San Francisco's median $186,640 buys $161,400 at national prices (price parity 115.6); San Jose's $213,110 buys $193,000 (110.4).
Table 2 — The figures
Point by point
Published percentiles for both metros; the last column is San Jose against San Francisco.
| San Francisco | San Jose | Δ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employment | 69,030 | 87,350 | +26.5% |
| 10th percentile | $128,090 | $138,420 | +8.1% |
| 25th percentile | $163,500 | $173,650 | +6.2% |
| Median | $186,640 | $213,110 | +14.2% |
| 75th percentile | $219,670 | $226,080 | +2.9% |
| 90th percentile | $273,400 | $289,150 | +5.8% |
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
- Software Developers in San Francisco · Software Developers in San Jose
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.