Start with the answer
Physical Scientists, All Other pay in Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA and Providence-Warwick, RI-MA
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Physical Scientists, All Other is $131,640 per year in Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA. It is $180,470 per year in Providence-Warwick, RI-MA. Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA is 27.1% below Providence-Warwick, RI-MA on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 19-2099 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 50 wage and salary jobs in Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA and 70 in Providence-Warwick, RI-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
