San Francisco Paycheck Calculator (2026)

How the San Francisco Paycheck Calculator: Take-Home Pay Works

This San Francisco paycheck calculator estimates your take-home pay in San Francisco, California, using the 2026 federal brackets, Social Security, Medicare, California income tax. San Francisco workers pay California's graduated income tax and SDI but no city income tax, with some of the highest pay and housing costs in the country. Enter your salary, pay frequency, filing status and any pre-tax deduction to see net pay per paycheck and per year.

How San Francisco paychecks are taxed

A San Francisco paycheck is taxed federally and by California, whose brackets rise from 1% to 12.3%, plus a 1% surcharge above $1 million. Many San Francisco salaries are above $150,000, which reaches the 9.3% California bracket, so state tax can take 6% or more of pay. California conforms to federal treatment of pre-tax retirement contributions. San Francisco has no city income tax.

Technology workers often receive stock awards, which are taxed as wages when they vest and withheld at flat supplemental rates that can under-withhold at higher incomes, so plan for a balance due.

Local taxes and payroll deductions in San Francisco

San Francisco employees pay State Disability Insurance of about 1.2% to 1.3% of all wages with no cap. The city levies a payroll expense tax and gross receipts taxes on businesses, but no tax on employee wages. The city's Health Care Security Ordinance requires employers to spend money on health care for employees, which can appear as employer contributions rather than pay deductions.

See the California paycheck calculator for statewide rules.

How much San Francisco workers earn

The San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metro area had about 2,373,920 jobs in May 2025. The median annual wage across all of them was $74,260 ($35.70 an hour), 28% above the California median of $58,240 and 46% above the national median of $50,980. The average wage was higher, at $100,220, because a smaller number of high earners pull the average up; the median is the better guide to a typical paycheck.

After federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare and the California taxes in this calculator, a single worker on that $74,260 median takes home about $57,378 a year, or $4,781 a month and $2,206.84 every two weeks.

Wage figures: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metropolitan area. Take-home pay: this page's 2026 calculator, single filer, no pre-tax deductions, default settings.

Take-home pay for San Francisco's most common jobs

These are the occupations with the most workers in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont area. Each row shows the median salary and what a single filer keeps after 2026 taxes in San Francisco.

Large occupations tend to pay below the median: 9 of these 15 pay less than the $74,260 median for all workers, which is why the overall median is lower than many people expect.

Worked example: $65,000 salary in San Francisco

A single San Francisco worker earning $65,000, paid every two weeks and contributing $100 per paycheck to a traditional 401(k), has gross pay of $2,500.00 per paycheck. Federal income tax after the $2,600 deferral and the $16,100 standard deduction is about $5,308. Social Security is $4,030 and Medicare is $943. California state income tax is about $1,793, state payroll programs add about $845.

Net pay is about $49,481 a year, or $1,903.12 per paycheck, which is 76.1% of gross pay. Change any input in the calculator above to test your own situation.

Higher-paying jobs with many openings in San Francisco

Among occupations with at least 3,600 workers in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont area, these have the highest median pay. Federal tax takes a larger share at these salaries, so compare the take-home column rather than the salary when weighing offers.

Occupations concentrated in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont area

A location quotient compares how common a job is locally with its share nationwide: 2.0 means twice as concentrated as the U.S. overall. These occupations stand out in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont area and say a lot about which industries hire there.

San Francisco pay vs. California and the U.S. for popular jobs

Median annual wages for well-known jobs in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont area, the whole state of California and the United States. Pay usually tracks living costs, so a higher wage does not always mean more money left over.

What hourly jobs pay in San Francisco

The lowest-paid 10% of workers in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont area earn under $18.88 an hour. Common hourly jobs pay the median rates below; a 40-hour week at that rate takes home the amount shown after 2026 taxes. Check the current California minimum wage on the U.S. Department of Labor state minimum wage page, since several states raise it each year.

Pay by career field in San Francisco

BLS groups every job into broad career fields. Here is how many people work in each across the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont area, the field's median salary and what that salary takes home in San Francisco. Management pays the most at a median of $176,340; healthcare support pays the least at $38,800.

How pay grows with experience in San Francisco

The median hides a wide range. The lowest-paid 10% in a job are often new to it, while the top 10% are usually experienced, specialized or in management. The ranges below for common San Francisco jobs show how much room there is to grow, with take-home pay at each level.

Cost of living in San Francisco: rent, sales tax and housing

San Francisco is the most expensive rental market in the country outside New York, with one-bedroom rents commonly $3,000 to $3,500 a month. The combined sales tax rate is about 8.6%. Salaries in technology, biotech and finance are high, but housing costs absorb a large share of take-home pay. Many workers commute from the East Bay and Peninsula.

Hourly wages in San Francisco: what different pay rates take home

Many San Francisco workers are paid by the hour, so here is the estimated take-home pay at common wage rates for a single filer working 2,080 hours a year, using 2026 federal rules and the San Francisco and state taxes in this calculator. The figures assume no pre-tax deductions, so your own paycheck will differ once benefits are included.

Overtime is taxed as ordinary wages, so an extra hour is worth less than the wage rate after tax. Use the hourly paycheck calculator to include overtime hours and different pay frequencies.

How a 401(k) contribution changes a San Francisco paycheck

On a $65,000 salary with no retirement savings, estimated take-home pay in San Francisco is $51,575 a year. Contributing 6% to a traditional 401(k), which is $3,900, reduces take-home pay by only $3,160 because the contribution lowers federal income tax and, in most cases, state income tax. A 10% contribution of $6,500 lowers take-home pay by $5,292.

In other words, each dollar you save costs roughly 81 cents of take-home pay at this income. If your employer matches contributions, the true cost is even lower, so contributing at least enough to receive the full match is one of the most reliable ways to raise your total pay. Roth contributions cost the full dollar of take-home pay but grow tax-free.

Single or married: a $120,000 household in San Francisco

Filing status changes the outcome even when income is the same. A single filer earning $120,000 in San Francisco takes home about $84,760 a year, while a married couple filing jointly with one earner at $120,000 takes home about $95,921, a difference of $11,161 a year, because the joint standard deduction is $32,200 and the joint brackets are twice as wide.

If both spouses work, each employer withholds as if the job were the only income, which can leave you under-withheld, so use the multiple jobs paycheck calculator and update Form W-4. Head-of-household filers with a qualifying dependent can use the head of household calculator.

Rent and a budget on a typical San Francisco salary

On the $74,260 median, the common guideline of spending no more than 30% of gross pay on housing allows rent of about $1,856 a month. Using the 50/30/20 rule on the $4,781 monthly take-home pay, that is about $2,391 for needs such as rent, food and transport, $1,434 for wants and $956 for savings and debt payments.

If rents run above $1,856 for the home you want, the usual fixes are a roommate, a longer commute or a second income in the household; the rent affordability calculator tests your own numbers.