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Microbiologists pay in Massachusetts and South Dakota
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Microbiologists is $122,350 per year in Massachusetts. It is $70,530 per year in South Dakota. Massachusetts is 73.5% above South Dakota 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 1,960 wage and salary jobs in Massachusetts and 80 in South Dakota. 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