Start with the answer
Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks pay in Cedar Rapids, IA and San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks is $53,260 per year in Cedar Rapids, IA. It is $80,510 per year in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA. Cedar Rapids, IA is 33.8% below San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 43-3051 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 110 wage and salary jobs in Cedar Rapids, IA and 2,260 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
