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Physicians, Pathologists pay in California and Pennsylvania
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Physicians, Pathologists is $186,300 per year in California. It is $413,370 per year in Pennsylvania. California is 54.9% below Pennsylvania on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 29-1222 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 1,790 wage and salary jobs in California and 210 in Pennsylvania. 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