DevOps engineer salary
DevOps engineer salary in San Francisco
Percentile salary data for devops engineer roles in San Francisco, US, by seniority. Senior-level figures include total compensation where regionally applicable. Figures are shown in USD by default; use the currency switcher to change the display.
San Francisco carries a cost-of-living index of 112 on the Numbeo and Mercer blended scale where New York City equals 100, a very high cost of living that is more expensive than New York City. The figures below are nominal pay in USD; read them alongside that index when comparing San Francisco with other markets.
Median pay by seniority
Median pay by seniority
Junior
$99,000
Base p50
Mid
$152,000
Base p50
Senior
$291,000
Total comp p50
Staff
$529,000
Total comp p50
Distribution
Percentile distribution
10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, and 90th percentile by seniority, shown in the local currency (USD). The detailed table below defaults to USD.
Salary percentiles by seniority, in USD. Junior: 10th percentile $64,000, 25th $81,000, median $99,000, 75th $123,000, 90th percentile $153,000. Mid: 10th percentile $99,000, 25th $124,000, median $152,000, 75th $190,000, 90th percentile $235,000. Senior: 10th percentile $189,000, 25th $238,000, median $291,000, 75th $363,000, 90th percentile $450,000. Staff: 10th percentile $381,000, 25th $455,000, median $529,000, 75th $714,000, 90th percentile $952,000.
Detailed figures
| Seniority | 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th | Comp | Sample |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| junior | $64,000 | $81,000 | $99,000 | $123,000 | $153,000 | Base | 950 |
| mid | $99,000 | $124,000 | $152,000 | $190,000 | $235,000 | Base | 1400 |
| senior | $189,000 | $238,000 | $291,000 | $363,000 | $450,000 | Total comp | 850 |
| staff | $381,000 | $455,000 | $529,000 | $714,000 | $952,000 | Total comp | 280 |
Source: US BLS OES May 2024 (SOC 15-1244) + Levels.fyi 2025 DevOps (2025) https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes151244.htm, cost-of-living index 112 (NYC=100)
How pay grows with seniority
Each step compares the median (50th percentile) of one tier with the next, using the figures in the table above for devops engineer roles in San Francisco.
- Moving from mid to senior, the median rises roughly 91% in San Francisco.
- Moving from senior to staff, the median rises roughly 82% in San Francisco.
- Across the full ladder, the highest tier median is about 5.3x the entry tier for devops engineer roles here, before negotiation and individual level calibration.
Take-home
After-tax pay and per-month take-home
Headline salaries are gross. What lands in your account after income tax and mandatory contributions is what actually pays the rent, so here is the estimated split on the San Francisco senior median.
Gross / year
$291,000
Senior median (50th pct)
Take-home / year
$183,924
63% of gross
Take-home / month
$15,327
from $24,250 gross
Effective rate
37%
tax + contributions
On a senior median of $291,000 in San Francisco, an estimated $107,076 goes to income tax and mandatory contributions, leaving roughly $183,924 take-home, or about 63% of gross.
That deduction breaks down as roughly $67,115 in income tax, $12,898 in social contributions, and $27,063 in state/provincial income tax (california) at this income level in the United States.
In monthly terms that is about $15,327 net from $24,250 gross a month, the figure that actually lands in a devops engineer's account before pension or benefit elections.
Affordability
Is this a good salary in San Francisco?
"Good" depends on what the city costs. Type your own figure below to see the estimated take-home and how far it goes against San Francisco's single-person cost of living, or read the verdict on the senior median first.
Enter an annual gross figure to see the estimated take-home and how it compares with San Francisco's single-person cost of living. Estimate based on IRS 2025 federal brackets + FICA.
Take-home / year
$183,924
63% of gross
Take-home / month
$15,327
from $24,250 gross
Est. monthly living cost
$6,384
incl. ~$4,704 rent
Left over / month
$8,943
58% of take-home
comfortable in San Francisco
On $291,000 gross, your estimated take-home covers typical single-person living costs with a healthy margin, and rent sits near the conventional 30% guideline. Rent is about 31% of monthly take-home here.
Reference estimate for a single filer with no dependants, using published 2025/2026 statutory bands and a cost-of-living index where New York City equals 100. It is not tax advice or a personalised calculation. Real take-home and living costs vary with filing status, pension elections, allowances, and where exactly you live.
Against San Francisco's single-person cost base, a senior devops engineer on this median is comfortable: the estimated take-home of $15,327 a month covers typical single-person living costs with a healthy margin, and rent sits near the conventional 30% guideline.
Typical single-person monthly costs in San Francisco, including roughly $4,704 for a one-bedroom rental, come to about $6,384, which would leave around $8,943 discretionary each month at the median.
Rent works out at about 31% of monthly take-home here, against the conventional 30% guideline often used as a reference point.
The verdict is descriptive, not advice: it compares one number against a modelled cost base. Living costs and tax both vary with circumstances this page cannot see.
What drives the range
Why the same job title in San Francisco can span the spread shown above. These are descriptions of the data, not guidance on what to ask for.
- Base versus total compensation
- Senior and staff figures here are reported as total compensation, so they fold in bonus and equity rather than base salary alone. The mid and junior rows are base only, which is part of why the step up between mid and senior looks larger than the raw seniority multiplier.
- Cost of living
- San Francisco carries a cost-of-living index of 112 on a scale where New York City is 100. Local pay levels track local market rates and tech employer presence, not the cost-of-living index directly, so a lower index does not translate one-for-one into lower real pay.
- Role premium
- DevOps engineer pay is anchored to occupation-specific medians from the underlying labour statistics, then adjusted for the local tech market. Specialisation, scarcity of the skill set, and the mix of employers hiring for it in San Francisco all feed the published range.
The San Francisco market
Nowhere else concentrates product-led software companies the way the Bay Area does. San Francisco offers span the giant platforms, well-funded growth companies, and a long tail of early startups, and equity is a bigger share of the package here than in almost any other market. Expect structured loops: a recruiter screen, a technical screen, then a full onsite with coding, system design, and behavioural rounds. Levelling matters enormously, since the same title can map to very different bands across employers. Sponsorship is standard practice at established companies. The trade-off is cost: rent and everyday spending are punishing, which is why so many people weigh a Bay Area offer against a remote role paying a location-adjusted figure from somewhere cheaper.
Cost-of-living-adjusted pay
In nominal terms the senior median in San Francisco is about 10% above New York City. Adjusting both for cost of living, the San Francisco figure is worth about 2% lower in real terms.
Real-terms figures divide the nominal median by the city cost-of-living index (New York City = 100). They are a rough purchasing-power comparison, not a take-home or after-tax calculation.
Methodology and sources
The mid-level median anchors to occupation medians from the sources below, then scales by the documented seniority multipliers (junior 0.65x, mid 1.00x, senior 1.45x, staff 2.05x) and the local tech-pay level for San Francisco. The 10th, 25th, 75th, and 90th percentiles are fitted from the median using the cross-sectional dispersion that the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports for software occupations. Cost-of-living indices blend Numbeo 2025 and Mercer 2025.
Primary source for this slice: US BLS OES May 2024 (SOC 15-1244) + Levels.fyi 2025 DevOps (2025). https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes151244.htm
Reference data only. Reported medians describe a market; individual pay varies by employer, level calibration, and negotiation. Nothing here is financial advice.
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