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Mechanical Engineers pay in Corvallis, OR and San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Mechanical Engineers is $106,700 per year in Corvallis, OR. It is $168,030 per year in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA. Corvallis, OR is 36.5% below San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 17-2141 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 70 wage and salary jobs in Corvallis, OR and 5,540 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