That's true for consultants; it doesn't hold if you're a full-time employee. For employee salaries, the limiting factor is still what the boss is willing to pay.

There's been a lot of noise about consultant hourly rates, lately. But make no mistake: consultants make more in large part because they have to cover their own costs (insurance, employment taxes, SSI, etc.) The true cost of a full-time employee is significantly higher than their salary.

In my very limited experience, it seems to hold true for full-time employees as well. You simply have to be willing to leave if they aren't willing to pay you what you want. You're a lot more valuable to them than they are to you.

All I meant was what the boss is willing to pay you is often higher than you might think.. And perhaps even higher than he might think :)

You're begging the original question. Sure, your market value might be higher than you expect -- but it might be lower, too. Are you willing to walk away from a good job for a potentially unreasonable expectation of higher salary?

The OP wanted to know the salary range for a programmer in San Francisco. I guess I don't see relativism ("it's as high as you want it to be") as a particularly helpful response.

Hmm... I was feeling pensive today, so I probably got too creative and derailed the thread. I apologize :)

I'd make it up by giving a helpful response, but I don't live in San Fran. I hope he finds the answer though!