Start with the answer
Phlebotomists pay in Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA and Worcester, MA
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Phlebotomists is $62,350 per year in Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA. It is $48,110 per year in Worcester, MA. Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA is 29.6% above Worcester, MA 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 100 wage and salary jobs in Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA and 270 in Worcester, MA. 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
