Start with the answer
Curators pay in New Haven, CT and Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Curators is $102,110 per year in New Haven, CT. It is $71,380 per year in Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA. New Haven, CT is 43.1% above Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 25-4012 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 70 wage and salary jobs in New Haven, CT and 30 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.
Evidence: bls-oews-may-2025 · Rule: same-soc-same-metric-pair · nominal-median-gap · employment-not-openings