NAICS 44-45

Retail Trade in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA

Metro Market Score 66.7 (Difficult), ranked #319 of 378 metros. 11,448 establishments, 178,102 jobs.

Metro Market Score 66.7

Favorable 0-35

Moderate 35-48

Challenging 48-60

Difficult 60+

Difficult

ⓘ Lower is better. Relative to national retail trade average.

💰High-Cost Market⚡Rising Wages

San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont stands out for high retail trade labor costs. Wage competitiveness hits 99.7 (above the 70th percentile of metros), and year-over-year wage pressure at 82.4 signals continued increases. Plan for higher payroll if entering this market.

Industry Concentration

1.3

LQ: 0.74

Rank #5 of 378 metros

Wage Competitiveness

99.7

$59,658 avg wage

Growth Trend

↓ 16.7

Employment growth index

Rank #316 of 378 metros

Wage Pressure

82.4

YoY wage change index

11,448 Retail Trade Firms in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont

11,448

Establishments

-2.4% YoY

178,102

Total Employment

-2.4% YoY

$59,658

Average Annual Wage

+4.0% YoY

0.74

Location Quotient

Below national avg

Within California

#20 of 25

retail trade metros in state

California state rank

#28 of 51

for retail trade entry risk

vs State Median

+6.1

worse than median (60.6)

San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont vs California Statewide

How this metro's retail trade market compares to California overall. The state ranks #28/51 for entry risk.

Measure	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont	CA Statewide
Overall Score	66.7 Difficult	44.0 Elevated
Score Type	Metro Market Score	Entry Risk Score
Rank	#319 of 378 metros	#28 of 51 states

Metro and state scores use different methodologies (metro has 4 QCEW-based metrics; state adds BDS survival and momentum data). Direct score comparisons are approximate.

Other Industries in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont

Healthcare and Social Assistance 47.0 Other Services 62.0 Administrative and Support Services 63.4 Construction 68.3 Accommodation and Food Services 69.5 Real Estate and Rental and Leasing 70.4 Finance and Insurance 75.3 Information 84.0 Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services 84.7

Retail Trade in Other California Metros

Fresno 35.8 #28/378 Visalia 38.4 #39/378 Napa 38.8 #43/378 Santa Maria-Santa Barbara 51.6 #157/378 El Centro 53.6 #180/378 Salinas 53.7 #184/378 Hanford-Corcoran 55.6 #204/378 Merced 56.2 #211/378 Bakersfield-Delano 56.4 #213/378 Yuba City 56.6 #215/378

+ 14 more metros. View all in California →

Retail Trade Metros With Similar Conditions

Metros within 5 points of San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont's 66.7 score. Useful when comparing markets with comparable entry profiles.

Kalamazoo-Portage, MI 66.6 #318/378 Cape Girardeau, MO 66.9 #320/378 Shreveport-Bossier City, LA 67.0 #321/378 Warner Robins, GA 66.4 #317/378 Utica-Rome, NY 66.3 #316/378 Grand Junction, CO 67.2 #322/378 Burlington-South Burlington, VT 67.3 #323/378 Manchester-Nashua, NH 66.2 #315/378 Jackson, MI 67.4 #324/378 Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT 66.1 #314/378

Retail Trade in States Bordering California

State-level entry risk for retail trade in adjacent states. Use this to weigh cross-border options.

Nevada 37.0 #3/51 Oregon 42.9 #24/51 Arizona 44.9 #32/51

Browse Retail Trade in Other States

State-level entry risk reports for retail trade across all 51 markets, sorted by rank.

About Metro Market Score: A weighted composite of industry concentration (25%), wage competitiveness (25%), wage pressure (20%), and employment growth trend (30%). Lower scores indicate more favorable conditions. For San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont's retail trade sector, the employment growth component (83.3) has the strongest pull on the composite. Metro scores use QCEW data only (no BDS survival data at metro level). Read full methodology →

Data Sources

Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW), Bureau of Labor Statistics. MSA-level establishment counts, employment, wages, and location quotients for the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA MSA area.

Data period: 2024. Last updated: April 2026.

Metro Market Assessment