Start with the answer
Insulation Workers, Mechanical pay in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA and St. Cloud, MN
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Insulation Workers, Mechanical is $136,460 per year in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA. It is $100,520 per year in St. Cloud, MN. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA is 35.8% above St. Cloud, MN on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 47-2132 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 210 wage and salary jobs in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA and 80 in St. Cloud, MN. 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