San Francisco indexes 12 services across 4 categories, with hourly rates spanning $49/hr (Painter) to $1000/hr (Attorney). The city median of $169/hr runs 97% above the national average across all indexed cities. Construction is the largest service block here (6 of 12 services).
Source: BLS OEWS May 2024 wage data adjusted for San Francisco cost of living. Read the methodology.
SF handyman rates run $50-$84/hr (avg $67), premium $135-$220 in Pacific Heights. Neighborhood breakdown, CSLB $500 rule, Victorian honey-do pricing.
Read articleSF plumber rates run $62-$104/hr (avg $83). Neighborhood breakdown, CSLB + SF DBI permits, side-sewer rules, and Victorian-stack pricing.
Read articleSF flooring rates $70-$120/hr (avg $95). Victorian refinish $8-$18/sqft, LVP for SOMA lofts, CSLB C-15 + EPA RRP for pre-1978 stock, SF DBI permits.
Read articleSF foundation repair $61-$101/hr (avg $81). Soft-story retrofit, Victorian rubble foundations, liquefaction zones, and how Pacific Heights shifts pricing.
Read articleSF general contractor rates $135-$225/hr (avg $180). Neighborhood breakdown, CSLB + SF DBI permits, soft-story retrofit, and historic-review pricing.
Read articleSF painter rates $49-$82/hr (avg $66). Victorian color schemes, EPA RRP lead rules, Painted Ladies HPC review, and how Pacific Heights changes pricing.
Read articleSF roofer rates $54-$91/hr (avg $73). Flat TPO/torch-down vs steep-slope shingle, CSLB C-39, SF DBI permits, Title 24 cool-roof, salt-air corrosion.
Read articleSF siding rates $100-$166/hr (avg $133). Victorian redwood restoration, fiber-cement retrofit, DBI permits, Article 10/11 historic review costs.
Read articleSF solar labor runs $54-$89/hr (avg $71). 6-7kW systems total $19K-$32K post-NEM 3.0, battery attach 90%+, fog-belt output cuts, Victorian roof premiums.
Read articleSF tree service rates $56-$94/hr (avg $75). Crew pricing by neighborhood, SFPW permits, eucalyptus and oak specifics, atmospheric river surcharges.
Read articleSF accountant rates $225-$375/hr (avg $300). Tax prep $400-$15K, bookkeeping $500-$5K/mo, fractional CFO $200-$600/hr. CPA vs EA explained.
Read articleSF attorney rates $600-$1,000/hr (avg $800). Tech IP vs family vs immigration billing, State Bar of CA licensing, BigLaw vs solo pricing.
Read articleAcross the 12 home and professional services we index in San Francisco, the median consumer rate is $169/hr. Hourly rates span $126/hr at the affordable end to $211/hr at the premium end, depending on service type and contractor.
Attorney carries the highest typical rate in San Francisco at $600–$1000/hr. Premium professional and licensed services consistently command the highest rates across our index.
Painter sits at the lower end of the San Francisco index at $49.34–$82.23/hr. Routine maintenance and cleaning categories typically cluster at the bottom of any city's price spread.
San Francisco is 97% above the national average of $86/hr across our 49-city corpus. Local wage data and cost of living drive most of this difference — see the geographic precision note for the underlying data.
Construction has the most indexed services in San Francisco (6 guides), reflecting both local demand and the breadth of BLS wage data available for that segment.
Consumer-facing rates. We apply industry-standard 1.5–2.5× multipliers to BLS hourly wages to account for business overhead, insurance, licensing, employer costs, and profit margin. The full calculation is documented in the methodology.
Pricing reflects the BLS OEWS May 2024 release. The next refresh lands when May 2025 data is published in April 2026. Cadence is documented in the update schedule.
Data: BLS OEWS May 2024 · Methodology · Last refreshed January 2026