Start with the answer
Career/Technical Education Teachers, Postsecondary pay in Chico, CA and El Centro, CA
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Career/Technical Education Teachers, Postsecondary is $162,300 per year in Chico, CA. It is $106,620 per year in El Centro, CA. Chico, CA is 52.2% above El Centro, CA on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 25-1194 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 50 wage and salary jobs in Chico, CA and 60 in El Centro, 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