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Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hand pay in Modesto, CA and Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hand is $45,110 per year in Modesto, CA. It is $65,540 per year in Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC. Modesto, CA is 31.2% below Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 51-9022 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 40 wage and salary jobs in Modesto, CA and 130 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