Entry-level Electronics Engineer salary in San Francisco, CA

Based on 27 certified H-1B filings at DOL wage level I in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metro area, FY2025–FY2026. Includes Fremont, Newark, San Mateo, Foster City, Alameda.

Also listed as: Hardware Engineer, Hardware Engineer Electronics

Median salary$112,091
Middle 50%$104.4k–$127.1k
vs. all levels here−33%comparison median $166,504
Filings27FY2025–FY2026 · latest two fiscal years

Salary range

Box: middle 50% of filings. Whiskers: 10th–90th percentile. 99% of filings are between $104,000 and $179,678.
PercentileSalary
10th$104,000
25th$104,374
50th (median)$112,091
75th$127,117
90th$137,672

Salary by year

Median salary

$70k $105k $140k FY2020: median $80,000 (11 filings) FY2021: median $100,000 (12 filings) FY2023: median $100,000 (18 filings) FY2024: median $100,485 (11 filings) FY2025: median $108,000 (16 filings) FY2026: median $127,234 (11 filings) FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25 FY26

Filings per year

FY2020: 11 filings FY20 FY2021: 12 filings FY21 FY2022: 7 filings FY22 FY2023: 18 filings FY23 FY2024: 11 filings FY24 FY2025: 16 filings FY25 FY2026: 11 filings FY26 18
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$80,000$80,000$80,00011
FY2021$100,000$88,750$105,00012
FY2022–––7
FY2023$100,000$91,858$100,00018
FY2024$100,485$99,819$104,00011
FY2025$108,000$104,000$121,04916
FY2026$127,234$109,695$137,96511

Cost of living

San Francisco's median entry-level Electronics Engineer salary of $112,091 is worth about $97,000 at national average prices.

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

Compared with all workers here

All Electronics Engineers, Except Computer in the San Francisco, CA area earned a median of $162,440 in May 2025 (2,000 employed). The H-1B median here is $112,091, 31% 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
Western Digital Technologiestoo few4
Sandisk Technologiestoo few3
Aumrajtoo few2
EnerVenuetoo few2
Magnetic Insighttoo few2

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

By experience level

Wage levelMedianFilings
Entry-level · Level I $112,091 27
Mid-level · Level II $136,505 53
Senior · Level III $168,500 36
Expert · Level IV $205,514 55

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$104,374$112,09127
Mid-level · Level II$135,429$136,50553
Senior · Level III$166,504$168,50036
Expert · Level IV$197,558$205,51455

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.