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Lawyers pay in Ann Arbor, MI and San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Lawyers is $132,920 per year in Ann Arbor, MI. It is $301,320 per year in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA. Ann Arbor, MI is 55.9% below San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 23-1011 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 640 wage and salary jobs in Ann Arbor, MI and 6,040 in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, 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