Compared with the local labor market
Auditor III pay vs. the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA area
Across all employers in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA area, the median wage for Accountants and Auditors — about 25,170 people — is $110,730. Controller pays a median base salary of $133,436 for this role, 21% above that figure — about the 67th percentile of local pay for the occupation.
Where Controller sits in the local pay range
$73,420
$88,820
$110,730
$143,590
$180,060
Controller median · $133,436
The bar is the range of annual wages for Accountants and Auditors across every employer in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA area, from the 10th to the 90th percentile, with the middle 50% highlighted. The marker shows Controller’s median base salary for this role. Both figures are base pay only.
And across the country
Nationwide, the median wage for Accountants and Auditors — about 1,449,500 people — is $83,680. Controller’s median base salary is 59% above that national figure, about the 85th percentile of pay for the occupation nationally.
$56,020
$67,020
$83,680
$109,810
$144,090
Controller median · $133,436
Local and national wages differ for reasons beyond how well a job pays — cost of living, the mix of employers, and local demand for the occupation all move the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA range relative to the national one.
Computed over the 33 of 34 people in this role paid at least $25,000 in base salary. The rest are part-year or part-time records, whose actual pay isn’t comparable to a full-time annual wage.
Median total compensation for this role at Controller is $183,575, which includes overtime and employer-paid benefits. The benchmark above excludes both, so total compensation is deliberately not compared against it.
Benchmark: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025). BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) covers all employers in the area — private, non-profit, and government alike — so this is a comparison against the whole local labor market for the occupation, not against private-sector pay. OEWS wages are straight-time pay and exclude overtime, shift differentials, and employer-paid benefits, so the government figure shown here is base pay on the same basis. Total compensation is not comparable to it. Job titles are matched to the closest standard occupation, so the comparison is between similar work rather than an identical job classification.
Compare departments
This role across City and County of San Francisco
Auditor III is held in 2 City and County of San Francisco departments. In Controller, the median of $223,275 ranks #1 of 2.
Highest-paying departments for this role
Median total compensation for the Auditor III role in other City and County of San Franciscodepartments (highest first). Each bar links to that department’s page for this role.
Compare jurisdictions
Auditor beyond City and County of San Francisco
This role is reported in 21 jurisdictions. In City and County of San Francisco, the median of $182,735 ranks #1 of 21. See Auditor across all of City and County of San Francisco →
Highest-paying jurisdictions for this role
Median total compensation for comparable Auditor roles in other jurisdictions. Titles are matched by normalized name across sources, not identical job classification, and pay is not cost-of-living adjusted. Each bar links to that jurisdiction’s page for the role.