Average Fuel Cell Technician Salary in San Francisco, United States for 2026

In this article, we will look at the average Fuel Cell Technician 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 a Fuel Cell Technician Make in San Francisco?

A Fuel Cell Technician working in San Francisco will typically earn around 49,200 USD per year, and this can range from the lowest average salary of about 27,100 USD to the highest average salary of 76,000 USD.

Average Annual Salary49,200 USD
Average Monthly Salary4,100 USD
Average Lowest Salary27,100 USD
Lowest Monthly Salary2,258 USD
Average Highest Salary76,000 USD
Highest Monthly Salary6,333 USD

These are average salaries for a Fuel Cell Technician in San Francisco and include benefits such as housing and transport. It's also possible for a Fuel Cell Technician to earn more or less than the average salaries shown above.

Fuel Cell Technician 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 Fuel Cell Technician Salaries in San Francisco

So we've looked at the average salaries a Fuel Cell Technician will earn in San Francisco. The next interesting data point is the distribution of salaries.

Salary ranges

We already know that a Fuel Cell Technician can earn between 27,100 USD and 76,000 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 a Fuel Cell Technician in San Francisco is 43,800 USD. This is the middle value in the distribution of salaries.

What this means is that approximately 50% of the population earn less than 43,800 USD, and 50% of the population earn more than 43,800 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 Fuel Cell Technician salary in San Francisco, 25% of the population are earning less than 32,900 USD while 75% of the population earn more than 32,900 USD.

75% of the population earn less than 54,100 USD, and 25% of the population earn more than 54,100 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.

Fuel Cell Technician 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 Fuel Cell Technician 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. A Fuel Cell Technician in San Francisco that has less than two years of experience can expect to earn somewhere in the region of 32,900 USD.
  • 2 - 5 Years Experience. With two to five years of experience the average Fuel Cell Technician salary would increase to 40,900 USD.
  • 5 - 10 Years Experience. From five to ten years of experience as a Fuel Cell Technician, the average salary would be 50,100 USD.
  • 10 - 15 Years Experience. Once you have more than ten years of experience the average salary reaches around 62,600 USD.
  • 15 - 20 Years Experience. A Fuel Cell Technician with 15 to 20 years of experience can earn an average of 65,700 USD.
  • 20+ Years Experience. For a Fuel Cell Technician with more than 20 years, the expected average salary increases to 73,700 USD.

Average Salary by Experience Chart

0-2 Years-
32,900 USD
2-5 Years+26%
40,900 USD
5-10 Years+32%
50,100 USD
10-15 Years+18%
62,600 USD
15-20 Years+11%
65,700 USD
20+ Years+6%
73,700 USD

Fuel Cell Technician 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 a Fuel Cell Technician 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.

  • Certificate or Diploma. A Fuel Cell Technician in San Francisco with a certificate or diploma education can earn an average salary of 44,800 USD.
  • Bachelor's Degree. A Fuel Cell Technician in San Francisco with a bachelor's degree education can earn an average salary of 64,800 USD.

Average Salary by Education Chart

Certificate or Diploma-
44,800 USD
Bachelor's Degree+49%
64,800 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.

Fuel Cell Technician 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 fuel cell technician will earn an average of 46,700 USD, while a female fuel cell technician will earn around 43,500 USD.

This means that a male fuel cell technician earns approximately 7% more than a female fuel cell technician for performing the same job.

Average Salary by Gender Chart in San Francisco

Male-
46,700 USD
Female-7%
43,500 USD

Fuel Cell Technician 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 a Fuel Cell Technician in San Francisco is around 11% every 14 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 = ( 11 ÷ 14 ) × 12  = 9%

What this means is that a Fuel Cell Technician in San Francisco can expect to receive an average pay raise of around 9% 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%

Fuel Cell Technician 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.

A Fuel Cell Technician is a low bonus based job, with 27% of employees reporting at least one bonus in the last 12 months.

73% 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 1% to 3%.

Received Bonus-
27%
No Bonus-
73%

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 a Fuel Cell Technician

In the table below, we have salary information for jobs that are similar to a Fuel Cell Technician in San Francisco.

Job TitleCategorySalary
Assistant Yard ManagerOil / Gas / Energy / Mining90,000 USD
Associate AnalystOil / Gas / Energy / Mining95,400 USD
Associate LandmanOil / Gas / Energy / Mining41,100 USD
Auxiliary Equipment OperatorOil / Gas / Energy / Mining38,100 USD
Biomass Plant TechnicianOil / Gas / Energy / Mining40,200 USD
Biomass Power Plant ManagerOil / Gas / Energy / Mining121,800 USD
Chemical Plant OperatorOil / Gas / Energy / Mining73,100 USD
Chief Contract Compliance EngineerOil / Gas / Energy / Mining96,500 USD
Completions EngineerOil / Gas / Energy / Mining83,800 USD
Cost ControllerOil / Gas / Energy / Mining66,700 USD
Cost EngineerOil / Gas / Energy / Mining81,300 USD
Crude Oil Marketing RepresentativeOil / Gas / Energy / Mining96,400 USD
DispatcherOil / Gas / Energy / Mining39,500 USD
Distribution ManagerOil / Gas / Energy / Mining124,500 USD
Dragline OperatorOil / Gas / Energy / Mining45,100 USD
Driller OffsiderOil / Gas / Energy / Mining33,600 USD
Dump Truck DriverOil / Gas / Energy / Mining36,500 USD
Electric and Gas Operations ManagerOil / Gas / Energy / Mining210,600 USD
Energy AdvisorOil / Gas / Energy / Mining134,700 USD
Energy AnalystOil / Gas / Energy / Mining125,400 USD
Energy AuditorOil / Gas / Energy / Mining112,700 USD
Energy Dispatch DirectorOil / Gas / Energy / Mining147,900 USD
Energy Technical AssistantOil / Gas / Energy / Mining54,700 USD
Energy Technical ManagerOil / Gas / Energy / Mining114,600 USD
Energy Technical Support ManagerOil / Gas / Energy / Mining114,600 USD
Energy Technical TrainerOil / Gas / Energy / Mining75,000 USD
Engineering GeologistOil / Gas / Energy / Mining160,600 USD
Exploration ManagerOil / Gas / Energy / Mining152,900 USD
Field Safety AuditorOil / Gas / Energy / Mining103,600 USD
Fluids EngineerOil / Gas / Energy / Mining84,600 USD
Fuel Cell EngineerOil / Gas / Energy / Mining91,600 USD
Fuels HandlerOil / Gas / Energy / Mining43,200 USD
Gas Compressor OperatorOil / Gas / Energy / Mining36,500 USD
Gas Distribution Plant OperatorOil / Gas / Energy / Mining72,000 USD
Gas Supply ManagerOil / Gas / Energy / Mining128,200 USD
GeologistOil / Gas / Energy / Mining153,700 USD
GeophysicistOil / Gas / Energy / Mining163,800 USD
Geothermal Production ManagerOil / Gas / Energy / Mining146,700 USD
Geothermal TechnicianOil / Gas / Energy / Mining62,100 USD
HSE EngineerOil / Gas / Energy / Mining86,100 USD
HSE OfficerOil / Gas / Energy / Mining54,100 USD
HSE SupervisorOil / Gas / Energy / Mining66,900 USD
HSEQ AdministratorOil / Gas / Energy / Mining65,400 USD
InspectorOil / Gas / Energy / Mining86,100 USD
InstructorOil / Gas / Energy / Mining71,900 USD
Instrument DesignerOil / Gas / Energy / Mining70,000 USD
Lead Technical Field AdvisorOil / Gas / Energy / Mining116,400 USD
Logistics and Tool CoordinatorOil / Gas / Energy / Mining78,700 USD
Maintenance EngineerOil / Gas / Energy / Mining93,800 USD
Maintenance SuperintendentOil / Gas / Energy / Mining78,200 USD
Material ControllerOil / Gas / Energy / Mining59,000 USD
Mine EngineerOil / Gas / Energy / Mining87,500 USD
Mine SurveyorOil / Gas / Energy / Mining96,600 USD
Mining Project AdministratorOil / Gas / Energy / Mining80,400 USD
Mining Project AssistantOil / Gas / Energy / Mining63,900 USD
Mining Project Controls ConsultantOil / Gas / Energy / Mining95,100 USD
Mining Project CoordinatorOil / Gas / Energy / Mining78,700 USD
Mining Project EngineerOil / Gas / Energy / Mining87,800 USD
Mining Project ManagerOil / Gas / Energy / Mining114,300 USD
Mining Site ManagerOil / Gas / Energy / Mining114,900 USD
Mining Team LeaderOil / Gas / Energy / Mining87,400 USD
NDT TechnicianOil / Gas / Energy / Mining54,300 USD
Oil Service Unit OperatorOil / Gas / Energy / Mining42,700 USD
Oil TraderOil / Gas / Energy / Mining115,600 USD
Oilwell PumperOil / Gas / Energy / Mining33,000 USD
Petroleum Engineer Oil / Gas / Energy / Mining98,800 USD
Petroleum GeologistOil / Gas / Energy / Mining152,900 USD
Petroleum Pump System OperatorOil / Gas / Energy / Mining49,400 USD
Petroleum TechnicianOil / Gas / Energy / Mining50,100 USD
Pipeline TechnicianOil / Gas / Energy / Mining33,500 USD
Power CoordinatorOil / Gas / Energy / Mining54,700 USD
Power Plant Operations ManagerOil / Gas / Energy / Mining175,100 USD
Power Plant OperatorOil / Gas / Energy / Mining73,300 USD
Radio OperatorOil / Gas / Energy / Mining37,900 USD
Reliability EngineerOil / Gas / Energy / Mining86,600 USD
Reservoir EngineerOil / Gas / Energy / Mining83,200 USD
Risk AnalystOil / Gas / Energy / Mining112,700 USD
RoughneckOil / Gas / Energy / Mining87,500 USD
ScaffolderOil / Gas / Energy / Mining57,000 USD
Shutdown EngineerOil / Gas / Energy / Mining76,600 USD
Solar Energy Installation ManagerOil / Gas / Energy / Mining128,200 USD
Solar Energy Systems EngineerOil / Gas / Energy / Mining94,100 USD
Solar Photovoltaic InstallerOil / Gas / Energy / Mining61,400 USD
Solar Thermal TechnicianOil / Gas / Energy / Mining53,300 USD
Supply Operations ManagerOil / Gas / Energy / Mining140,200 USD
Sustainability SpecialistOil / Gas / Energy / Mining139,100 USD
System Development AdvisorOil / Gas / Energy / Mining105,800 USD
Tanker Truck DriverOil / Gas / Energy / Mining35,500 USD
Utility OperatorOil / Gas / Energy / Mining48,600 USD
Wind Energy Project ManagerOil / Gas / Energy / Mining119,700 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
Atlanta45,000 USD
Austin48,200 USD
Baltimore45,000 USD
Boston45,300 USD
Bristol36,400 USD
Chicago51,300 USD
Cincinnati36,800 USD
Cleveland39,600 USD
Dallas47,400 USD
Denver48,600 USD
Detroit45,300 USD
Honolulu35,200 USD
Houston52,800 USD
Indianapolis46,100 USD
Iowa City37,300 USD
Jacksonville49,800 USD
Kansas City42,500 USD
Kent39,100 USD
Las Vegas43,500 USD
Long Beach43,500 USD
Los Angeles52,300 USD
Memphis46,200 USD
Miami40,300 USD
Minneapolis42,800 USD
New Orleans36,500 USD
New York52,300 USD
Oakland40,300 USD
Oklahoma City43,800 USD
Orlando36,800 USD
Philadelphia53,600 USD
Phoenix53,500 USD
Sacramento40,600 USD
San Antonio52,600 USD
San Diego48,300 USD
San Jose48,600 USD
Seattle47,600 USD
Tampa36,500 USD
Vancouver36,700 USD
Washington D.C.45,000 USD

Salary Comparison by State

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

StateAverage Salary
Alabama46,100 USD
Alaska40,900 USD
Arizona49,800 USD
Arkansas46,200 USD
California51,500 USD
Colorado45,200 USD
Connecticut45,400 USD
Delaware42,600 USD
District of Columbia38,000 USD
Florida51,500 USD
Georgia49,700 USD
Hawaii41,000 USD
Idaho41,700 USD
Illinois51,100 USD
Indiana45,600 USD
Iowa42,800 USD
Kansas43,800 USD
Kentucky45,400 USD
Louisiana45,600 USD
Maine40,300 USD
Maryland48,600 USD
Massachusetts48,200 USD
Michigan47,600 USD
Minnesota49,400 USD
Mississippi45,200 USD
Missouri43,800 USD
Montana39,600 USD
Nebraska44,500 USD
Nevada45,000 USD
New Hampshire41,100 USD
New Jersey51,500 USD
New Mexico44,800 USD
New York48,500 USD
North Carolina45,000 USD
North Dakota42,000 USD
Ohio46,900 USD
Oklahoma43,400 USD
Oregon45,000 USD
Pennsylvania48,300 USD
Rhode Island38,700 USD
South Carolina46,700 USD
South Dakota42,400 USD
Tennessee48,200 USD
Texas47,200 USD
Utah43,800 USD
Vermont39,300 USD
Virginia46,200 USD
Washington49,700 USD
West Virginia43,400 USD
Wisconsin45,600 USD
Wyoming36,400 USD

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