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Medical Equipment Preparers pay in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN and Vallejo, CA
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Medical Equipment Preparers is $48,630 per year in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN. It is $82,610 per year in Vallejo, CA. Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN is 41.1% below Vallejo, CA on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 31-9093 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 2,140 wage and salary jobs in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN and 140 in Vallejo, 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