Software Engineer salary in San Francisco.
Live salary data from Adzuna, calibrated against Hustle Report member submissions. Updated daily.
The 25 / 50 / 75 percentile band.
25th percentile
$70,000
Median (50th)
$91,500
Calibrated estimate
75th percentile
$120,500
Percentiles describe a snapshot of advertised salaries. Real take-home depends on tax band, pension contributions and bonuses. Hustle Report members can plug their actual numbers into the in-app calculator for a precise picture.
Software Engineer market in San Francisco.
Software engineering salaries have broadly stabilised after the 2022-23 correction, but the gap between mid-market and top-quartile pay has widened. Engineers who can ship across the full stack — particularly with TypeScript, cloud-native infrastructure and AI-integration experience — continue to command a meaningful premium. The contract market remains active; day rates run 1.5-2× equivalent permanent day cost, meaning a 4-hour-per-week side contract can close a £10,000-£20,000 annual salary gap inside a year.
San Francisco specifically: San Francisco remains the highest-paid tech market globally. Cash base salaries lead the country; equity (RSUs, options) typically adds 30-100% to total comp. The contract day-rate market is the deepest in the world for senior engineering and AI roles.
Members in this role typically add $10,200/year.
Modeled on a conservative 4 hours/week of contract work at the role's implied hourly equivalent ($51/hr). The Hustle Report Monday editorial finds the briefs and ranks them by fit so the time stays small.
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