Start with the answer
Microbiologists pay in Bozeman, MT and San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Microbiologists is $65,120 per year in Bozeman, MT. It is $130,070 per year in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA. Bozeman, MT is 49.9% below San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 19-1022 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 40 wage and salary jobs in Bozeman, MT and 700 in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, 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