Start with the answer
Occupational Therapy Assistants pay in Columbus, OH and San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Occupational Therapy Assistants is $63,480 per year in Columbus, OH. It is $97,860 per year in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA. Columbus, OH is 35.1% below San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 31-2011 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 610 wage and salary jobs in Columbus, OH and 290 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