Recruiting services in California
A full permanent search for an employer hiring anywhere in California, run end to end on your behalf and priced per search rather than as a percentage of salary. Across all six tiers the published range is $6,240 to $54,340, set by the seniority of the role and not by what it pays.
Searches typically fill in 23 to 35 days and run 30 to 50% below what a contingency recruiter charges for the same hire, with a 45 day replacement guarantee at 50% off. Local market data is published for 21 California cities across 10 metro wage areas.
Which California cities have data?
Sorted by population. Every one of these carries a real wage figure and a real residence-side earnings figure. Nothing here is a placeholder.
| City | Population | Wages attributed to |
|---|---|---|
| Hiring in Los Angeles | 3,869,089 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
| Hiring in San Diego | 1,406,106 | San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA |
| Hiring in San Jose | 989,814 | San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA |
| Hiring in San Francisco | 826,079 | San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA |
| Hiring in Fresno | 555,549 | Fresno, CA |
| Hiring in Sacramento | 536,449 | Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA |
| Hiring in Long Beach | 450,469 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
| Hiring in Oakland | 440,838 | San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA |
| Hiring in Bakersfield | 422,165 | Bakersfield-Delano, CA |
| Hiring in Anaheim | 341,008 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
| Hiring in Stockton | 324,597 | Stockton-Lodi, CA |
| Hiring in Riverside | 323,057 | Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA |
| Hiring in Irvine | 318,764 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
| Hiring in Santa Ana | 315,586 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
| Hiring in Chula Vista | 275,533 | San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA |
| Hiring in Santa Clarita | 228,430 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
| Hiring in Fremont | 226,442 | San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA |
| Hiring in San Bernardino | 222,044 | Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA |
| Hiring in Fontana | 221,223 | Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA |
| Hiring in Modesto | 219,652 | Modesto, CA |
| Hiring in Moreno Valley | 214,263 | Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA |
Population: US Census Bureau Vintage 2025 estimates. Wage areas are BLS OEWS metropolitan areas, which is why several cities can share one.
What does the California data actually show?
Across the 21 cities here, 12,727,157 people live in the places we publish data for. The largest is Los Angeles at 3,869,089, the smallest Moreno Valley at 214,263.
Resident earnings vary more inside California than most people expect. In management, Fremont residents report a median of $153,601 against $60,641 in San Bernardino. Same state, same occupation group.
Why do several cities share one wage figure?
Because BLS publishes wages by metropolitan area, not by city. In California that means 21 cities map onto 10 wage areas. A page that stopped there would say the same thing about every city in the metro, so each one also carries Census figures for that specific place: how many residents work in each occupation group and what they earn. Those do differ city to city, often by a wide margin.
What would your search cost in California?
The fee is set by the seniority of the role, not by location and not by salary. Eight questions gives you the range. Tier I to VI runs $6,240 to $54,340.