Start with the answer
Food Scientists and Technologists pay in Arizona and South Carolina
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Food Scientists and Technologists is $90,450 per year in Arizona. It is $108,660 per year in South Carolina. Arizona is 16.8% below South Carolina on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 19-1012 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 Not published wage and salary jobs in Arizona and 90 in South Carolina. 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