Start with the answer
Orderlies pay in Jackson, MS and San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Orderlies is $28,450 per year in Jackson, MS. It is $69,870 per year in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA. Jackson, MS is 59.3% below San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 31-1132 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 160 wage and salary jobs in Jackson, MS and 480 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