Senior Software Engineer Salary: Edinburgh vs San Francisco
Annual median salary comparison (2024). All figures include local currency, USD equivalent, and PPP-adjusted purchasing power.
🇬🇧 Edinburgh
United Kingdom
£70K GBP
$89K USD
$124K PPP
VS
USD Difference
-64%
Edinburgh vs San Francisco
🇺🇸 San Francisco
United States
$250K USD
$250K USD
$250K PPP
Higher Purchasing Power
Detailed Comparison
| Metric | Edinburgh | San Francisco | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local Currency Salary | £70K GBP | $250K USD | — |
| USD Equivalent | $89K | $250K | -64% |
| PPP-Adjusted SalaryWINNER | $124K | $250K 🏆 | -50% |
| 25th Percentile | £56K GBP | $200K USD | — |
| Median | £70K GBP | $250K USD | — |
| 75th Percentile | £88K GBP | $312K USD | — |
| Annual Mean | £76K GBP | $270K USD | — |
What Does This Mean?
Edinburgh offers a Senior Software Engineer salary of $89K USD, while San Francisco offers $250K USD — a difference of -64% in raw terms.
After adjusting for purchasing power parity (PPP), Edinburgh's salary is worth $124K in US purchasing power terms, versus $250K for San Francisco. This means San Francisco offers better real purchasing power for this role.
PPP adjustment accounts for differences in local prices — for example, housing costs 3x more in San Francisco than in Warsaw, so a San Francisco salary needs to be much higher to provide an equivalent standard of living.