Updated May 2026 · BLS OEWS 2024
Highest Paying Trades in San Francisco
Skilled-trade workers in San Francisco, CA earn an average median wage of $87,439 across 45 tracked trades, per 2024 BLS OEWS data. With a cost-of-living index of 190, that translates to roughly $46,021 in U.S.-average purchasing power. The top-paying trade in the metro is Elevator Mechanic at $164,020.
Cost of Living and Real Pay in San Francisco
San Francisco's cost-of-living index of 190 is well above the U.S. average — roughly 90% more expensive to live there than in a typical American city. Housing is the dominant driver in nearly every high-COL metro, with groceries, transportation, and services compounding the gap. Trades workers in San Francisco need substantially higher nominal pay to match the purchasing power of a journeyman in a mid-cost metro.
The single highest-paying trade in San Francisco is Elevator Mechanic, with a median wage of $164,020 per BLS OEWS data. Construction Manager ranks second at $160,870 — a gap of $3,150 between #1 and #2. Wider gaps usually signal a specialty trade with steep certification or experience requirements; narrower gaps indicate broad-based wage strength across multiple skilled occupations in the metro.
San Francisco's average Trade Pay Score across all tracked trades is 49, in the D-or-below tier. That typically reflects either thin local labor demand, a high-cost metro that erodes purchasing power, or both. Workers should examine the per-trade detail carefully — a few specialized trades may still grade well even when the metro-wide average is weak.
Trade Salaries in San Francisco
| Trade | Category | Median | Range (10th-90th) | Grade | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elevator Mechanic | Specialty | $164,020 | $75,950 – $191,450 | B | 390 |
| Construction Manager | Management | $160,870 | $99,570 – $226,050 | B | 5,660 |
| Boilermaker | Industrial | $138,790 | $75,910 – $139,130 | D | 50 |
| Pile Driver Operator | Heavy Equipment | $133,080 | $83,180 – $141,010 | C | 130 |
| Power Line Installer | Electrical | $128,470 | $81,020 – $181,300 | B | 750 |
| Electrical Power-Line Tech | Electrical | $128,470 | $81,020 – $181,300 | B | 750 |
| Building Inspector | Management | $125,150 | $63,230 – $171,700 | C | 2,430 |
| Heavy Equipment Operator | Heavy Equipment | $117,350 | $63,670 – $148,270 | C | 4,560 |
| Millwright | Industrial | $110,830 | $40,780 – $146,310 | C | 410 |
| Aircraft Mechanic | Automotive | $100,320 | $60,820 – $130,940 | C | 1,030 |
| Sheet Metal Worker | Metalwork | $98,140 | $54,840 – $144,710 | D | 1,020 |
| Environmental Engineering Tech | Specialty | $98,110 | $72,140 – $130,670 | C | 190 |
| Electrician | Electrical | $93,750 | $54,750 – $179,060 | C | 9,520 |
| Industrial Electrician | Electrical | $92,150 | $49,920 – $139,970 | C | 510 |
| Industrial Machinery Mechanic | Industrial | $86,120 | $56,910 – $131,200 | C | 2,650 |
| Telecommunications Tech | Electrical | $85,670 | $56,410 – $130,410 | D | 2,070 |
| Tool and Die Maker | Metalwork | $85,290 | $53,310 – $124,870 | F | 90 |
| Carpenter | Construction | $80,950 | $51,310 – $133,040 | D | 14,360 |
| Diesel Mechanic | Automotive | $80,820 | $47,040 – $108,130 | D | 1,780 |
| Drywall Installer | Construction | $80,500 | $58,030 – $131,860 | F | 2,920 |
| HVAC Technician | HVAC | $76,760 | $48,870 – $124,230 | D | 3,610 |
| Refrigeration Mechanic | HVAC | $76,760 | $48,870 – $124,230 | D | 3,610 |
| Concrete Finisher | Construction | $76,650 | $50,670 – $118,460 | D | 2,740 |
| Glazier | Construction | $76,530 | $52,060 – $128,800 | D | 1,200 |
| Mason (Bricklayer) | Construction | $76,340 | $54,680 – $122,510 | F | 360 |
| Locksmith | Specialty | $75,780 | $47,680 – $101,420 | D | 290 |
| Floor Layer | Construction | $75,610 | $45,780 – $122,730 | F | 880 |
| Auto Mechanic | Automotive | $74,590 | $44,900 – $105,320 | D | 7,620 |
| Roofer | Construction | $74,020 | $56,210 – $99,210 | D | 2,330 |
| Plumber | Plumbing | $71,700 | $50,720 – $142,380 | D | 7,090 |
| Pipefitter | Plumbing | $71,700 | $50,720 – $142,380 | D | 7,090 |
| Fire Sprinkler Fitter | Plumbing | $71,700 | $50,720 – $142,380 | D | 7,090 |
| Steamfitter | Plumbing | $71,700 | $50,720 – $142,380 | D | 7,090 |
| Plasterer | Construction | $71,330 | $50,000 – $111,240 | F | 700 |
| Solar PV Installer | Electrical | $70,390 | $53,510 – $98,740 | B | 1,140 |
| Crane Operator | Heavy Equipment | $69,970 | $49,640 – $153,660 | D | 230 |
| Machinist | Metalwork | $66,320 | $46,730 – $117,850 | F | 2,000 |
| Welder | Welding | $63,890 | $49,620 – $102,200 | D | 1,940 |
| Structural Welder | Welding | $63,890 | $49,620 – $102,200 | D | 1,940 |
| Underwater Welder | Welding | $63,890 | $49,620 – $102,200 | F | 1,940 |
| Maintenance Mechanic | Industrial | $63,470 | $45,890 – $99,900 | D | 15,870 |
| Septic Tank Servicer | Plumbing | $61,960 | $43,710 – $101,350 | F | 360 |
| Painter (Construction) | Construction | $61,910 | $47,200 – $99,700 | F | 5,920 |
| Tile Setter | Construction | $60,350 | $45,880 – $83,610 | F | 890 |
| Ironworker | Structural | $58,700 | $49,090 – $112,020 | F | 130 |
How These Numbers Are Calculated
Every wage figure on this page comes from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program, published annually at bls.gov/oes. BLS surveys hundreds of thousands of employers per release; the resulting percentile wages (10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, 90th) are the gold standard for U.S. wage benchmarking. The Trade Pay Score combines raw median pay (30%), 5-year wage growth (25%), employment depth (25%), and cost-of-living-adjusted purchasing power (20%); read the full methodology.
Career outlook data — projected employment growth through 2032, typical entry-level requirements, on-the-job training expectations — comes from the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook at bls.gov/ooh. Apprenticeship programs in the San Francisco area are listed on the U.S. Department of Labor's apprenticeship.gov registry.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which trade pays the most in San Francisco?
Elevator Mechanic is the highest-paying skilled trade in San Francisco, CA, with a median annual wage of $164,020. The 90th-percentile reading reaches $191,450, with apprentices and entry-level workers starting near $75,950. That spread reflects experience, certification, and union membership.
What is the average trade salary in San Francisco?
The average median wage across all 45 skilled trades tracked in San Francisco is $87,439. With a cost-of-living index of 190, that converts to $46,021 in U.S.-average purchasing power — a downward adjustment because the metro is more expensive than average.
Are skilled-trade jobs in San Francisco growing?
Five-year wage growth across San Francisco's tracked trades varies by occupation — energy and electrification trades have generally posted the strongest gains, while general construction labor has tracked closer to inflation. Detailed projected employment growth through 2032 for each trade is published in the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook at https://www.bls.gov/ooh/.
Where can I find apprenticeships in San Francisco?
Registered apprenticeship programs are listed on the U.S. Department of Labor's apprenticeship.gov site at https://www.apprenticeship.gov/. You can filter by city, state, and occupation. Most skilled trades require 3-5 years of registered apprenticeship before reaching journeyman pay; the per-trade pages on TradeWages list typical year-by-year apprentice pay as a percentage of journeyman scale.
How does pay in San Francisco compare to other metros?
San Francisco's average Trade Pay Score is 49/100, a below-average grade. The score combines nominal pay, 5-year wage growth, employment depth, and cost-of-living-adjusted purchasing power, so it captures both how much you earn and how far that income goes locally. Compare San Francisco against other metros on the best-cities-for-trades ranking page.
Skilled-trade workers in San Francisco, CA earn an average median wage of $87,439 across 45 tracked trades, per 2024 BLS OEWS data. With a cost-of-living index of 190, that translates to roughly $46,021 in U.S.-average purchasing power. The top-paying trade in the metro is Elevator Mechanic at $164,020.
The this entity record above pulls directly from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey. What follows is the per-entity context — how this entity sits in the broader U.S. skilled-trade wage data distribution and which underlying factors drive the headline numbers.
The methodology behind every numeric value on this page is publicly documented on the the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey portal and described in detail on this site’s methodology page. Refresh cadence varies by underlying series; the page surfaces the as-of date for each number so readers can trace any figure back to the source release.
For readers using this page as a decision input, the related-entity pages elsewhere on the site provide the comparison set. The most useful comparison for this entity is typically a peer within U.S. trades, cities, and states with similar size, similar exposure, or similar geography — not the national-level summary alone.