Staffing agencies in San Francisco: 247 offices, the country's priciest search firms and California's pay rules

This report is for San Francisco employers choosing a staffing or search firm, candidates deciding who to work with, and B2B sellers whose customers are recruiting firms.

San Francisco staffing agencies in Census data

The figures cover San Francisco County, California, which is the same area as the city, and two industry codes: NAICS 56131 (Employment Placement Agencies and Executive Search Services) and NAICS 56132 (Temporary Help Services). Source: US Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023.

Where the payroll is

Temp help still has most of the people, because a temp agency employs the workers it places and they're counted on its payroll. But San Francisco's temp payroll per employee, about $76,000, is far above the US figure for temp help of about $48,600 (our calculation from the same Census file), which points to contract professionals rather than day labor. Executive search is the standout: 52 offices with a quarter of all staffing payroll. Payroll per employee isn't a salary, but at $316,800 it reflects partners and senior recruiters paid on large placement fees.

How big they are

179 establishments have fewer than 20 employees. The Census Bureau doesn't publish several classes for the two codes combined, but the temp rows show 14 temp offices with 100 to 249 employees, 5 with 250 to 499 and 3 with 500 to 999. Among search firms, 22 have fewer than 5 employees and 10 have 20 to 49.

County Business Patterns counts establishments with paid employees, not companies; self-employed recruiters aren't counted, and professional employer organizations (NAICS 56133, 13 more establishments) are counted separately.

The city's own register

The city's Office of the Treasurer and Tax Collector publishes every registered business location on DataSF. As of 29 October 2026, it listed 436 open locations, none administratively closed, that self-report a NAICS code beginning 5613. Of those, 225 have a San Francisco address and 211 are elsewhere: agencies based outside the city that place people in it. Among the 225, 93 report temporary help (561320), 57 employment placement (561311), 28 executive search (561312) and 12 professional employer organizations (561330). The codes are self-reported, so some recruiters file under other codes; filter by name as well.

There are no SEC-registered staffing companies headquartered in the county. Robert Half, the largest SEC-registered staffing company headquartered in California, gives its headquarters in its 10-K as Menlo Park, in San Mateo County; see the California report.

California rules that shape a search

Worked example: retained or contingency?

Illustrative example. Fogline, its pay package and both fee proposals are made up for the arithmetic.

Fogline Robotics (fogline.example) needs a vice president of engineering at a $240,000 base salary with a $60,000 target bonus. Two firms bid:

The contingency firm is cheaper in both outcomes, so the retainer has to earn its premium: exclusivity, a researched market map, a dedicated team and a finished shortlist. For a role that needs a candidate who isn't looking, that can be worth it; for a role with plenty of active candidates, contingency is usually enough. Either way, the firm will need your pay range for the posting and can't ask candidates their current pay on your behalf.

Choosing a firm in San Francisco

1. Match the firm to the hire: temp or contract for project work, contingency placement for most permanent roles, retained search for senior or confidential ones.
2. Shortlist from ClearlyRated's San Francisco listings, the ASA member directory and the city's register.
3. Check the entity on the California Secretary of State's business search.
4. Read the contract for the fee basis (base salary or total cash), payment schedule, guarantee period and what happens if you hire a candidate the firm introduced later.
5. Ask for two references from searches like yours in the past year.

Selling to San Francisco staffing and search firms

Search firms are the high-value accounts: few people, large fees, and a partner who signs. Sort them by specialty (technology, life sciences, finance, nonprofit) using their own websites and job postings, and pitch research tools when a firm announces new searches or partners. With accounts this valuable, depth matters more than volume: Bebop researches each firm and suggests the angle to open with. For the firms' clients, see tech companies in San Francisco, and for method, how to find decision makers.

Subject: The market map for [firm]'s [role] search

Hi [first name],

I noticed [firm] has a [role] search open for a [industry] client.

Retained clients expect a researched market map in the first weeks, and building it by hand eats the associates' time. We deliver a mapped list of [number] target candidates with verified roles and contact paths in [time].

Would a sample map for this search be useful?

[Your name]

Local sources

Next step: compare the city with the state's 5,840 staffing offices in staffing agencies in California.