Start with the answer
History Teachers, Postsecondary pay in California and Michigan
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for History Teachers, Postsecondary is $127,170 per year in California. It is $99,440 per year in Michigan. California is 27.9% above Michigan on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 25-1125 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 1,450 wage and salary jobs in California and 370 in Michigan. 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
