The city of San Francisco has the largest share of jobs paying more than $500,000 per year – “much higher than any other major city in the US.”
A study conducted by ADP Research analyzed hundreds of millions of payroll data for the year last month. It specifically looked at metropolitan regions where more than a million people live and adjusted the data to include the entire population.
The survey found that one in 48 jobs in the San Francisco Bay Area pays $500,000 or more to their employees — nearly double that of second-place Austin, Texas.
A key explanation for the extraordinary figures is the state’s dominant technology industry, in which top engineers and executives earn “extraordinary compensation.”
“The Bay Area’s significant lead likely reflects not only the dominance of technology in the economy and workforce, but also its position as a core for the industry’s top talent and the corporate giants most heavily dependent on their expertise,” the report said .
The study, titled ‘High-paying jobs? They are a dime a dozen,” found that more than a million people in the United States earn exceptionally high salaries.
One in 127 jobs in the country paid more than $500,000 a year – a total of more than 1 million workers.
Despite certain regions standing out in the numbers for the sheer number of workers bringing in income, the Bay Area surpasses all other metro areas in high-paying jobs at every level.
A recent study found that California’s San Francisco Bay Area has the highest share of jobs paying more than $500,000 a year – ‘much higher than any other major city in the US’
The survey found that one in 48 jobs in the San Francisco Bay Area pays $500,000 or more to their employees — nearly double that of second-place Austin, Texas.
A key explanation for the extraordinary figures is the state’s dominant technology industry, in which top engineers and executives earn “extraordinary compensation.”
The national average of jobs paying more than a million a year is one in 455 – a far cry from San Francisco, where one in 185 jobs was found to pay that figure.
The Bay Area also came out on top when its salary was doubled to two million per year.
One in 1,429 people nationally earned $2 million a year, while in the Bay Area alone, one in 667 salaries was found to reach that amount.
Naples, Austin, New York and Boston all rank in the second highest region, with one in every thousand workers making two million a year.
The Bay Area is home to some of Silicon Valley’s largest tech companies, including Apple, Google, Meta, Adobe and eBay.
Austin, Texas – which came in second place, according to the data – is another tech-heavy city.
Some of the world’s leading technology companies, such as Dell, IBM and Apple, have developed major operations in this area.
New York City landed third place, combining a powerful technological presence with its role as the world’s leading financial center.
The Bay Area is home to some of Silicon Valley’s largest tech companies, including Apple (headquarters in photo), Google, Meta, Adobe and eBay
Austin, Texas – which came in second place according to the data – is another city home to some of the world’s leading technology companies, including Dell, IBM and Apple
New York City landed third place, combining a powerful technological presence with its role as the world’s leading financial center, particularly on Wall Street
High housing costs and the rise of remote work in the Bay Area were two other unique factors that were found to have a direct impact on the state – creating room for more high earners who made up a large portion of the population.
The Bay Area also serves as the hub for the industry’s top talent and corporate giants who rely heavily on their expertise in the tech world.
But two other unique factors were discovered that had a direct impact on the area: high housing costs and the rise of remote work.
Skyrocketing prices in recent decades have ultimately pushed out low- and middle-income residents, discouraging potential newcomers from purchasing a home and resulting in high earners making up a large portion of the population.
The practice of remote work — which became a highly sought-after way to perform career tasks during the pandemic — also played a role in hollowing out middle- and low-income residents.
Working from home attracted even more high earners to the region who were looking for another attractive location to do their work.
But high earners aren’t just limited to one industry or region. There are a significant number of high-paying positions in every major American metropolitan area.
While technology leads the way, New York’s financial sector, Boston’s healthcare sector and Houston’s energy sector are also responsible for many of the high salaries.