The Salinas, CA all-occupations median was 7.1% below the U.S. all-occupations median in the same release. Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse had the largest published employment estimate among the 30 occupation rows shown on this hub, at 26,830.
Among those high-employment rows, Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse had the highest published location quotient at 84.3. A location quotient above 1.00 means a larger share of local employment than the national share; it does not measure job quality or future demand.
Occupation detail
Largest published occupations in Salinas, CA
Sorted by published employment. Open a row for its local distribution, national comparison, and jobs.
Largest published occupation estimates by employment
Six high-employment rows from the bounded area summary. The table below keeps each full title and published field.
Farmworkers and Labor...: 26,830 jobs. Home Health and Perso...: 6,740 jobs. Fast Food and Counter...: 4,180 jobs. Retail Salespersons: 4,110 jobs. Cashiers: 4,020 jobs. Laborers and Freight,...: 3,890 jobs.
$36,700/yearEmployment: 26,830 Jobs per 1,000: 143.93 Location quotient: 84.3
26,830
143.93
84.3
Price-level context
What the local median may buy
BEA's 2024 all-items price index for Salinas, CA was 109, or 9% above the national price level. Its housing index was 145.7.
National-price-dollar proxy
$43,451
WageScope divides the published all occupations median by the BEA all-items index. This is a price-level comparison, not take-home pay, a personal budget, or a quality-of-life score.
Wage period: BLS May 2025. Price period: BEA 2024. The releases describe different periods and are shown separately.
Price level in Salinas, CA; U.S. = 100
U.S. baseline: 100.0. All items: 109. Housing: 145.7.
Read the all-jobs wage, role mix, local job shares, price-level context, and survey limits as separate facts. Every value stays tied to BLS area 41500.
Questions, answered
Wage data for Salinas, CA: common questions
What is the all-occupations median wage in Salinas, CA?
The May 2025 BLS OEWS release published an all-occupations median of $47,380 per year in Salinas, CA. It combines covered wage and salary jobs and is not a median for every individual occupation.
How many wage and salary jobs does BLS estimate in Salinas, CA?
BLS published an all-occupations employment estimate of 186,430 jobs for Salinas, CA. It is a survey estimate, not a current opening count.
What is the largest detailed occupation shown for Salinas, CA?
Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse is the largest detailed occupation in the bounded table on this page, with 26,830 estimated jobs and a published median of $36,700 per year.
Does the Salinas, CA wage data adjust for local prices?
From market data to your evidence
Tailor for a real Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse job, not a generic wage number.
Pick an eligible listing, then MeritLog can help you prepare from experience you have confirmed. WageScope never turns a BLS estimate into a qualification or résumé claim.
The May 2025 BLS OEWS estimate puts the all-occupations median in Salinas, CA at $47,380 per year. This is the middle wage across covered wage and salary jobs in the area. It is not the median for each job title. It is not one worker's pay. Use an occupation page when you need a role-level answer.
BLS lists 186,430 covered jobs in Salinas, CA. The all-occupations mean is $65,160 per year. Mean means add the wage values and split the total by the number of jobs behind the estimate. The median and mean can differ because the local wage mix is not even.
Salinas, CA's $47,380 all-occupations median is 7.1% below the U.S. all-occupations median of $50,980 on the same published median. This is a wage check on the same source period. It does not add local price levels, taxes, hours, benefits, or household needs.
Salinas, CA ranks 215 of 393 among metro areas with a published annual all-occupations median. WageScope keeps the map type the same. It does not place a state, metro, and nonmetro row in one rank. The rank uses the May 2025 BLS median only.
A rank is a place in a sorted list. It is not a score. It does not say a place is good or bad. It does not show the size of the job base. Salinas, CA has 186,430 covered jobs, while another row near it can have a very different count.
The nearby rank rows give context without turning the list into a league table. Small gaps can move a place by several spots. A later BLS release can also change the order. Read the wage gap and the source date beside the rank. Do not use rank alone to make a move.
212. North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL has an all-occupations median of $47,440 per year and 339,940 covered jobs. Its wage gap from Salinas, CA is $60.
213. Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA has an all-occupations median of $47,430 per year and 84,260 covered jobs. Its wage gap from Salinas, CA is $50.
214. Lawrence, KS has an all-occupations median of $47,390 per year and 51,750 covered jobs. Its wage gap from Salinas, CA is $10.
216. Morgantown, WV has an all-occupations median of $47,350 per year and 67,370 covered jobs. Its wage gap from Salinas, CA is $30.
217. St. Joseph, MO-KS has an all-occupations median of $47,350 per year and 54,390 covered jobs. Its wage gap from Salinas, CA is $30.
218. New Orleans-Metairie, LA has an all-occupations median of $47,290 per year and 445,550 covered jobs. Its wage gap from Salinas, CA is $90.
The largest detailed occupations shown for Salinas, CA
The role list is sorted by the BLS employment estimate. It shows detailed occupations from the bounded source table for Salinas, CA. The first row, Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse, has 26,830 estimated jobs. Its median is $36,700 per year.
Large roles shape the all-occupations wage mix, but they do not set it by themselves. A role with many jobs and a lower wage can pull the middle one way. A smaller role with a higher wage can move the mean. The all-occupations row is based on the whole covered job mix, not just the occupations shown in this bounded list.
Employment here means wage and salary jobs in the BLS survey scope. It does not mean people looking for work. It does not mean openings. It does not show how fast a role is changing. Use the current job cards only to inspect dated employer-title matches. Keep that view apart from this May 2025 job count.
1. Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse has 26,830 estimated jobs in Salinas, CA. Its published median is $36,700 per year. Its location quotient is 84.3.
2. Home Health and Personal Care Aides has 6,740 estimated jobs in Salinas, CA. Its published median is $34,320 per year. Its location quotient is 1.31.
Role pay range
How published medians differ inside Salinas, CA
The detailed roles shown for Salinas, CA do not share one pay level. Registered Nurses has the highest published median in this bounded role set, at $134,910 per year. That does not make it the highest-paid role in every job or in every part of the area.
The list keeps each official SOC title tied to its own wage row. It does not blend fields, levels, or job posts. A role median can be above the $47,380 all-occupations median even when the role has few jobs. A large role can sit below that mark. Pay and job count answer different questions.
Use a role's own WageScope page before you compare places. That page shows the national spread, the same SOC code across areas, and the source limits. The area list is a starting map. It is not enough to set a pay target for one person or one listing.
1. Registered Nurses has a published median of $134,910 per year in Salinas, CA. BLS lists 3,180 jobs. Its local share is 0.79 times the national share.
2. Teachers and Instructors, All Other has a published median of $113,360 per year in Salinas, CA. BLS lists 2,170 jobs. Its local share is 15.9 times the national share.
3. Correctional Officers and Jailers has a published median of $109,620 per year in Salinas, CA. BLS lists 1,510 jobs. Its local share is 3.31 times the national share.
Local share
Roles with a larger local share in Salinas, CA
Location quotient compares a role's share of jobs in Salinas, CA with that role's share across the nation. A value of 1 means the shares match. A value above 1 means the role takes a larger share of local jobs. A value below 1 means the share is smaller. The value does not show growth or open jobs.
Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse has the highest published location quotient in this bounded set, at 84.3. The same row has 26,830 jobs and a median of $36,700 per year. Read all three fields together.
A high share can appear in a small job base. A large job count can appear with a share near 1. A high median can appear in either case. The three measures are not a single score. They help you ask three clear questions: how many jobs, how common the role is in the local mix, and what wage BLS published.
1. Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse has a location quotient of 84.3 in Salinas, CA. BLS lists 26,830 jobs and a median of $36,700 per year.
2. First-Line Supervisors of Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Workers has a location quotient of 37.07 in Salinas, CA. BLS lists 1,240 jobs and a median of $62,030 per year.
3. Teachers and Instructors, All Other has a location quotient of 15.9 in Salinas, CA. BLS lists 2,170 jobs and a median of $113,360 per year.
Separate price view
What the BEA price level adds for Salinas, CA
BEA's 2024 all-items price index for Salinas, CA is 109.0. The U.S. level is 100. The local all-items level is 9.0% above that mark. This is a broad price comparison. It is not a personal budget.
The housing index is 145.7. The goods index is 105.2. Utilities are 154.2. Other services are 100.3. These parts can move in different ways. The all-items number joins them with BEA's method; WageScope does not pick its own weights.
The BLS wage period is May 2025. The BEA price period is 2024. WageScope shows both dates because the clocks differ. It can divide a wage by the all-items index for a clear national-price-dollar proxy. It does not call that result take-home pay, spending power for one home, or a place score.
The all-occupations employment RSE for Salinas, CA is 0%. The mean-wage RSE is 0.5%. RSE means relative standard error. It is a survey precision flag. A smaller value often means less sampling uncertainty. It is not an error bar for one person's wage.
The employment RSE belongs to the 186,430 job estimate. The mean-wage RSE belongs to the all-occupations mean. WageScope does not attach either field to a detailed role, the median, or a percentile. Each role row has its own published care marks when BLS supplies them.
Some BLS values are blank or top coded. Blank does not mean zero. A top code means the value is at least the shown bound. WageScope keeps those states in the role pages and tables. It does not fill a missing value from a peer role, past year, or nearby place.
Use Salinas, CA as a map, then choose one occupation
Start with the role that matches the work you mean. Official titles can sound broad. Open the role page and check its SOC code. Then compare the Salinas, CA row with the U.S. row on the same annual or hourly metric. Read the job count and location quotient beside the wage. Add the BEA price level only when the exact row is present.
Next, look at the wage spread. The median shows the middle. The 10th, 25th, 75th, and 90th percentiles show more of the range. A posted job range can be compared with those marks as context, but it stays employer evidence. It never becomes part of the BLS estimate.
If the role-place row is missing, use the national role page or choose another official area. Do not guess. A clean missing state is more useful than a made-up number. It tells you what the source can and cannot answer.
Move from Salinas, CA wage data to one checked job
The area page does not treat every local job as the same. Choose an occupation first. WageScope can then use a strict employer-title match for that role. A place filter is used only when the BLS area has an exact approved match in the public place list. If that match is not safe, the page says so.
Each shown job keeps the employer, place, source, and seen date. The cards can change as the public catalog changes. They do not count toward this page's stable content gate. They do not change Salinas, CA's $47,380 all-occupations median. They do not prove that the employer uses the BLS title.
Open a listing before you tailor. Use facts from your own work that you can support. A wage value is not a skill, result, or duty. MeritLog can help shape confirmed work for the listing you chose. The public area page does not save the role, listing, place, or résumé on load.
The page does not say what one person in Salinas, CA earns. It does not promise a wage, job, move, or result. It does not call the all-occupations median a role wage. It does not turn rank 215 of 393 into a place score. It does not say why wages differ.
The BLS job count leaves out people who work for themselves and other work outside the survey scope. The current job cards are a separate set of public listings. Neither source shows all work. Neither source tells you the chance of getting hired. A missing value stays missing.
Use the page for a narrow task. See the May 2025 local wage picture. Choose one official occupation. Compare the same field across like places. Add the separate 2024 price level when it exists. Read a current employer-title match. Then make a résumé choice from work facts you have confirmed.
No. BLS wage estimates are nominal. Where an exact BEA Regional Price Parity row exists, WageScope shows that price-level context separately and labels its source period.
Are MeritLog job listings part of the government wage estimate?
No. Eligible live listings remain separate from BLS statistics. Their locations and posted pay do not change the official area or occupation rows.
3. Fast Food and Counter Workers has 4,180 estimated jobs in Salinas, CA. Its published median is $43,260 per year. Its location quotient is 0.9.
4. Retail Salespersons has 4,110 estimated jobs in Salinas, CA. Its published median is $37,970 per year. Its location quotient is 0.88.
5. Cashiers has 4,020 estimated jobs in Salinas, CA. Its published median is $37,080 per year. Its location quotient is 1.08.
6. Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand has 3,890 estimated jobs in Salinas, CA. Its published median is $39,110 per year. Its location quotient is 1.1.
7. Registered Nurses has 3,180 estimated jobs in Salinas, CA. Its published median is $134,910 per year. Its location quotient is 0.79.
8. Waiters and Waitresses has 3,100 estimated jobs in Salinas, CA. Its published median is $35,540 per year. Its location quotient is 1.14.
4. General and Operations Managers has a published median of $105,680 per year in Salinas, CA. BLS lists 2,600 jobs. Its local share is 0.62 times the national share.
5. Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education has a published median of $100,220 per year in Salinas, CA. BLS lists 2,280 jobs. Its local share is 1.37 times the national share.
6. First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers has a published median of $74,010 per year in Salinas, CA. BLS lists 1,230 jobs. Its local share is 0.71 times the national share.
7. Substitute Teachers, Short-Term has a published median of $63,970 per year in Salinas, CA. BLS lists 1,220 jobs. Its local share is 1.94 times the national share.
8. First-Line Supervisors of Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Workers has a published median of $62,030 per year in Salinas, CA. BLS lists 1,240 jobs. Its local share is 37.07 times the national share.
We did not fill this page with jobs from other places. Search all Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse jobs, then check each listing's location before you tailor your resume.
