Start with the answer
Computer Network Support Specialists pay in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA and Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Computer Network Support Specialists is $124,130 per year in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA. It is $59,410 per year in Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA is 108.9% above Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 15-1231 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 1,080 wage and salary jobs in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA and 70 in Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA. 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