By Marcus Webb, Senior Editor, State Tax & Retirement Geography·San Francisco County
San Francisco is the #4 city in California by population (870,887
residents across 353,287 households; median household income $81,294). Federal gold IRA
rules are identical here to anywhere else in the US — what changes at the state line
is the money around the metal: exempt over $2,000 at
purchase, and ordinary income rates when you take distributions.
The thresholds, sources and storage picture behind those two lines live in the gold IRA guide for California. Below: the city snapshot our
desk compiles for San Francisco, the rated companies that serve it, and where its metals
would physically sit.
San Francisco snapshot
San Francisco, California — city profile
Measure
Value
Population
870,887
Households
353,287
Median household income
$81,294
County
San Francisco County
ZIP codes served
65
Land area
46.9 sq mi
Source: U.S. Census Bureau estimates (via our cities dataset) · checked October 24, 2026
Where San Francisco IRA metals would sit
Metals in your IRA can't sit in a San Francisco safe-deposit box or home safe — an
IRS-approved depository arranged by the custodian holds them, and the vault your
custodian uses decides fees and logistics. To make the geography concrete, we
measure the straight-line distance from San Francisco to the two reference vaults we
track nationally:
Straight-line distance from San Francisco to reference depositories
Facility
Distance
Delaware Depository (Wilmington, DE)
≈ 2,500 mi
Texas Bullion Depository (Leander, TX)
≈ 1,480 mi
Method: great-circle distance from city coordinates, rounded to 10 miles — an
indicator of logistics, not a quote. California's full storage picture: state guide.
Gold IRA companies serving San Francisco — network ratings
Company
Overall
Fees
Feedback
Min. investment
Noble Gold Investments
4.1
3.5
4.5
Varies — see review
GoldStar Trust
4.0
4.0
4.0
N/A (custodian)
Augusta Precious Metals
4.0
3.0
4.5
$50,000 for cash or IRA purchases
Advantage Gold
3.9
3.5
4.0
$10,000–$25,000
Birch Gold Group
3.9
3.5
3.5
$5,000 recommended minimum
Goldco
3.9
3.5
4.0
$25,000 generally required for gold IRA…
American Hartford Gold
3.8
3.5
4.0
$10,000 for a Gold IRA
Lear Capital
3.3
3.0
3.5
$10,000 for a Gold IRA
Preserve Gold
3.2
3.0
3.5
$10,000–$25,000
Regal Assets
1.3
2.0
1.0
$5,000
San Francisco gold IRA questions
Do I pay sales tax on gold IRA purchases in San Francisco?
Exempt over $2,000 — the rule is set at the state level. California exempts monetized bullion and nonmonetized gold or silver bullion only when a single sale totals $2,000 or more; smaller purchases, platinum and palladium bullion, and most numismatic coins stay taxable under CDTFA Regulation 1599. Source: CDTFA Regulation 1599, checked October 2026.
Where would metals from a San Francisco gold IRA be stored?
Not at home: IRS rules require an approved depository arranged by your custodian. Measured from San Francisco, the industry's reference vaults sit roughly 2,500 mi (Delaware Depository) and 1,480 mi (Texas Bullion Depository). The distance doesn't affect IRS approval — the vault your custodian uses decides fees and logistics.
Does San Francisco add its own tax on IRA distributions?
Income tax is set at the state level, not by cities — with rare exceptions like New York City's resident tax, which none of our covered cities share. California taxes IRA distributions as ordinary income at state rates up to 13.3%; there is no blanket exclusion for retirement income, unlike most states.
Important
Educational information only — not investment, tax or legal advice. Verify current state and
local tax treatment with the California revenue department before acting.
