City Controller: Recovery is underway, but SF's finances aren't out of danger

A new report from the City Controller's Office shows that San Francisco's economy is showing signs of recovery. But the pace isn't enough to restore downtown activity, office attendance, and over-all revenues to pre-pandemic levels yet.

The Facts

The SF Office of Economic Analysis just released its March 2025 report on the status of our economy and it shows some sustained signs of rebound — particularly in downtown foot traffic and in new housing permits:

• Downtown foot traffic is up since the holidays. We've seen visitors climb back to about 70% compared to before 2020, while employee numbers hover pretty consistently just beneath 60%.
• Housing permits are increasing. There's been a measurable bump in new authorizations for homes in early 2025.
• Muni and BART ridership is climbing. In February 2025, Muni Metro ridership rose to about 60% of pre-pandemic averages. BART exits at downtown stations are climbing, but still on the low end.
• Office attendance is improving, but there's a long way to go. San Francisco has reached about 52% of what it was before the pandemic began.
• Many restaurants are opening. In March this year, we saw about 120 new restaurants and bars set up shop.

The Context

We've seen slow but steady progress toward recovery in San Francisco, but the city's budget deficit is also still at nearly $1 billion.

Mayor Daniel Lurie has made economic recovery a top priority — including getting workers to return to offices, restoring public safety downtown, and building taller homes. And we are seeing big companies expand their physical footprints: Strava recently unveiled a bigger headquarters downtown, and Notion is poised to begin its 105,000-square-foot lease on Market Street.

Additionally, we've seen bigger gains for Muni than its Metro service that's highlighted in the City Controller's report. In 2024, over-all ridership climbed to 75% of pre-pandemic levels.

Those are all good signs alongside what we need to keep a close eye on. Longtime stores downtown have been shuttering, in particular at San Francisco Centre, and several Walgreens announced closure, too; We have been falling short on our housing goals; and as the Controller's recent report notes, office vacancies are on the rise.

The GrowSF Take

San Francisco is facing an $876M budget deficit, and while we must find savings by rooting out corruption, trimming excess spending, and tightening budgets, we need to boost our economy, too. Downtown vacancies and slow tourism recovery continue to hurt tax revenues.

The real, sustainable solution is growth. Building more homes will not just bring in new taxpayers, it will help revitalize neighborhoods and increase demand for office space. Growth isn't just beneficial—it's essential.