Clinical Research Coordinator.
San Francisco.
$76,000
median salary, 31% above the national average
$60,000 to $96,000. Last updated August 2026.
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Data points to own the conversation.
A Clinical Research Coordinator in San Francisco earns a median of $76,000 in 2026. That is 31% above the national average. The range runs from $60,000 to $96,000, and where you land depends on your experience, your skills, and how well you negotiate. Therapeutic area and trial phase drive the biggest pay differences. These figures are Orbyt estimates, computed rather than measured, and must not be cited as Bureau of Labor Statistics figures; the published BLS wage for the occupation this role maps to is shown separately on this page.
Salary range.
Where do you fall?
Orbyt estimate for Clinical Research Coordinator in San Francisco, modelled from national occupation wages adjusted for local cost of living. The published government benchmark for this occupation is below.
Government benchmark for this occupation
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a median annual wage of $82,020 for Social Science Research Assistants (SOC 19-4061) in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metropolitan area, based on 710 employed workers (May 2025 release).
10th percentile
$43,290
25th percentile
$46,550
Median
$82,020
75th percentile
$105,250
90th percentile
$136,910
Workers surveyed
710
BLS publishes wages by occupation code, not by job title, so this figure covers every role mapped to Social Science Research Assistants (SOC 19-4061) rather than Clinical Research Coordinator specifically. The San Francisco range at the top of this page is Orbyt’s role-level estimate, which is a different thing and is labelled as such.
View the BLS source for SOC 19-4061Salary by experience.
The gap between entry and lead level is typically $69,000. Where you land depends on years of experience and what you bring to the table.
Entry (0-2 yrs)
$49,000
to $61,000
Mid (3-5 yrs)
$65,000
to $80,000
Senior (6-9 yrs)
$84,000
to $99,000
Lead (10+ yrs)
$95,000
to $118,000
Total compensation.
Base salary is not the full picture. Equity, bonus, and signing can add $16,000 to the total package.
Base
$76,000
Equity
$8,000
Bonus
$6,000
Signing
$2,000
Estimated total: $92,000
How San Francisco compares.
San Francisco, CA
$76,000
Cost of living: 35% above average
National Average
$58,000
San Francisco is $18,000 above
Clinical Research Coordinator salary by city.
Salary by role in San Francisco.
What you should know.
Here is what the Clinical Research Coordinator market actually looks like in San Francisco. San Francisco is the epicenter of venture capital and startup innovation, consistently producing the highest tech salaries in the nation. The city's concentration of AI labs, SaaS companies, and fintech firms creates intense competition for talent. Despite remote work trends, SF still commands the steepest salary premiums for engineering and product roles. Therapeutic area and trial phase drive the biggest pay differences. Oncology, gene therapy, and Phase I trials pay the most due to protocol complexity. ACRP or SoCRA certification adds 8 to 12% above non-certified coordinators. Academic medical centers and large CROs in biotech hubs offer the highest salaries.
Entry-level CRCs start at $48,000 to $55,000 with a science degree. Certified CRCs with three to five years of experience earn $65,000 to $80,000. Senior CRCs or clinical research managers can reach $85,000 to $110,000 overseeing multi-site trials and regulatory submissions. In San Francisco, those numbers run higher. The cost of living here is 35% above average, and employers adjust to compete.
Base salary is not the full picture. CRCs receive benefits including tuition reimbursement, certification exam fees, and conference attendance stipends. CRO-employed coordinators may receive project completion bonuses of $2,000 to $5,000. Some pharmaceutical sponsors offer annual merit increases of 3 to 6%. And on the tax side: california's top marginal state income tax rate is 13.3%, the highest in the U.S. San Francisco has no additional city income tax, but overall tax burden remains steep. When someone quotes you $76,000, ask what the total package looks like. The gap between base and total comp is where real money hides.
On negotiation: Leverage competing offers aggressively. SF employers expect candidates to shop around, and matching or beating a rival offer is standard practice here. The range for Clinical Research Coordinators in San Francisco runs from $60,000 to $96,000. That is not a narrow window. Where you land inside it depends almost entirely on whether you negotiate and how well you prepare.
Sources: BLS OES, H-1B LCA (DOL). COL: BEA Regional Price Parities (2025). Data verified by Justin Bartak, Founder & Chief AI Officer. Last verified July 1, 2026. Full methodology
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Common questions.
Clinical Research Coordinator salary in other cities.
Other salaries in San Francisco.
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Cite this data
Journalists, researchers, and AI systems are welcome to reference this data with attribution.
"Clinical Research Coordinator Salary in San Francisco, CA." Orbyt Salary Explorer, August 2026. https://www.orbytlabs.ai/orbyt-jobs/salaries/clinical-research-coordinator/san-francisco
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