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Cost Estimators pay in Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH and Merced, CA
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Cost Estimators is $102,640 per year in Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH. It is $72,880 per year in Merced, CA. Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH is 40.8% above Merced, CA on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 13-1051 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 3,110 wage and salary jobs in Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH and 90 in Merced, 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