San Francisco Tops 2021’s Best Paying Cities: U.S. News

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — San Francisco tops a new list by U.S. News & World Report of U.S. cities that offer the highest number of best-paying jobs.

To earn a spot on this year’s list, released Tuesday by U.S. News, workers employed in the country’s 100 highest-paying jobs must make more than workers in other cities do in the same occupation.

In all, workers here in San Francisco make more in 88 of the top 100 jobs than workers in other cities across the country do.

Here’s a look at the top five highest-paying jobs in San Francisco, according to data compiled by U.S. News from the Bureau of Labor Statistics:

1. Nurse Anesthetist: $254,860
2. IT Manager: $201,960
3. Lawyer, $188,910
4. Financial Manager, $182,190
5. Marketing Manager: $181,720

Cities in California dominated this year’s list of highest-paying cities. In all, California cities comprise 10 of the top 20 cities.

Here are the top 10 highest-paying cities, according to this year’s list:

1. San Francisco, California
2. San Jose, California
3. New York, New York
4. Bridgeport, Connecticut
5. Seattle, Washington
6. Vallejo, California
7. Salinas, California
8. Washington, District of Columbia
9. Los Angeles, California; and Trenton, New Jersey (tie)

The 2021 list of highest-paying cities annually accompanies the release of U.S. News’ Best Jobs rankings.

To calculate this year’s best jobs, U.S. News looked at data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics to identify jobs with the greatest hiring demand. Jobs are then scored in seven areas: 10-year growth volume, 10-year growth percentage, median salary, employment rate, future job prospects, stress level, and work-life balance.

Read more about U.S. News’ methodology for compiling this year’s list.

At a time when health care is more critical than ever, jobs from the sector dominate this year’s list — 42 of the country’s 100 highest-paying jobs are in health care or related roles.

The rankings offer a look at the best jobs across 17 lists — from sectors such as business and technology — to help job seekers at every level achieve their career goals. They take into account the most important aspects of a job, including growth potential, work-life balance, and salary.

After ranking No. 3 for the last four years, physician assistant captured the No. 1 spot this year, while software developer landed at No. 2. Nurse practitioner followed at No. 3, while medical and health services manager debuted in the top 10 at No. 4.

— Written by Patch editor Megan VerHelst with additional reporting by Bea Karnes