Bust out the $4 toast, French Laundry reservations, and third-wave Champagne, all you “average” San Francisco workers out there! You make substantially more money per hour than your also-average counterparts elsewhere in the United States. According to a new report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released Tuesday, San Francisco workers makes 53 percent more money per hour than the national average.
The regional Occupational Employment and Wages report, whose deep-dive details can be seen below, finds the average San Francisco worker makes $36.61 per hour. That compares to an average hourly wage of $26.61 elsewhere in the United States. Feel any better about your inability to afford owning a home?
The findings are slightly Silicon Valley-skewed. The BLS defines San Francisco as the “San Francisco-Redwood City-South San Francisco Metropolitan Division,” so a number of wealthy Bay Area neighborhoods outside San Francisco are included in the statistical dragnet. Redwood City is a particularly notable variable here, as the presence of Google, Oracle, and Box campuses is likely affecting these averages.
The BLS separates this data into 22 occupational groups. “When compared to the nationwide distribution, [San Francisco] employment was more highly concentrated in nine of the 22 occupational groups, including computer and mathematical; business and financial operations; and management,” the report said.
“Conversely, 12 groups had employment shares significantly below their national representation, including production; healthcare practitioners and technical; and education, training, and library.”
Of course, averages are not helpful indicators in a city that has almost no middle class. And our misleadingly high ranking is likely to go up again in future iterations of this twice-annual report, as San Francisco minimum wage increases to $14 on Saturday.
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