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Credit Counselors pay in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA and Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Credit Counselors is $82,570 per year in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA. It is $62,500 per year in Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA is 32.1% above Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 13-2071 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 210 wage and salary jobs in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA and 40 in Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, 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.
