Start with the answer
Electro-Mechanical and Mechatronics Technologists and Technicians pay in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA and Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Electro-Mechanical and Mechatronics Technologists and Technicians is $109,990 per year in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA. It is $64,700 per year in Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA is 70.0% above Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 17-3024 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 290 wage and salary jobs in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA and 180 in Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC. 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