Regulatory Affairs Specialist salary in San Francisco, CA

Based on 109 certified H-1B filings in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metro area, FY2025–FY2026. Includes Alameda, South San Francisco, Pleasanton, Fremont, Dublin.

Also listed as: Compliance Specialist

Median salary$112,736
Middle 50%$91.4k–$135.7k
vs. national median+27%comparison median $89,107
Filings109FY2025–FY2026 · latest two fiscal years

Salary range

Box: middle 50% of filings. Whiskers: 10th–90th percentile. 99% of filings are between $64,442 and $200,356.
PercentileSalary
10th$74,751
25th$91,402
50th (median)$112,736
75th$135,678
90th$155,900

Salary by year

Median salary

$90k $110k $130k FY2020: median $110,232 (60 filings) FY2021: median $107,639 (75 filings) FY2022: median $116,355 (59 filings) FY2023: median $104,478 (55 filings) FY2024: median $116,250 (39 filings) FY2025: median $107,271 (64 filings) FY2026: median $115,000 (45 filings) FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25 FY26

Filings per year

FY2020: 60 filings FY20 FY2021: 75 filings FY21 FY2022: 59 filings FY22 FY2023: 55 filings FY23 FY2024: 39 filings FY24 FY2025: 64 filings FY25 FY2026: 45 filings FY26 75
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$110,232$95,239$130,00060
FY2021$107,639$80,000$116,17875
FY2022$116,355$98,030$126,10059
FY2023$104,478$83,000$127,56255
FY2024$116,250$94,073$146,68239
FY2025$107,271$85,109$130,25064
FY2026$115,000$95,888$135,67845

Cost of living

San Francisco's median Regulatory Affairs Specialist salary of $112,736 is worth about $97,500 at national average prices.

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

Compared with all workers here

All Regulatory Affairs Specialists in the San Francisco, CA area earned a median of $118,890 in May 2025 (7,500 employed). The H-1B median here is $112,736, 5% 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
Medtronictoo few7
St. Jude Medical, Cardiology Divisiontoo few7
Abbott Diabetes Caretoo few6
Genentechtoo few5
Penumbratoo few5
California Public Utilities Commissiontoo few4
Googletoo few3
Gilead Sciencestoo few3
Amazontoo few2
Metatoo few2

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

By experience level

Wage levelMedianFilings
Entry-level · Level I $66,585 14
Mid-level · Level II $95,000 37
Senior · Level III $112,736 35
Expert · Level IV $137,839 22

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$64,438$66,58514
Mid-level · Level II$89,814$95,00037
Senior · Level III$112,736$112,73635
Expert · Level IV$123,469$137,83922

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.