The PayScale Index (US): Trends in Compensation

2012: San Francisco’s wages experienced negative quarter-over-quarter wage growth in Q1 2012. Wages fell 0.5 percent, but strong gains earned in 2011 kept earnings 1 percent above their level a year ago.

2007-2011: One strong sector, technology, was not enough to carry wages upward in San Francisco during this period.

The San Francisco metro area outpaced national average wage growth by 1 percent or so during 2007 and the first half of 2008. This growth eventually dropped back in line with national compensation trends at the end of 2008.

Wages in San Francisco then dropped through 2010 by about 1 percent more than the national average, stabilizing at this lower level through the end of 2010. Then, by the end of 2011, earnings in San Francisco grew 1 percent year-over-year but remained well below their 2008 peak.

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The San Francisco Metro Area includes people in San Francisco, Calif.; Oakland, Calif.; Fremont, Calif.; Hayward, Calif.; San Mateo, Calif.; Redwood City, Calif.; and the surrounding areas.

The PayScale Index tracks quarterly changes in total cash compensation for full-time, private industry employees in the United States. In addition to a national index, it includes separate indices for specific industries, metropolitan areas, job categories, and company sizes. The PayScale Index uses 2006 average total cash compensation as a baseline.

See full methodology for compensation trend reports.

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