Start with the answer
Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Operators pay in Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA and Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Operators is $59,930 per year in Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA. It is $109,600 per year in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA. Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA is 45.3% below Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 51-9161 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 110 wage and salary jobs in Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA and 1,960 in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA. 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
