Architectural and Civil Drafter salary in San Francisco, CA

Based on 31 certified H-1B filings in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metro area, FY2025–FY2026. Includes Oakland, Alameda, Danville, Larkspur, Menlo Park.

Also listed as: Architectural Drafter

Median salary$79,976
Middle 50%$72.6k–$86k
vs. national median+11%comparison median $71,899
Filings31FY2025–FY2026 · latest two fiscal years

Salary range

Box: middle 50% of filings. Whiskers: 10th–90th percentile. 99% of filings are between $58,564 and $104,100.
PercentileSalary
10th$66,560
25th$72,551
50th (median)$79,976
75th$86,000
90th$96,138

Salary by year

Median salary

$50k $70k $90k FY2020: median $63,000 (57 filings) FY2021: median $67,550 (34 filings) FY2022: median $67,000 (34 filings) FY2023: median $75,192 (26 filings) FY2024: median $73,500 (16 filings) FY2025: median $79,988 (16 filings) FY2026: median $78,000 (15 filings) FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25 FY26

Filings per year

FY2020: 57 filings FY20 FY2021: 34 filings FY21 FY2022: 34 filings FY22 FY2023: 26 filings FY23 FY2024: 16 filings FY24 FY2025: 16 filings FY25 FY2026: 15 filings FY26 57
Shaded: FY2025–FY2026, the years behind the figures above. Median shown for years with at least 10 filings. FY2026 covers Q1–Q3 only.
Show as table
Fiscal yearMedianP25P75Filings
FY2020$63,000$58,000$70,00057
FY2021$67,550$62,400$75,11934
FY2022$67,000$61,250$71,32034
FY2023$75,192$67,350$77,78726
FY2024$73,500$65,796$76,24016
FY2025$79,988$74,450$90,57216
FY2026$78,000$72,301$84,68315

Cost of living

San Francisco's median Architectural and Civil Drafter salary of $79,976 is worth about $69,200 at national average prices.

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024 (U.S. = 100; San Francisco = 115.6).

Compared with all workers here

All Architectural and Civil Drafters in the San Francisco, CA area earned a median of $81,130 in May 2025 (1,750 employed). The H-1B median here is $79,976, 1% lower.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS metropolitan area estimates. BLS wages include some incentive pay; H-1B figures are base salary.

Top employers filing

EmployerMedianFilings
Atelier Tentoo few3
International Parking Designtoo few2
Q-Arch Designtoo few2

Employers with at least 2 filings here. Median shown at 10+ filings.

By experience level

Wage levelMedianFilings
Entry-level · Level I too few 4
Mid-level · Level II $76,742 12
Senior · Level III – 0
Expert · Level IV – 0

Median shown when a level has at least 10 filings.

Minimum H-1B salary by level

Wage levelPrevailing wage (most common)Median offered salaryFilings
Mid-level · Level II$72,301$76,74212

The prevailing wage is the minimum an employer must pay for this job and area. Amounts vary by county within a metro and by wage source.