Physics Teachers, Postsecondary Salary — San Francisco, California

The average Physics Teachers, Postsecondary in San Francisco, California earns $164,980 a year.

$164,980 / year, mean
↑ 42.5% above national average 83th percentile in California

San Francisco pays well above most of California for this role, landing in the top third statewide. That's a substantial premium — this metro pays far more for physics teachers, postsecondary than the U.S. average. Cost of living here runs meaningfully above the national average. This is a high-confidence estimate, based on a large sample of reported wages.

Percentile within California

0th 50th 100th
Employment (this metro)
70
Estimate confidence
RSE 0.9%
Cost of living 116 #1 most expensive of 188 cities in this dataset 100 = U.S. average · Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024
Crime index 2124 #140 safest of 188 cities in this dataset Per 100k residents · Source: FBI Crime Data Explorer
Median home value $1,149,215 #3 priciest of 188 cities in this dataset Source: zillow_real
Median household income $133,780 #2 highest of 188 cities in this dataset Source: Census Bureau ACS 5-year

Combining these four figures gives a fuller picture than salary alone: San Francisco ranks #1 for cost of living and #3 for home prices among the 188 cities in this pilot dataset, which matters as much as the headline salary number when comparing where to live.

Los Angeles $181,010 San Francisco $164,980 San Diego $164,460 College Station $159,810 Riverside $156,870 Ann Arbor $140,250 Lexington $139,850 Sacramento $125,420 Albany $122,080 New York $116,860 Philadelphia $116,060 Austin $113,120 Portland $112,930 Santa Maria $112,870 Buffalo $109,720 Rochester $108,550 Seattle $106,340 Dallas $105,590 Syracuse $103,550 Miami $103,080 McAllen $101,720 Richmond $101,600 Houston $100,890 Detroit $100,060 San Antonio $99,210 South Bend $98,060 Chicago $96,480 Virginia Beach $94,560 Pittsburgh $94,180 Harrisonburg $93,880 El Paso $93,090 Grand Rapids $90,310 Indianapolis $88,930 Trenton $86,920 Orlando $74,200 Lubbock $67,120
CityMean salaryvs. San Francisco
Albany, New York$122,080-26.0%
Ann Arbor, Michigan$140,250-15.0%
Austin, Texas$113,120-31.4%
Buffalo, New York$109,720-33.5%
Chicago, Illinois$96,480-41.5%
College Station, Texas$159,810-3.1%
Dallas, Texas$105,590-36.0%
Detroit, Michigan$100,060-39.4%
El Paso, Texas$93,090-43.6%
Grand Rapids, Michigan$90,310-45.3%
Harrisonburg, Virginia$93,880-43.1%
Houston, Texas$100,890-38.8%
Indianapolis, Indiana$88,930-46.1%
Lexington, Kentucky$139,850-15.2%
Los Angeles, California$181,010+9.7%
Lubbock, Texas$67,120-59.3%
McAllen, Texas$101,720-38.3%
Miami, Florida$103,080-37.5%
New York, New York$116,860-29.2%
Orlando, Florida$74,200-55.0%
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania$116,060-29.7%
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania$94,180-42.9%
Portland, Oregon$112,930-31.5%
Richmond, Virginia$101,600-38.4%
Riverside, California$156,870-4.9%
Rochester, New York$108,550-34.2%
Sacramento, California$125,420-24.0%
San Antonio, Texas$99,210-39.9%
San Diego, California$164,460-0.3%
Santa Maria, California$112,870-31.6%
Seattle, Washington$106,340-35.5%
South Bend, Indiana$98,060-40.6%
Syracuse, New York$103,550-37.2%
Trenton, New Jersey$86,920-47.3%
Virginia Beach, Virginia$94,560-42.7%
Gross salary
164,980/yr
Estimated take-home
112,779/yr
Est. total withheld
31.6%

Single filer, federal + California state tax + FICA, 2025 rates. Does not include state-specific payroll withholdings beyond income tax (see Data transparency). Not tax advice — verify with a professional for your specific situation.

View cost of living in this state All Physics Teachers, Postsecondary salaries in California → All Physics Teachers, Postsecondary salaries →
Community reality check

Community reality check for San Francisco

These notes add local color around San Francisco, California: comfort ranges, budget constraints and location trade-offs reported in public discussions.

Relocation gap2.0× calculator gap
City comparison anecdotal

Discussion highlights that calculators may imply roughly 2x gross income for comparable standard of living, while some employers offer only about 10% location premiums. Tech total compensation can be an exception, so the page should distinguish salary from total compensation.

2.0×calculator multiplier10%HCOL premium cited$200KAtlanta TC example$450KBay Area TC example

Anecdotal public-discussion signals, not official salary data, rent data or financial advice. Read this alongside the official figures on the page.

Data transparency

Sources used for this page

Official occupation and area metadata behind the visible salary, cost, housing and safety signals.

Occupation 25-1054 SOC code
Official area San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA BLS metro/geographic area
Area code 41860 Stable geographic key
Reference year 2025 BLS OEWS
Cost: bea_realHousing: zillow_realCrime: latest availableNet-pay source: ca_ftb_verificado 2025
Metro also includes
OaklandFremont
No additional caveats are attached to this row.
Methodology

How this page is built

The salary figure is the mean annual wage reported by the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program for this occupation and metro area. Percentile and national-average comparisons are calculated directly from the 188 cities currently in this dataset, not from a fixed external benchmark. Cost of living, crime and housing figures come from BEA, FBI and Zillow respectively — see "Data transparency" above for the exact sources and reference years used on this specific page.

Confidence: the RSE (relative standard error) shown under Overview indicates how reliable the salary estimate is for this metro — a lower RSE means a larger underlying sample.

On this page

Where this is

AK HI

Highlighted: California

Population (metro area)
4,653,593