Start with the answer
Environmental Science and Protection Technicians, Including Health pay in Cleveland, OH and San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Environmental Science and Protection Technicians, Including Health is $60,110 per year in Cleveland, OH. It is $90,720 per year in San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA. Cleveland, OH is 33.7% below San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 19-4042 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 110 wage and salary jobs in Cleveland, OH and 40 in San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, 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