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Pipelayers pay in Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI and Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Pipelayers is $93,550 per year in Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI. It is $76,190 per year in Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA. Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI is 22.8% above Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 47-2151 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 90 wage and salary jobs in Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI and 250 in Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, 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