Start with the answer
Phlebotomists pay in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA and Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Phlebotomists is $58,900 per year in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA. It is $62,350 per year in Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA is 5.5% 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 1,410 wage and salary jobs in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA 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
