Start with the answer
Aerospace Engineering and Operations Technologists and Technicians pay in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA and Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Aerospace Engineering and Operations Technologists and Technicians is $125,160 per year in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA. It is $85,320 per year in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA is 46.7% above Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 17-3021 and the same annual wage metric. Median means the middle of each area's published wage spread. It is not one worker's pay. The larger median is not proof that one place gives a better job or a better result. It is one wage fact from one source period.
BLS lists 1,570 wage and salary jobs in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA and 190 in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV. Those are survey job counts, not open posts. Read pay, job scale, local share, and price level as separate facts before you make a choice.
Evidence: bls-oews-may-2025 · Rule: same-soc-same-metric-pair · nominal-median-gap · employment-not-openings