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Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Programmers pay in Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI and San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Programmers is $66,860 per year in Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI. It is $102,980 per year in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA. Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI is 35.1% below San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 51-9162 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 650 wage and salary jobs in Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI and 420 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.
Evidence: bls-oews-may-2025 · Rule: same-soc-same-metric-pair · nominal-median-gap · employment-not-openings