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Mechanical Engineers pay in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA and Sumter, SC
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Mechanical Engineers is $168,030 per year in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA. It is $101,010 per year in Sumter, SC. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA is 66.3% above Sumter, SC 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 5,540 wage and salary jobs in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA and 40 in Sumter, SC. 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