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Mechanical Engineers pay in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA and Wilmington, NC
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Mechanical Engineers is $168,030 per year in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA. It is $101,100 per year in Wilmington, NC. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA is 66.2% above Wilmington, NC 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 190 in Wilmington, NC. 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