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Automotive Service Technicians and Mechanics pay in Bay City, MI and San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Automotive Service Technicians and Mechanics is $47,830 per year in Bay City, MI. It is $77,840 per year in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA. Bay City, MI is 38.6% below San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 49-3023 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 200 wage and salary jobs in Bay City, MI and 3,040 in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, 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.