Start with the answer
Area, Ethnic, and Cultural Studies Teachers, Postsecondary pay in Richmond, VA and Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Area, Ethnic, and Cultural Studies Teachers, Postsecondary is $85,960 per year in Richmond, VA. It is $145,530 per year in Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA. Richmond, VA is 40.9% below Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 25-1062 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 90 wage and salary jobs in Richmond, VA and 40 in Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA. 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