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Microbiologists pay in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA and San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Microbiologists is $100,420 per year in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA. It is $130,070 per year in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA is 22.8% 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 780 wage and salary jobs in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 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