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Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks pay in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA and Stockton-Lodi, CA
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks is $80,510 per year in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA. It is $61,230 per year in Stockton-Lodi, CA. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA is 31.5% above Stockton-Lodi, 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 2,260 wage and salary jobs in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA and 340 in Stockton-Lodi, 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