Start with the answer
Cost Estimators pay in Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH and Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Cost Estimators is $102,640 per year in Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH. It is $77,070 per year in Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA. Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH is 33.2% above Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA 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 120 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