Start with the answer
Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement Teachers, Postsecondary pay in California and Kentucky
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement Teachers, Postsecondary is $139,720 per year in California. It is $60,280 per year in Kentucky. California is 131.8% above Kentucky on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 25-1111 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 1,460 wage and salary jobs in California and 100 in Kentucky. 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
