Start with the answer
Atmospheric and Space Scientists pay in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA and St. Louis, MO-IL
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Atmospheric and Space Scientists is $151,000 per year in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA. It is $111,650 per year in St. Louis, MO-IL. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA is 35.2% above St. Louis, MO-IL on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 19-2021 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 30 wage and salary jobs in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA and 30 in St. Louis, MO-IL. 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