Side by side

Chicago vs San Francisco

San Francisco pays more: a median of $123,000 against $87,000. There is 1.8× more demand for Chicago. Listings for Chicago move faster — median age 41 days against 74.

Comparison

Side by side

MeasureChicagoSan FranciscoGap
Open postings49,12827,349+21,779
Posted this week1,288818
Median salary$87,000$123,000$-36k
25th percentile$68.5k$97k
75th percentile$108k$153k
Salary disclosed8.7%7.8%
Remote share9.1%11.1%-2.0pp
Median age of posting41d74d
Open over 60 days46.2%49.3%
Visa sponsorship10.4%5.2%
Pay

Pay distribution

Chicago

$39k$151k

San Francisco

$55k$213k
Freshness

How old the listings are

Chicago

just posted41d median90d+

San Francisco

just posted74d median90d+
Demand

What each side asks for

Chicago — technologies

Go
72.0%
Azure
65.8%
GCP
59.6%
HubSpot
53.4%
Terraform
47.2%
Kotlin
41.0%
Java
34.8%

San Francisco — technologies

React
72.0%
Swift
65.8%
Airflow
59.6%
Java
53.4%
Kubernetes
47.2%
dbt
41.0%
Kotlin
34.8%

Chicago — employers

Pinewood Education
9.4%
Brightline Retail
8.7%
Northwind Systems
8.0%
Lakeshore Hospitality
7.2%
Halcyon Energy
6.5%
Beacon Robotics
5.8%
Ironbark Manufacturing
5.1%

San Francisco — employers

Rivergate Media
9.4%
Cobalt Financial
8.7%
Solstice Biotech
8.0%
Brightline Retail
7.2%
Lakeshore Hospitality
6.5%
Beacon Robotics
5.8%
Northwind Systems
5.1%

Track this slice

A weekly note when openings, pay or freshness move for Chicago vs San Francisco.

More comparisons

Other United States city comparisons

Atlanta vs AustinAtlanta vs BostonAtlanta vs CharlotteAtlanta vs ChicagoAtlanta vs DallasAtlanta vs DenverAtlanta vs DetroitAtlanta vs HoustonAtlanta vs Los AngelesAtlanta vs MiamiAtlanta vs MinneapolisAtlanta vs NashvilleAtlanta vs New York CityAtlanta vs PhiladelphiaAtlanta vs PhoenixAtlanta vs PortlandAtlanta vs RaleighAtlanta vs Salt Lake CityAtlanta vs San DiegoAtlanta vs San FranciscoAtlanta vs San JoseAtlanta vs SeattleAtlanta vs Washington, D.C.Austin vs BostonAustin vs CharlotteAustin vs ChicagoAustin vs DallasAustin vs DenverAustin vs DetroitAustin vs HoustonAustin vs Los AngelesAustin vs MiamiAustin vs MinneapolisAustin vs NashvilleAustin vs New York CityAustin vs PhiladelphiaAustin vs PhoenixAustin vs PortlandAustin vs RaleighAustin vs Salt Lake CityAustin vs San DiegoAustin vs San FranciscoAustin vs San JoseAustin vs SeattleAustin vs Washington, D.C.Boston vs CharlotteBoston vs ChicagoBoston vs DallasBoston vs DenverBoston vs DetroitBoston vs HoustonBoston vs Los AngelesBoston vs MiamiBoston vs MinneapolisBoston vs NashvilleBoston vs New York CityBoston vs PhiladelphiaBoston vs PhoenixBoston vs PortlandBoston vs RaleighBoston vs Salt Lake CityBoston vs San DiegoBoston vs San FranciscoBoston vs San JoseBoston vs SeattleBoston vs Washington, D.C.Charlotte vs ChicagoCharlotte vs DallasCharlotte vs DenverCharlotte vs DetroitCharlotte vs HoustonCharlotte vs Los AngelesCharlotte vs MiamiCharlotte vs MinneapolisCharlotte vs NashvilleCharlotte vs New York CityCharlotte vs PhiladelphiaCharlotte vs PhoenixCharlotte vs PortlandCharlotte vs RaleighCharlotte vs Salt Lake CityCharlotte vs San DiegoCharlotte vs San FranciscoCharlotte vs San JoseCharlotte vs SeattleCharlotte vs Washington, D.C.Chicago vs DallasChicago vs DenverChicago vs DetroitChicago vs HoustonChicago vs Los AngelesChicago vs MiamiChicago vs MinneapolisChicago vs NashvilleChicago vs New York CityChicago vs PhiladelphiaChicago vs PhoenixChicago vs PortlandChicago vs RaleighChicago vs Salt Lake CityChicago vs San DiegoChicago vs San JoseChicago vs SeattleChicago vs Washington, D.C.Dallas vs DenverDallas vs DetroitDallas vs HoustonDallas vs Los AngelesDallas vs MiamiDallas vs MinneapolisDallas vs NashvilleDallas vs New York CityDallas vs PhiladelphiaDallas vs PhoenixDallas vs PortlandDallas vs RaleighDallas vs Salt Lake CityDallas vs San DiegoDallas vs San FranciscoDallas vs San JoseDallas vs SeattleDallas vs Washington, D.C.Denver vs DetroitDenver vs HoustonDenver vs Los AngelesDenver vs MiamiDenver vs MinneapolisDenver vs NashvilleDenver vs New York CityDenver vs PhiladelphiaDenver vs PhoenixDenver vs PortlandDenver vs RaleighDenver vs Salt Lake CityDenver vs San DiegoDenver vs San FranciscoDenver vs San JoseDenver vs SeattleDenver vs Washington, D.C.Detroit vs HoustonDetroit vs Los AngelesDetroit vs MiamiDetroit vs MinneapolisDetroit vs NashvilleDetroit vs New York CityDetroit vs PhiladelphiaDetroit vs PhoenixDetroit vs PortlandDetroit vs RaleighDetroit vs Salt Lake CityDetroit vs San DiegoDetroit vs San FranciscoDetroit vs San JoseDetroit vs SeattleDetroit vs Washington, D.C.Houston vs Los AngelesHouston vs MiamiHouston vs MinneapolisHouston vs NashvilleHouston vs New York CityHouston vs PhiladelphiaHouston vs PhoenixHouston vs PortlandHouston vs RaleighHouston vs Salt Lake CityHouston vs San DiegoHouston vs San FranciscoHouston vs San JoseHouston vs SeattleHouston vs Washington, D.C.Los Angeles vs MiamiLos Angeles vs MinneapolisLos Angeles vs NashvilleLos Angeles vs New York CityLos Angeles vs PhiladelphiaLos Angeles vs PhoenixLos Angeles vs PortlandLos Angeles vs RaleighLos Angeles vs Salt Lake CityLos Angeles vs San DiegoLos Angeles vs San FranciscoLos Angeles vs San JoseLos Angeles vs SeattleLos Angeles vs Washington, D.C.Miami vs MinneapolisMiami vs NashvilleMiami vs New York CityMiami vs PhiladelphiaMiami vs PhoenixMiami vs PortlandMiami vs RaleighMiami vs Salt Lake CityMiami vs San DiegoMiami vs San FranciscoMiami vs San JoseMiami vs SeattleMiami vs Washington, D.C.Minneapolis vs NashvilleMinneapolis vs New York CityMinneapolis vs PhiladelphiaMinneapolis vs PhoenixMinneapolis vs PortlandMinneapolis vs RaleighMinneapolis vs Salt Lake CityMinneapolis vs San DiegoMinneapolis vs San FranciscoMinneapolis vs San JoseMinneapolis vs SeattleMinneapolis vs Washington, D.C.Nashville vs New York CityNashville vs PhiladelphiaNashville vs PhoenixNashville vs PortlandNashville vs RaleighNashville vs Salt Lake CityNashville vs San DiegoNashville vs San FranciscoNashville vs San JoseNashville vs SeattleNashville vs Washington, D.C.New York City vs PhiladelphiaNew York City vs PhoenixNew York City vs PortlandNew York City vs RaleighNew York City vs Salt Lake CityNew York City vs San DiegoNew York City vs San FranciscoNew York City vs San JoseNew York City vs SeattleNew York City vs Washington, D.C.Philadelphia vs PhoenixPhiladelphia vs PortlandPhiladelphia vs RaleighPhiladelphia vs Salt Lake CityPhiladelphia vs San DiegoPhiladelphia vs San FranciscoPhiladelphia vs San JosePhiladelphia vs SeattlePhiladelphia vs Washington, D.C.Phoenix vs PortlandPhoenix vs RaleighPhoenix vs Salt Lake CityPhoenix vs San DiegoPhoenix vs San FranciscoPhoenix vs San JosePhoenix vs SeattlePhoenix vs Washington, D.C.Portland vs RaleighPortland vs Salt Lake CityPortland vs San DiegoPortland vs San FranciscoPortland vs San JosePortland vs SeattlePortland vs Washington, D.C.Raleigh vs Salt Lake CityRaleigh vs San DiegoRaleigh vs San FranciscoRaleigh vs San JoseRaleigh vs SeattleRaleigh vs Washington, D.C.Salt Lake City vs San DiegoSalt Lake City vs San FranciscoSalt Lake City vs San JoseSalt Lake City vs SeattleSalt Lake City vs Washington, D.C.San Diego vs San FranciscoSan Diego vs San JoseSan Diego vs SeattleSan Diego vs Washington, D.C.San Francisco vs San JoseSan Francisco vs SeattleSan Francisco vs Washington, D.C.San Jose vs SeattleSan Jose vs Washington, D.C.Seattle vs Washington, D.C.
Both sides are counted the same way on the same day, so the gap is comparable even where the absolute numbers move. Salary figures use only postings that publish a range — the disclosure rate is in the table because a median over 20% of a cohort is a weaker number than one over 70%.