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Phlebotomists pay in Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA and Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Phlebotomists is $38,490 per year in Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA. It is $62,350 per year in Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA. Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA is 38.3% below Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 31-9097 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 300 wage and salary jobs in Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA and 100 in Santa Rosa-Petaluma, 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