750+ Retail Jobs in San Francisco, CA

Observed government wage data still points to modest front-line pay. In the metro, retail salespersons had a 2025 median annual wage of $43,850, a mean of $47,290, and a 90th percentile of $58,960. Supervisory retail roles sat higher, with a 2025 median of $58,950 and a 90th percentile of $81,240. Current posting-based signals look richer on paper: hourly-paid ads center on about $19 to $22 / hour, while salary-posted roles center on about $70k to $92k, but those posting ranges likely mix in managers and lead roles rather than typical associate pay.

Full September 2026 market report

Advertised pay

Across the 660 openings that disclose pay, the advertised range midpoint runs $39,520 at the 25th percentile, $42,682 at the median and $51,106 at the 75th. These are advertised ranges, not earned pay.

Active openings as of October 16, 2026

Senior roles | Entry level | Remote | Posted this week

Live from the Callings.ai index of over 13 million postings, refreshed hourly and re-checked here nightly. Roles that close are dropped at the next refresh.

Showing 30 of 250+ openings.

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What our analysts see this month

Balanced market | next 3-6 months

This is a real market, but not an easy one. Over the last 90 days, the local sample showed more than 1,100 Retail postings across more than 350 companies, yet the mix skewed heavily entry level and overwhelmingly on-site. Broader labor conditions are steady rather than booming: metro unemployment was 4.6% in August 2026, total metro nonfarm employment was up 0.5593% year-over-year, and trade, transportation, and utilities employment was up 0.7745% year-over-year. California retail postings were up 10.3% year-over-year in September 2026 while retail employment was essentially flat statewide, which suggests more advertised openings than broad headcount expansion.

Best positioned: The best odds right now go to candidates who can show customer service, cash handling or POS fluency, inventory work, merchandising, and full availability for on-site shifts, since about 70% of postings are entry level and about 95% or more are on-site.

Main caution: The biggest mistake is assuming the higher posted salary bands reflect typical associate pay in a very high-cost metro.

From the September 2026 market report

Who is hiring here

Counted across all 762 openings in this market. 10 of the employers below are hiring for more than one role right now.

1. Macy's, Inc.: 47 open roles
2. SPAR, Inc.: 22 open roles
3. Gopuff: 18 open roles
4. your adv: 18 open roles
5. The TJX Companies, Inc.: 15 open roles
6. AutoZone, Inc.: 11 open roles
7. Shoe Palace: 11 open roles
8. Gopuff Becomes First Instant Commerce Company: 10 open roles
9. Pet Food Express, LLC: 10 open roles
10. Bath & Body Works: 9 open roles

Where the openings are

• San Francisco: 197
• Walnut Creek: 79
• San Mateo: 43
• Hayward: 38
• Corte Madera: 34
• San Rafael: 30
• Daly City: 28
• Oakland: 28

Work arrangement

on-site 722 (99%), hybrid 8 (1%), remote 1 (0%)

Where the demand is

Openings are spread across many employers rather than dominated by one chain. Over the last 90 days, the local sample captured more than 1,100 Retail postings across more than 350 companies, and hiring was described as fragmented across employers. The heaviest activity sat in core retail employers, with retail accounting for about 75% of postings, retail apparel and fashion about 10%, and department, clothing & shoe stores about 5%. The most consistently active names in the sample were Ross Stores, Inc., Panda Express, Costco Wholesale Corp., Macy's, and Spirit Halloween. The practical takeaway is that the market favors candidates who can cover broad store-floor needs, not just one narrow task. About 70% of postings were entry level, and the most-requested hard skills were inventory management, customer service, cash handling, merchandising, visual merchandising, sales, loss prevention, and product knowledge. Small-business retail is improving on the ground—San Francisco says its storefront programs have helped more than 600 businesses move into physical spaces—but only about 5% of sampled postings came from small employers, so most job seekers will get more volume by targeting chains, flagships, and multi-location operators first.

• Large chains and multi-location retail (high): The sample is fragmented overall, but the most active named employers were Ross Stores, Inc., Panda Express, Costco Wholesale Corp., Macy's, and Spirit Halloween, and about 20% of postings came from enterprise employers.
• General store-floor and stock-support roles (high): About 70% of postings were entry level, and the most-requested skills centered on inventory management, customer service, cash handling, merchandising, and visual merchandising.
• Independent boutiques and neighborhood shops (limited): San Francisco's storefront programs have helped more than 600 businesses move into physical spaces, but only about 5% of sampled postings came from small employers, so these roles are real but thinner and less visible in the hiring stream.

Where to focus: Prioritize chain and expansion-store openings where you can present yourself as a customer-service-plus-inventory hire, and treat independent boutiques as opportunistic adds rather than your main funnel.

Roles worth searching next

• Front desk / guest services agent: It uses the same strengths as retail: customer interaction, problem solving, pace management, and schedule flexibility.
• Customer support specialist: Retail experience translates well into complaint handling, product guidance, and empathy-driven service.
• Inventory coordinator: If your retail strengths are stock, replenishment, counts, and shrink control, this is a natural move toward a more operations-focused path.
• Loss prevention officer: Retail floor awareness, de-escalation, and shrink awareness can transfer directly.
• Branch service representative / teller: Cash handling, accuracy, customer trust, and product explanation all carry over from retail.

What postings ask for

• Inventory management (table_stakes | immediate): It was the most-requested hard skill in the local posting sample, showing up in about 35% of Retail postings. Who: Everyone, especially entry-level applicants and career switchers.
• POS systems and cash handling (table_stakes | immediate): Local and adjacent signals repeatedly point to POS operation and cash handling as common screening criteria for front-line roles. Who: Entry-level applicants, hospitality switchers, and anyone targeting cashier-adjacent work.
• Customer service and clienteling (differentiator | immediate): Customer service is a top local skill, and broader retail analysis says the role is shifting toward relationship-building, product expertise, and clienteling rather than simple transactions. Who: Candidates aiming at apparel, specialty retail, or branded flagship stores.
• Merchandising and visual merchandising (differentiator | immediate): Merchandising and visual merchandising both appear prominently in local postings, and they help separate candidates from register-only applicants. Who: Applicants with apparel, beauty, home goods, or promotional-floor experience.
• Loss prevention awareness (differentiator | near-term): Loss prevention appears in the local skill mix, which matters in high-traffic stores where shrink and floor control affect hiring decisions. Who: Mid-career candidates, leads, and applicants targeting large-format stores.
• ServSafe (differentiator | near-term): ServSafe was the certification most often required in the local sample, which suggests value in food-adjacent retail and mixed retail-service environments. Who: Career switchers and applicants targeting convenience, grocery, café-retail, or food-led consumer brands.

Questions about this market

What do Retail roles pay in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA?

Observed government wage data still points to modest front-line pay. In the metro, retail salespersons had a 2025 median annual wage of $43,850, a mean of $47,290, and a 90th percentile of $58,960. Supervisory retail roles sat higher, with a 2025 median of $58,950 and a 90th percentile of $81,240. Current posting-based signals look richer on paper: hourly-paid ads center on about $19 to $22 / hour, while salary-posted roles center on about $70k to $92k, but those posting ranges likely mix in managers and lead roles rather than typical associate pay. Local retail pays better than the national retail salesperson mean wage of $37,310, but that does not automatically make it comfortable in this metro, where the home price index was up 2.2% year-over-year as of July 2026.

Where is demand for Retail roles in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA concentrated?

Openings are spread across many employers rather than dominated by one chain. Over the last 90 days, the local sample captured more than 1,100 Retail postings across more than 350 companies, and hiring was described as fragmented across employers. The heaviest activity sat in core retail employers, with retail accounting for about 75% of postings, retail apparel and fashion about 10%, and department, clothing & shoe stores about 5%. The most consistently active names in the sample were Ross Stores, Inc., Panda Express, Costco Wholesale Corp., Macy's, and Spirit Halloween. The practical takeaway is that the market favors candidates who can cover broad store-floor needs, not just one narrow task. About 70% of postings were entry level, and the most-requested hard skills were inventory management, customer service, cash handling, merchandising, visual merchandising, sales, loss prevention, and product knowledge. Small-business retail is improving on the ground—San Francisco says its storefront programs have helped more than 600 businesses move into physical spaces—but only about 5% of sampled postings came from small employers, so most job seekers will get more volume by targeting chains, flagships, and multi-location operators first.

Which employers are hiring the most Retail talent in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA?

Recent postings show the most activity from Ross Stores, Inc. (40 postings), Panda Express (30 postings), Costco Wholesale Corp. (20 postings), Macy's (20 postings), Spirit Halloween (20 postings). See the full market report for the complete employer landscape.

Can Retail roles in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA be done remotely?

Of recent postings, 2% are remote and 2% hybrid, with 95% on-site. Use the Remote filter above to see only remote openings.

How current are these listings?

Openings come from the Callings.ai live index of over 13 million jobs, refreshed hourly. This page searches postings from the last 30 days; run the search yourself to filter by anything else in plain language.

Browse California openings by job title

• Software Engineer: 1,164 open roles statewide
• General Manager: 450 open roles statewide
• Product Manager: 419 open roles statewide
• Project Manager: 396 open roles statewide
• Program Manager: 333 open roles statewide
• Technical Program Manager: 313 open roles statewide
• Senior Software Engineer: 280 open roles statewide
• Staff Software Engineer: 230 open roles statewide
• Engineering Manager: 178 open roles statewide
• Senior Manager: 143 open roles statewide
• Senior Product Manager: 122 open roles statewide
• Associate Director: 107 open roles statewide

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Other roles in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA

• Finance & Accounting
• Administrative & Office Support
• Engineering & Scientific
• Human Resources, Recruiting & People Operations
• Legal, Compliance & Risk
• Personal Care & Fitness
• Data, Analytics & AI
• Protective Services & Public Safety

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