Entry-level Chemist salary in San Francisco, CA

Based on 28 certified H-1B filings at DOL wage level I in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metro area, FY2025–FY2026. Includes South San Francisco, Berkeley, Hayward, Foster City, Menlo Park.

Also listed as: Quality Control Chemist, Analytical Chemist

Median salary$81,635
Middle 50%$78.8k–$88.5k
vs. all levels here−34%comparison median $124,630
Filings28FY2025–FY2026 · latest two fiscal years

Salary range

Box: middle 50% of filings. Whiskers: 10th–90th percentile. 99% of filings are between $77,688 and $119,753.
PercentileSalary
10th$78,270
25th$78,848
50th (median)$81,635
75th$88,500
90th$99,976

Salary by year

Median salary

$50k $75k $100k FY2020: median $64,100 (13 filings) FY2022: median $67,500 (14 filings) FY2023: median $90,000 (17 filings) FY2025: median $82,775 (19 filings) FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25 FY26

Filings per year

FY2020: 13 filings FY20 FY2021: 6 filings FY21 FY2022: 14 filings FY22 FY2023: 17 filings FY23 FY2024: 8 filings FY24 FY2025: 19 filings FY25 FY2026: 9 filings FY26 19
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$64,100$64,085$70,72013
FY2021–––6
FY2022$67,500$57,808$82,32914
FY2023$90,000$75,000$99,00017
FY2024–––8
FY2025$82,775$80,870$91,80019
FY2026–––9

Cost of living

San Francisco's median entry-level Chemist salary of $81,635 is worth about $70,600 at national average prices.

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

Compared with all workers here

All Chemists in the San Francisco, CA area earned a median of $127,790 in May 2025 (2,180 employed). The H-1B median here is $81,635, 36% lower.

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

Employers filing at this level

EmployerMedianFilings
Leland Stanford Jr. Univ/SLAC National Accelerator Labtoo few5
Alpha Consultingtoo few2
AnaSpectoo few2
eJouletoo few2
Ntesstoo few2

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

By experience level

Wage levelMedianFilings
Entry-level · Level I $81,635 28
Mid-level · Level II $110,753 43
Senior · Level III $141,500 41
Expert · Level IV $152,984 40

Median shown when a level has at least 10 filings.

Minimum H-1B salary by level

Wage levelPrevailing wage (most common)Median offered salaryFilings
Entry-level · Level I$80,870$81,63528
Mid-level · Level II$104,915$110,75343
Senior · Level III$124,842$141,50041
Expert · Level IV$148,117$152,98440

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.