Average Adoption Services Director Salary in San Francisco, United States for 2026

In this article, we will look at the average Adoption Services Director salary for 2026 in San Francisco and how that compares to other countries and professions. We'll also look at interesting salary data points like median salary, 25th and 75th percentile salaries, salary amounts based on experience, bonus ranges and more!

The data in this article has been compiled using official government salary data, salary surveys, and other sources such as job postings which contain salary information.

All salary information is in the local currency, which is the United States dollar. To keep things simple, we are using the USD currency code instead of the currency symbol $.

How Much Does an Adoption Services Director Make in San Francisco?

An Adoption Services Director working in San Francisco will typically earn around 141,000 USD per year, and this can range from the lowest average salary of about 69,800 USD to the highest average salary of 215,100 USD.

Average Annual Salary141,000 USD
Average Monthly Salary11,750 USD
Average Lowest Salary69,800 USD
Lowest Monthly Salary5,816 USD
Average Highest Salary215,100 USD
Highest Monthly Salary17,925 USD

These are average salaries for an Adoption Services Director in San Francisco and include benefits such as housing and transport. It's also possible for an Adoption Services Director to earn more or less than the average salaries shown above.

Adoption Services Director salaries will vary a lot based on your experience, location, skills, and gender. Keep reading below to research more data on each of these areas.

Distribution of Adoption Services Director Salaries in San Francisco

So we've looked at the average salaries an Adoption Services Director will earn in San Francisco. The next interesting data point is the distribution of salaries.

Salary ranges

We already know that an Adoption Services Director can earn between 69,800 USD and 215,100 USD on average in San Francisco. This is known as the range in statistics.

The difference between the maximum and minimum values is a good indicator of variability in salaries, and can be used by employers to figure out how much they can expect to pay, and for employees to know how much they can earn.

Median salary

The median salary for an Adoption Services Director in San Francisco is 139,100 USD. This is the middle value in the distribution of salaries.

What this means is that approximately 50% of the population earn less than 139,100 USD, and 50% of the population earn more than 139,100 USD.

If you are earning more than the median salary, that's a good indicator that you are being paid well.

If you're not earning more than the median salary, your objective should be to increase your earnings to be at least as high as the median salary (which you can do by asking for a pay rise, looking for a better paying job, etc).

Percentiles

Percentiles are similar to the median salary, but instead of looking at the middle value, they look at the values in the top and bottom half of the distribution.

For the average Adoption Services Director salary in San Francisco, 25% of the population are earning less than 92,600 USD while 75% of the population earn more than 92,600 USD.

75% of the population earn less than 172,100 USD, and 25% of the population earn more than 172,100 USD.

Like the median salary, the 25th and 75th percentile salaries can be used to determine which quartile you fall into so that you know whether you are being paid well enough compared to others in your profession and location.

The difference between a median and an average salary

The median and average salary are both indicators you can use to see if you are being paid fairly based on the overall population.

  • If your salary is higher than the average and the median salary, you are earning well compared to others.
  • If your salary is lower than the average and the median salary, it could indicate you are not being paid well enough.
  • If you are somewhere in between then it's tricky to determine if you are being paid well enough and you might need to research more closely.

Adoption Services Director Salary by Experience Level in San Francisco

The most important factor in determining your salary after the specific profession is the number of years experience you have. It stands to reason that more years of experience will result in a higher wage.

We have researched the average Adoption Services Director salary based on years of experience to give you an idea of how the average changes once you've worked for a certain amount of time.

  • 0 - 2 Years Experience. An Adoption Services Director in San Francisco that has less than two years of experience can expect to earn somewhere in the region of 79,800 USD.
  • 2 - 5 Years Experience. With two to five years of experience the average Adoption Services Director salary would increase to 105,800 USD.
  • 5 - 10 Years Experience. From five to ten years of experience as an Adoption Services Director, the average salary would be 148,300 USD.
  • 10 - 15 Years Experience. Once you have more than ten years of experience the average salary reaches around 175,200 USD.
  • 15 - 20 Years Experience. An Adoption Services Director with 15 to 20 years of experience can earn an average of 192,600 USD.
  • 20+ Years Experience. For an Adoption Services Director with more than 20 years, the expected average salary increases to 206,700 USD.

Average Salary by Experience Chart

0-2 Years-
79,800 USD
2-5 Years+31%
105,800 USD
5-10 Years+40%
148,300 USD
10-15 Years+20%
175,200 USD
15-20 Years+9%
192,600 USD
20+ Years+8%
206,700 USD

Adoption Services Director Salary by Education Level in San Francisco

As well as experience in a job, your education plays a big role in how much you can earn. A lot of higher paying positions require a high level of education, but how much can a degree increase your salary?

In our research we have compared the salaries of employees in the same job and career level with different levels of education to see how much more you can earn at each education level.

The salary you can earn based on your education is very specific to both your location and the career path you choose.

In our research, we looked at the average salary for an Adoption Services Director in San Francisco based on the education level of the employees in order to find out whether a better education level would increase your salary.

  • Bachelor's Degree. An Adoption Services Director in San Francisco with a bachelor's degree education can earn an average salary of 94,500 USD.
  • Master's Degree. An Adoption Services Director in San Francisco with a master's degree education can earn an average salary of 142,100 USD.
  • PhD. An Adoption Services Director in San Francisco with a phd education can earn an average salary of 205,400 USD.

Average Salary by Education Chart

Bachelor's Degree-
94,500 USD
Master's Degree+49%
142,100 USD
PhD+45%
205,400 USD

How Much is a Master's Degree or MBA Program?

The approximate cost of a master's degree or post-graduate program like an MBA in United States is around 39,500 to 118,000 USD and takes two years to complete.

As you can see above, there are financial benefits from reaching master's degree level, but don't expect to see much of a salary increase until you have completed the degree.

It's common for people to pursue an MBA or other post-graduate program in order to switch to a a job that pays more. On average, you can expect to earn around 10% more when switching to a new company.

Whether you decide to pursue a master's degree depends on many factors. If you are able to afford it, the numbers suggest that the return on investment is worth it and you could recover the costs in a few years from the salary increase you would receive.

Adoption Services Director Salary Compared by Gender

In the modern age, we know that there should never be a pay gap between men and women. Unfortunately, in many professions, there is still a significant difference between the salaries earned by men when compared to the salary of women in the same job.

In San Francisco, a male adoption services director will earn an average of 134,100 USD, while a female adoption services director will earn around 128,200 USD.

This means that a male adoption services director earns approximately 5% more than a female adoption services director for performing the same job.

Average Salary by Gender Chart in San Francisco

Male-
134,100 USD
Female-5%
128,200 USD

Adoption Services Director Average Pay Raise in San Francisco

In many countries, an annual pay raise is often given to employees to reward their service with a salary increase.

From our research, we can see that the average pay raise for an Adoption Services Director in San Francisco is around 12% every 17 months.

The national average pay raise across all professions and industries in United States is around 8% every 16 months.

In this case, we can see that the number of months between the average pay raise is higher than the typical 12 months.

To make the data more meaningful, we can calculate what the approximate annual pay raise would be using a simple formula:

Annual Increase = ( Increase Rate ÷ Months ) × 12

So for this example, it would be:

Annual Increase = ( 12 ÷ 17 ) × 12  = 8%

What this means is that an Adoption Services Director in San Francisco can expect to receive an average pay raise of around 8% every 12 months.

Annual Pay Raise by Industry in San Francisco for 2026

In the chart below, you can see the average annual pay raise percentages for each of the major industries in United States.

You will see that companies in bigger and more lucrative industries tend to have the higher annual pay raises.

Banking-
4%
Energy-
8%
Information Technology-
3%
Healthcare-
7%
Travel-
2%
Construction-
6%
Education-
1%

Adoption Services Director Bonus and Incentive Rates in San Francisco

Another part of your overall compensation in a job is how much bonus you receive. Some job roles will be more likely to pay a bonus than others and also more likely to have higher bonus rates.

Generally speaking, jobs that are more involved with direct revenue generation will receive higher bonuses based on the performance towards revenue goals.

An Adoption Services Director is a high bonus based job, with 85% of employees reporting at least one bonus in the last 12 months.

15% reported that they had not received any bonuses in the previous 12 months.

For the employees that did receive a bonus in the previous 12 months, the reported bonuses ranged from 5% to 9%.

Received Bonus-
85%
No Bonus-
15%

What are the Types of Bonus?

There are a number of difference types of bonus you can receive in a job. Including:

  • Individual performance bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to an individual employee for general performance in the job. It's the most common type of bonus.
  • Company performance bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to a company employees to share profit with the staff.
  • Goal based bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to an individual employee (or a team) for achieving specific goals, objectives, or milestones.
  • Holiday bonus - This type of bonus is usually paid around the holidays, often the end of the year, and is a token of appreciation for the hard work throughout the year.

Government vs Private Sector Salaries

Another commonly asked question is whether you get paid a higher salary working in the public (government) sector or the private sector.

Public sector employees in United States earn approximately 6% more than private sector employees in the same role.

Public Sector-
98,800 USD
Private Sector-6%
93,100 USD

Salaries for Jobs Similar to an Adoption Services Director

In the table below, we have salary information for jobs that are similar to an Adoption Services Director in San Francisco.

Job TitleCategorySalary
Alcohol and Drug CounselorCounseling102,700 USD
Assistant InstructorCounseling45,300 USD
Career CounselorCounseling118,900 USD
ConsultantCounseling114,300 USD
Director of Rehabilitation ServicesCounseling147,900 USD
Disability ConsultantCounseling95,000 USD
Employment CounselorCounseling116,400 USD
Family AdvocateCounseling79,600 USD
Family Services SpecialistCounseling89,200 USD
Family Support SpecialistCounseling117,100 USD
Family Youth WorkerCounseling36,800 USD
Guidance CounselorCounseling115,600 USD
Guidance DirectorCounseling141,000 USD
Mental Health CounselorCounseling125,400 USD
Mental Health TherapistCounseling115,600 USD
Programs CoordinatorCounseling65,700 USD
PsychologistCounseling163,800 USD
Supervising CounselorCounseling123,800 USD
Vocational Rehabilitation CounselorCounseling116,400 USD
Youth AdvocateCounseling63,200 USD
Youth Care CounselorCounseling118,900 USD
Youth Care SpecialistCounseling71,900 USD
Youth Development ManagerCounseling138,700 USD

Salary Comparison by City

If you want to compare salaries with different cities in United States, you can use the links below to explore the data for each specific city we have researched.

CityAverage Salary
Atlanta124,500 USD
Austin142,300 USD
Baltimore128,200 USD
Boston134,100 USD
Bristol105,800 USD
Chicago152,900 USD
Cincinnati112,700 USD
Cleveland114,300 USD
Dallas147,900 USD
Denver137,100 USD
Detroit132,000 USD
Honolulu114,600 USD
Houston153,800 USD
Indianapolis140,700 USD
Iowa City107,700 USD
Jacksonville140,200 USD
Kansas City123,800 USD
Kent109,000 USD
Las Vegas130,500 USD
Long Beach123,000 USD
Los Angeles153,700 USD
Memphis130,500 USD
Miami121,800 USD
Minneapolis117,100 USD
New Orleans115,600 USD
New York157,600 USD
Oakland119,700 USD
Oklahoma City128,400 USD
Orlando108,200 USD
Philadelphia150,100 USD
Phoenix151,800 USD
Sacramento127,700 USD
San Antonio146,900 USD
San Diego148,300 USD
San Jose142,300 USD
Seattle139,100 USD
Tampa114,900 USD
Vancouver109,700 USD
Washington D.C.134,700 USD

Salary Comparison by State

The table below includes links to the average salary for each state in United States.

StateAverage Salary
Alabama134,100 USD
Alaska115,600 USD
Arizona140,700 USD
Arkansas130,500 USD
California148,300 USD
Colorado132,000 USD
Connecticut130,500 USD
Delaware119,700 USD
District of Columbia115,600 USD
Florida147,900 USD
Georgia142,300 USD
Hawaii123,000 USD
Idaho123,000 USD
Illinois142,300 USD
Indiana139,100 USD
Iowa128,200 USD
Kansas128,200 USD
Kentucky130,500 USD
Louisiana130,500 USD
Maine121,800 USD
Maryland137,100 USD
Massachusetts137,100 USD
Michigan140,200 USD
Minnesota134,100 USD
Mississippi127,700 USD
Missouri134,700 USD
Montana119,700 USD
Nebraska124,500 USD
Nevada127,700 USD
New Hampshire121,800 USD
New Jersey141,000 USD
New Mexico123,800 USD
New York147,900 USD
North Carolina140,200 USD
North Dakota114,300 USD
Ohio142,300 USD
Oklahoma128,400 USD
Oregon128,400 USD
Pennsylvania142,300 USD
Rhode Island117,100 USD
South Carolina132,000 USD
South Dakota117,100 USD
Tennessee139,100 USD
Texas148,300 USD
Utah123,800 USD
Vermont114,300 USD
Virginia141,000 USD
Washington140,700 USD
West Virginia124,500 USD
Wisconsin134,700 USD
Wyoming114,900 USD

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