How much does a Software Engineer make in San Francisco, CA?

Updated Sep 30, 2023

Experience

Industry

Total Pay Range
$139K - $214K/yr
Base Pay
$111K - $162K/yr
Additional Pay
$28K - $52K/yr

$171K

/yr
$139K$214K
Most Likely Range

The estimated total pay for a Software Engineer is $171,213 per year in the San Francisco, CA area, with an average salary of $133,946 per year. These numbers represent the median, which is the midpoint of the ranges from our proprietary Total Pay Estimate model and based on salaries collected from our users. The estimated additional pay is $37,268 per year. Additional pay could include cash bonus, commission, tips, and profit sharing. The "Most Likely Range" represents values that exist within the 25th and 75th percentile of all pay data available for this role.

How accurate is this most likely Total Pay range (base + additional) of $139K-$214K/yr?

Total Pay Trajectory

For Software Engineer in San Francisco, CA

$171,213 /yr
Software Engineer
$207,134 /yr
Senior Software Engineer
$226,042 /yr
Software Engineer IV
See Full Career Path

Download as data table

What is the total pay trajectory for Software Engineer?

Job TitleSalary
Software Engineer$171,213 /yr
Senior Software Engineer$207,134 /yr
Software Engineer IV$226,042 /yr

Related Job Titles

For Software Engineer in San Francisco, CA

Some related job titles are Entry Level Software Engineer Salaries with median pay of $144,605, Principal Software Engineer Salaries with median pay of $273,268, Software Development Engineer Salaries with median pay of $172,623, Software Development Engineer In Test (SDET) Salaries with median pay of $144,585.

Top Paying Companies

For a Software Engineer in San Francisco, CA

Below is the total pay for the top 10 highest paying companies for a Software Engineer in San Francisco, CA. Employers include Meta, Stripe and Google.

1
Meta
Meta
$273,968/yr
2K open jobs
2
Stripe
$249,535/yr
3
Google
$244,874/yr
4
Twitter
$235,979/yr
5
Airbnb
$235,506/yr
6
Cruise
$232,919/yr
9
Twitch
$229,890/yr
See pay for all companies for a Software Engineer in San Francisco, CAView data as table

Top Paying Companies

For Software Engineer in San Francisco, CA

1Meta$273,968
2Stripe$249,535
3Google$244,874
4Twitter$235,979
5Airbnb$235,506
6Cruise$232,919
7JustAnswer$232,451
8Mozilla$232,204
9Twitch$229,890
10BitTorrent$229,741
Total Pay Trajectory

For Software Engineer in San Francisco, CA

$171,213 /yr
Software Engineer
$207,134 /yr
Senior Software Engineer
$226,042 /yr
Software Engineer IV
See Full Career Path

Download as data table

What is the total pay trajectory for Software Engineer?

Job TitleSalary
Software Engineer$171,213 /yr
Senior Software Engineer$207,134 /yr
Software Engineer IV$226,042 /yr

What are total pay estimates for a Software Engineer at different companies in San Francisco, CA?

or
Sort:
Company
Jobs
Total Pay Range
Google
4.4
Software EngineerSee 1,688 salaries from this location

$244,874

 / yr
Uber
3.9
Software EngineerSee 1,518 salaries from this location

$224,008

 / yr
Salesforce
4.1
Software EngineerSee 926 salaries from this location

$191,928

 / yr
Cisco Systems
4.4
Software EngineerSee 763 salaries from this location

$204,965

 / yr
Meta
3.9
Software EngineerSee 716 salaries from this location

$273,968

 / yr
Pinterest
3.7
Software EngineerSee 646 salaries from this location

$206,976

 / yr
Yelp
3.5
Software EngineerSee 640 salaries from this location

$184,254

 / yr

Is this salary info helpful?

Let’s pay it forward! The Glassdoor community relies on people like you to share accurate salary info to promote fair compensation everywhere

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Airbnb
4.4
Software EngineerSee 580 salaries from this location

$235,506

 / yr
Twitter
3.2
Software EngineerSee 559 salaries from this location

$235,979

 / yr
Uatc
4
Software EngineerSee 477 salaries from this location

$142,888

 / yr
Lyft
3.6
Software EngineerSee 395 salaries from this location

$215,111

 / yr
Splunk
4
Software EngineerSee 384 salaries from this location

$200,405

 / yr
Dropbox
4.5
Software EngineerSee 384 salaries from this location

$225,574

 / yr
Block
4.1
Software EngineerSee 359 salaries from this location

$204,246

 / yr
DoorDash
3.7
Software EngineerSee 345 salaries from this location

$203,832

 / yr
Amazon
3.7
Software EngineerSee 306 salaries from this location

$220,919

 / yr
Apple
4.2
Software EngineerSee 239 salaries from this location

$225,042

 / yr
LinkedIn
4.2
Software EngineerSee 223 salaries from this location

$229,243

 / yr
Microsoft
4.3
Software EngineerSee 222 salaries from this location

$208,515

 / yr
Quantcast
3.3
Software EngineerSee 175 salaries from this location

$210,346

 / yr
Download as data table

Software Engineer in San Francisco, CA Salaries

Job TitleLocationSalary
Google Software Engineer salaries - 1,688 salaries reportedSan Francisco, CA$244,874/yr
Uber Software Engineer salaries - 1,518 salaries reportedSan Francisco, CA$224,008/yr
Salesforce Software Engineer salaries - 926 salaries reportedSan Francisco, CA$191,928/yr
Cisco Systems Software Engineer salaries - 763 salaries reportedSan Francisco, CA$204,965/yr
Meta Software Engineer salaries - 716 salaries reportedSan Francisco, CA$273,968/yr
Pinterest Software Engineer salaries - 646 salaries reportedSan Francisco, CA$206,976/yr
Yelp Software Engineer salaries - 640 salaries reportedSan Francisco, CA$184,254/yr
Airbnb Software Engineer salaries - 580 salaries reportedSan Francisco, CA$235,506/yr
Twitter Software Engineer salaries - 559 salaries reportedSan Francisco, CA$235,979/yr
Uatc Software Engineer salaries - 477 salaries reportedSan Francisco, CA$142,888/yr
Lyft Software Engineer salaries - 395 salaries reportedSan Francisco, CA$215,111/yr
Splunk Software Engineer salaries - 384 salaries reportedSan Francisco, CA$200,405/yr
Dropbox Software Engineer salaries - 384 salaries reportedSan Francisco, CA$225,574/yr
Block Software Engineer salaries - 359 salaries reportedSan Francisco, CA$204,246/yr
DoorDash Software Engineer salaries - 345 salaries reportedSan Francisco, CA$203,832/yr
Amazon Software Engineer salaries - 306 salaries reportedSan Francisco, CA$220,919/yr
Apple Software Engineer salaries - 239 salaries reportedSan Francisco, CA$225,042/yr
LinkedIn Software Engineer salaries - 223 salaries reportedSan Francisco, CA$229,243/yr
Microsoft Software Engineer salaries - 222 salaries reportedSan Francisco, CA$208,515/yr
Quantcast Software Engineer salaries - 175 salaries reportedSan Francisco, CA$210,346/yr
Viewing 1 - 20 of 5,340

Top Paying Industries

For a Software Engineer in San Francisco, CA

The top 5 paying industries for a Software Engineer in San Francisco, CA are Manufacturing with a median total pay of $171,966, Information Technology with a median total pay of $171,914, Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology with a median total pay of $171,291, Restaurants & Food Service with a median total pay of $167,193, and Real Estate with a median total pay of $166,192.

IndustryTotal PayTotal Pay Insight
  • ManufacturingManufacturing$171,966

    5% Higher than other industries

  • Information TechnologyInformation Technology$171,914

    5% Higher than other industries

  • Pharmaceutical & BiotechnologyPharmaceutical & Biotechnology$171,291

    5% Higher than other industries

  • Restaurants & Food ServiceRestaurants & Food Service$167,193

    2% Higher than other industries

  • Real EstateReal Estate$166,192

    2% Higher than other industries

Manufacturing

Top paying companies in Manufacturing for Software Engineer are Dolby, Fitbit, and Tesla.

DolbyDolby$200,123/yr
FitbitFitbit$191,307/yr
TeslaTesla$175,706/yr

Glassdoor Economist Pay Overview

What is the pay outlook for Engineering?

Engineering jobs are in high demand with workers receiving generous compensation packages and bonuses. Engineering offers ample opportunity for growth and development with transferable skills across an array of fields from software, supply chain and logistics to aerospace. Most roles require at least a bachelor’s degree. To remain competitive, job-seekers should consider specialization or skill-specific programs such as coding boot-camps or certifications.

How does the Software engineer salary in San Francisco, CA compare to the national average salary in US for the same job?

The average salary for a Software engineer in US is $108,249 per year based on 314,918 salary contributions, which is 20.05% less than the salary for a Software engineer in San Francisco, CA. The cost of living and the local demand for the work are among the factors affecting wages. The top 3 companies in US where a Software engineer gets the highest compensation are Reed Exhibitions, TikTok and NVIDIA Corporation. Bigger companies typically pay 18.41% more than smaller companies for a Software engineer.

What people are saying about Software Engineer salaries

Career Pivot

1y

a 

Lead Software Engineer

Hi fellow fishes, I recently interviewed at GoJek and cleared all of the rounds. I even got a call from HR that you have been selected for the senior software engineer role. He then asked me my expected salary. Which i gave a ballpark figure of 28 Laks PA. Since then it has been 3 days and I haven't heard back. Should i call him back and quote a lower price? Need your advice here. P.S - i am from India and have around 4 years of experience. My current salary is around 15 lakhs pa.

10

3 Comments

Recent Salaries Shared

For software engineer in San Francisco, CA

Salary Share
Anonymously share your pay to help the community

Job Title

Location

Total Pay

Base Pay | Additional Pay

Total Years of Experience

Years at Recent Employer

Submitted

Date or Time

Software Engineer

San Francisco, CA

 | 1-3 years

$120,000

/yr

Submitted Yesterday

1-3 years
Yesterday
Software Engineer

San Francisco, CA

 | 4-6 years

$160,000

/yr

Submitted Yesterday

4-6 years
Yesterday
Software Engineer

San Francisco, CA

 | 4-6 years

$175,000

/yr

Submitted Yesterday

4-6 years
Yesterday
Software Engineer

San Francisco, CA

 | 1-3 years

$276,000

/yr

$192K | $84K

Submitted Yesterday

1-3 years
Yesterday
Software Engineer

San Francisco, CA

 | 4-6 years

$147,000

/yr

Submitted Yesterday

4-6 years
Yesterday
Software Engineer

San Francisco, CA

 | 4-6 years

$130,000

/yr

Submitted Yesterday

4-6 years
Yesterday
Software Engineer

San Francisco, CA

 | 7-9 years

$65

/hr

Submitted Yesterday

7-9 years
Yesterday
Software Engineer

San Francisco, CA

 | 4-6 years

$165,000

/yr

Submitted Yesterday

4-6 years
Yesterday
Software Engineer

San Francisco, CA

 | 1-3 years

$220,000

/yr

Submitted Yesterday

1-3 years
Yesterday

Software Engineer pay FAQ in San Francisco, CA

The average salary for a Software Engineer is $171,213 per year in San Francisco, CA. Salaries estimates are based on 462237 salaries submitted anonymously to Glassdoor by a Software Engineer employees in San Francisco, CA.

The highest salary for a Software Engineer in San Francisco, CA is $213,723 per year.

The lowest salary for a Software Engineer in San Francisco, CA is $139,010 per year.

If you are thinking of becoming a Software Engineer or planning the next step in your career, find details about the role, the career path and salary trajectory of a Software Engineer.

Software engineers are paid well above average, often receiving six-figure salaries. The pay range reflects the demand for their skillset and the profitability of the products they develop. Candidates with prior experience in the field or higher levels of education generally receive higher salaries. Pay is expected to grow as the digital transformation reaches a global level. Software engineers can further increase their total pay by pursuing freelance consulting opportunities.

Powered by Glassdoor Economic Research

With a post-graduate degree, a couple of years' work experience, and annual bonuses, a software engineer's salary can qualify as good money. Anonymous Glassdoor ratings indicate that around 74% of software engineers are satisfied with their salaries.

The total pay for software engineers following the average career path can stretch from $115,441.64 to $259,359.00 per year, depending on the level of experience. Total pay includes salaries, bonuses, and other benefits with a monetary value. After working a few years and gaining enough experience, you could enter the ranks of principal software engineers and earn higher total pay.

If you want to earn more from your career as a software engineer, or you'd like to apply for a new position with a higher salary, ask yourself what you can bring to the table. If you hold an associate's degree, the next step would be to complete your bachelor's in software engineering. And after that, consider acquiring your master's degree or a doctorate.

Learn new skills that are in high demand for your field. Add credibility to your skills by obtaining certifications from well-known authorities such as Microsoft, C (programming language), and CIW.

If you enjoy your job as a software engineer but would like to earn a higher salary, you could ask for a salary increase, provided that you can back up your request. If your job responsibilities have multiplied, you've been promoted, or you find out you're being underpaid, consider starting a dialogue with your bosses. Point out what you've brought to the company or any skills and certifications that set you apart. A 3% increase is standard, but ask for more to kick off negotiations.

Software engineers new to a company should highlight their most sought-after skills and experience to motivate a higher starting salary.

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