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Lawyers pay in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA and Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Lawyers is $301,320 per year in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA. It is $170,970 per year in Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA is 76.2% above Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, 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 6,040 wage and salary jobs in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA and 700 in Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, 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.