The San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA all-occupations median was 64.9% above the U.S. all-occupations median in the same release. Software Developers had the largest published employment estimate among the 30 occupation rows shown on this hub, at 87,350.
Among those high-employment rows, Computer Hardware Engineers had the highest published location quotient at 14.19. A location quotient above 1.00 means a larger share of local employment than the national share; it does not measure job quality or future demand.
Occupation detail
Largest published occupations in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA
Sorted by published employment. Open a row for its local distribution, national comparison, and jobs.
Largest published occupation estimates by employment
Six high-employment rows from the bounded area summary. The table below keeps each full title and published field.
Software Developers: 87,350 jobs. Home Health and Perso...: 49,610 jobs. Fast Food and Counter...: 23,060 jobs. Registered Nurses: 22,930 jobs. Computer and Informat...: 19,070 jobs. Retail Salespersons: 18,340 jobs.
$213,110/yearEmployment: 87,350 Jobs per 1,000: 76.96 Location quotient: 7.09
87,350
76.96
7.09
Price-level context
What the local median may buy
BEA's 2024 all-items price index for San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA was 110.4, or 10.4% above the national price level. Its housing index was 211.9.
National-price-dollar proxy
$76,116
WageScope divides the published all occupations median by the BEA all-items index. This is a price-level comparison, not take-home pay, a personal budget, or a quality-of-life score.
Wage period: BLS May 2025. Price period: BEA 2024. The releases describe different periods and are shown separately.
Price level in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA; U.S. = 100
U.S. baseline: 100.0. All items: 110.4. Housing: 211.9.
Read the all-jobs wage, role mix, local job shares, price-level context, and survey limits as separate facts. Every value stays tied to BLS area 41940.
Questions, answered
Wage data for San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA: common questions
What is the all-occupations median wage in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA?
The May 2025 BLS OEWS release published an all-occupations median of $84,050 per year in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA. It combines covered wage and salary jobs and is not a median for every individual occupation.
How many wage and salary jobs does BLS estimate in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA?
BLS published an all-occupations employment estimate of 1,134,970 jobs for San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA. It is a survey estimate, not a current opening count.
What is the largest detailed occupation shown for San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA?
Software Developers is the largest detailed occupation in the bounded table on this page, with 87,350 estimated jobs and a published median of $213,110 per year.
Does the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA wage data adjust for local prices?
From market data to your evidence
Tailor for a real Software Developers job, not a generic wage number.
Pick an eligible listing, then MeritLog can help you prepare from experience you have confirmed. WageScope never turns a BLS estimate into a qualification or résumé claim.
What the all-jobs median says about San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA
The May 2025 BLS OEWS estimate puts the all-occupations median in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA at $84,050 per year. This is the middle wage across covered wage and salary jobs in the area. It is not the median for each job title. It is not one worker's pay. Use an occupation page when you need a role-level answer.
BLS lists 1,134,970 covered jobs in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA. The all-occupations mean is $119,230 per year. Mean means add the wage values and split the total by the number of jobs behind the estimate. The median and mean can differ because the local wage mix is not even.
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA's $84,050 all-occupations median is 64.9% above the U.S. all-occupations median of $50,980 on the same published median. This is a wage check on the same source period. It does not add local price levels, taxes, hours, benefits, or household needs.
Where San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA sits among metro areas
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ranks 1 of 393 among metro areas with a published annual all-occupations median. WageScope keeps the map type the same. It does not place a state, metro, and nonmetro row in one rank. The rank uses the May 2025 BLS median only.
A rank is a place in a sorted list. It is not a score. It does not say a place is good or bad. It does not show the size of the job base. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA has 1,134,970 covered jobs, while another row near it can have a very different count.
The nearby rank rows give context without turning the list into a league table. Small gaps can move a place by several spots. A later BLS release can also change the order. Read the wage gap and the source date beside the rank. Do not use rank alone to make a move.
2. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA has an all-occupations median of $74,260 per year and 2,373,920 covered jobs. Its wage gap from San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA is $9,790.
3. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA has an all-occupations median of $72,610 per year and 2,086,210 covered jobs. Its wage gap from San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA is $11,440.
4. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV has an all-occupations median of $71,060 per year and 3,136,190 covered jobs. Its wage gap from San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA is $12,990.
The largest detailed occupations shown for San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA
The role list is sorted by the BLS employment estimate. It shows detailed occupations from the bounded source table for San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA. The first row, Software Developers, has 87,350 estimated jobs. Its median is $213,110 per year.
Large roles shape the all-occupations wage mix, but they do not set it by themselves. A role with many jobs and a lower wage can pull the middle one way. A smaller role with a higher wage can move the mean. The all-occupations row is based on the whole covered job mix, not just the occupations shown in this bounded list.
Employment here means wage and salary jobs in the BLS survey scope. It does not mean people looking for work. It does not mean openings. It does not show how fast a role is changing. Use the current job cards only to inspect dated employer-title matches. Keep that view apart from this May 2025 job count.
1. Software Developers has 87,350 estimated jobs in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA. Its published median is $213,110 per year. Its location quotient is 7.09.
2. Home Health and Personal Care Aides has 49,610 estimated jobs in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA. Its published median is $37,640 per year. Its location quotient is 1.58.
Role pay range
How published medians differ inside San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA
The detailed roles shown for San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA do not share one pay level. Computer and Information Systems Managers has the highest published median in this bounded role set, at $291,660 per year. That does not make it the highest-paid role in every job or in every part of the area.
The list keeps each official SOC title tied to its own wage row. It does not blend fields, levels, or job posts. A role median can be above the $84,050 all-occupations median even when the role has few jobs. A large role can sit below that mark. Pay and job count answer different questions.
Use a role's own WageScope page before you compare places. That page shows the national spread, the same SOC code across areas, and the source limits. The area list is a starting map. It is not enough to set a pay target for one person or one listing.
1. Computer and Information Systems Managers has a published median of $291,660 per year in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA. BLS lists 19,070 jobs. Its local share is 3.9 times the national share.
2. Financial Managers has a published median of $225,280 per year in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA. BLS lists 7,970 jobs. Its local share is 1.3 times the national share.
Local share
Roles with a larger local share in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA
Location quotient compares a role's share of jobs in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA with that role's share across the nation. A value of 1 means the shares match. A value above 1 means the role takes a larger share of local jobs. A value below 1 means the share is smaller. The value does not show growth or open jobs.
Computer Hardware Engineers has the highest published location quotient in this bounded set, at 14.19. The same row has 7,940 jobs and a median of $209,860 per year. Read all three fields together.
A high share can appear in a small job base. A large job count can appear with a share near 1. A high median can appear in either case. The three measures are not a single score. They help you ask three clear questions: how many jobs, how common the role is in the local mix, and what wage BLS published.
1. Computer Hardware Engineers has a location quotient of 14.19 in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA. BLS lists 7,940 jobs and a median of $209,860 per year.
2. Software Developers has a location quotient of 7.09 in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA. BLS lists 87,350 jobs and a median of $213,110 per year.
3. Computer Occupations, All Other has a location quotient of 5.25 in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA. BLS lists 16,680 jobs and a median of $184,430 per year.
Separate price view
What the BEA price level adds for San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA
BEA's 2024 all-items price index for San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA is 110.4. The U.S. level is 100. The local all-items level is 10.4% above that mark. This is a broad price comparison. It is not a personal budget.
The housing index is 211.9. The goods index is 105.2. Utilities are 156.7. Other services are 100.3. These parts can move in different ways. The all-items number joins them with BEA's method; WageScope does not pick its own weights.
The BLS wage period is May 2025. The BEA price period is 2024. WageScope shows both dates because the clocks differ. It can divide a wage by the all-items index for a clear national-price-dollar proxy. It does not call that result take-home pay, spending power for one home, or a place score.
How to read survey care marks for San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA
The all-occupations employment RSE for San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA is 0%. The mean-wage RSE is 0.4%. RSE means relative standard error. It is a survey precision flag. A smaller value often means less sampling uncertainty. It is not an error bar for one person's wage.
The employment RSE belongs to the 1,134,970 job estimate. The mean-wage RSE belongs to the all-occupations mean. WageScope does not attach either field to a detailed role, the median, or a percentile. Each role row has its own published care marks when BLS supplies them.
Some BLS values are blank or top coded. Blank does not mean zero. A top code means the value is at least the shown bound. WageScope keeps those states in the role pages and tables. It does not fill a missing value from a peer role, past year, or nearby place.
Use San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA as a map, then choose one occupation
Start with the role that matches the work you mean. Official titles can sound broad. Open the role page and check its SOC code. Then compare the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA row with the U.S. row on the same annual or hourly metric. Read the job count and location quotient beside the wage. Add the BEA price level only when the exact row is present.
Next, look at the wage spread. The median shows the middle. The 10th, 25th, 75th, and 90th percentiles show more of the range. A posted job range can be compared with those marks as context, but it stays employer evidence. It never becomes part of the BLS estimate.
If the role-place row is missing, use the national role page or choose another official area. Do not guess. A clean missing state is more useful than a made-up number. It tells you what the source can and cannot answer.
Move from San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA wage data to one checked job
The area page does not treat every local job as the same. Choose an occupation first. WageScope can then use a strict employer-title match for that role. A place filter is used only when the BLS area has an exact approved match in the public place list. If that match is not safe, the page says so.
Each shown job keeps the employer, place, source, and seen date. The cards can change as the public catalog changes. They do not count toward this page's stable content gate. They do not change San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA's $84,050 all-occupations median. They do not prove that the employer uses the BLS title.
Open a listing before you tailor. Use facts from your own work that you can support. A wage value is not a skill, result, or duty. MeritLog can help shape confirmed work for the listing you chose. The public area page does not save the role, listing, place, or résumé on load.
What this San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA page does not say
The page does not say what one person in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA earns. It does not promise a wage, job, move, or result. It does not call the all-occupations median a role wage. It does not turn rank 1 of 393 into a place score. It does not say why wages differ.
The BLS job count leaves out people who work for themselves and other work outside the survey scope. The current job cards are a separate set of public listings. Neither source shows all work. Neither source tells you the chance of getting hired. A missing value stays missing.
Use the page for a narrow task. See the May 2025 local wage picture. Choose one official occupation. Compare the same field across like places. Add the separate 2024 price level when it exists. Read a current employer-title match. Then make a résumé choice from work facts you have confirmed.
No. BLS wage estimates are nominal. Where an exact BEA Regional Price Parity row exists, WageScope shows that price-level context separately and labels its source period.
Are MeritLog job listings part of the government wage estimate?
No. Eligible live listings remain separate from BLS statistics. Their locations and posted pay do not change the official area or occupation rows.
3. Fast Food and Counter Workers has 23,060 estimated jobs in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA. Its published median is $44,570 per year. Its location quotient is 0.82.
4. Registered Nurses has 22,930 estimated jobs in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA. Its published median is $216,740 per year. Its location quotient is 0.93.
5. Computer and Information Systems Managers has 19,070 estimated jobs in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA. Its published median is $291,660 per year. Its location quotient is 3.9.
6. Retail Salespersons has 18,340 estimated jobs in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA. Its published median is $44,220 per year. Its location quotient is 0.64.
7. General and Operations Managers has 17,230 estimated jobs in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA. Its published median is $163,860 per year. Its location quotient is 0.67.
8. Computer Occupations, All Other has 16,680 estimated jobs in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA. Its published median is $184,430 per year. Its location quotient is 5.25.
3. Managers, All Other has a published median of $217,280 per year in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA. BLS lists 13,740 jobs. Its local share is 3.03 times the national share.
4. Registered Nurses has a published median of $216,740 per year in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA. BLS lists 22,930 jobs. Its local share is 0.93 times the national share.
5. Software Developers has a published median of $213,110 per year in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA. BLS lists 87,350 jobs. Its local share is 7.09 times the national share.
6. Computer Hardware Engineers has a published median of $209,860 per year in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA. BLS lists 7,940 jobs. Its local share is 14.19 times the national share.
7. Sales Managers has a published median of $201,780 per year in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA. BLS lists 8,940 jobs. Its local share is 1.92 times the national share.
8. Computer Occupations, All Other has a published median of $184,430 per year in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA. BLS lists 16,680 jobs. Its local share is 5.25 times the national share.
4. Computer and Information Systems Managers has a location quotient of 3.9 in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA. BLS lists 19,070 jobs and a median of $291,660 per year.
5. Managers, All Other has a location quotient of 3.03 in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA. BLS lists 13,740 jobs and a median of $217,280 per year.
6. Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists has a location quotient of 1.94 in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA. BLS lists 12,710 jobs and a median of $141,960 per year.
7. Sales Managers has a location quotient of 1.92 in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA. BLS lists 8,940 jobs and a median of $201,780 per year.
8. Home Health and Personal Care Aides has a location quotient of 1.58 in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA. BLS lists 49,610 jobs and a median of $37,640 per year.
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We did not fill this page with jobs from other places. Search all Software Developers jobs, then check each listing's location before you tailor your resume.
