SalaryExplorer

SOC 25-1072 · May 2025 · BLS OEWS

Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary — San Francisco

San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA · 10 metro areas compared

$84,730 /year
700jobs in area
+5.6%vs US median

At $84,730, median pay for Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary in San Francisco, CA tracks the national median of $80,250 closely.

Wage distribution · annual

Shaded band holds the middle 50% of earners

US MEDIAN $80,25010TH$49,28025TH$62,980MEDIAN$84,73075TH$116,31090TH$155,710

How pay has moved

$106,780$80,320202020212022202320242025$84,730
$96,880 in 2020 to $84,730 in 2025, -12.5% before inflation. BLS states that OEWS estimates are not designed for comparison across years: the occupational classification, the sampling frame and the survey method have all changed inside this window. Read the direction, not the exact difference.

The next ten years

Projected to grow much faster than average

Change in jobs, 2024 to 2034
+16.8%
Openings per year
8,600
Typical entry-level education
Doctoral or professional degree
Related work experience
Less than 5 years

Includes jobs opened by workers leaving the occupation, not only new positions.

Projections are published nationally only. This is the outlook for the occupation across the United States, not a measurement for San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA.

Projections are based on 2024 employment and run to 2034. The wages above are from the May 2025 survey, a separate BLS programme on a different release cycle, so the two are not two views of one dataset.

Salary overview

At $84,730, median pay for Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary in San Francisco, CA tracks the national median of $80,250 closely. Pay ranges from under $49,280 at the tenth percentile to more than $155,710 at the ninetieth, with the interquartile range running from $62,980 to $116,310.

Employment stands at 700, or 0.3 jobs per thousand held locally. Within the state, San Jose records the highest median at $150,400. Of the 688 occupations with published wages in this area, it sits 324th.

Percentile breakdown

Annual wages by percentile · San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA · May 2025
PercentileAnnualvs US median
10th$49,280−38.6%
25th$62,980−21.5%
Median (50th)$84,730+5.6%
75th$116,310+44.9%
90th$155,710+94.0%
Mean$95,980+19.6%

Why the average earner is usually not a typical earner

Other metro areas in California

Median annual wage for Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary, by metro area
#Metro areaMedianJobsRelative
1San Jose$150,400140
2Fresno$135,080110
3San Diego$103,900360
4Bakersfield$98,36070
5Visalia$97,36080
6Sacramento$87,010270
7Modesto$81,26050
8Los Angeles$79,6802,350
9Santa Maria$79,640100
10Riverside$78,540880

What the pay is worth locally

Prices in San Francisco run 15.6% above the national average, so the median of $84,730 buys what $73,296 would elsewhere in the country. Measured that way the gap against the national median narrows to 8.7% below the national median in real terms.

Published median

$84,730as reported by BLS

Local price level

115.6US average = 100 · BEA 2024

Adjusted for local prices

$73,296US average = 100 · BEA 2024

Why the state that pays most is usually not where pay goes furthest

Key takeaways

  • Median pay is $84,730 a year, 5.6% above the national median.
  • Published pay spans $49,280 to $155,710 between the tenth and ninetieth percentiles.
  • The area has 700 jobs in this occupation.
  • The highest-paying metro area covered is San Jose, at $150,400.

Frequently asked questions

What is the median wage for Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary in San Francisco, CA?

The median annual wage is $84,730, as of May 2025. Half of the workers in this occupation earn more than that and half earn less.

Is that higher than the national average?

The national median for this occupation is $80,250, so pay in San Francisco, CA is 5.6% higher. These figures are medians, not averages: half of workers fall on each side.

What do the top earners make?

The top tenth of this occupation in San Francisco, CA earns more than $155,710 per year. The ninetieth percentile is the highest figure the survey publishes.

What is the starting range?

The tenth percentile wage is $49,280 per year. The survey measures wages actually paid rather than experience level, so this reflects the lowest-paid tenth rather than entry-level pay specifically.

Which area nearby pays the most?

The highest median for this occupation among the metro areas covered is in San Jose, at $150,400 per year.

How many jobs are there in this occupation here?

The survey estimates 700 jobs in this occupation in San Francisco, CA. Self-employed workers are not included.

Source and methodology

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 Wages are for wage-and-salary workers; self-employed workers are not included. Salary Explorer is an independent project. It is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics or any government agency. Full methodology.