In San Francisco, Even $180k Tech Salaries Are No Longer Enough
Rising cost of living in San Francisco has made even a $180,000 tech salary insufficient for a comfortable lifestyle, as high housing costs, inflation, and taxation erode purchasing power for many workers in the city.
Background
- San Francisco's cost of living has risen so sharply that the six-figure salaries once considered a "good tech wage" — roughly $180,000 — now leave workers feeling squeezed by rent, childcare, taxes, and everyday expenses.
- The article reflects the aftermath of the post-COVID tech boom: remote work scattered many workers to cheaper cities, but those who stayed (or were called back) face a housing market that never got cheaper and inflation that eroded their purchasing power.
- Companies like Google, Meta, and Apple still pay among the highest salaries in the world, but the "SF premium" — the extra pay meant to offset the city's high costs — has been overtaken by the actual cost of living.
- This matters because San Francisco has long been the symbolic center of the U.S. tech industry; if even top tech earners struggle there, it signals a broader affordability crisis in major American cities and raises questions about who can afford to work in innovation hubs.