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Psychiatric Technicians pay in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN and Stockton-Lodi, CA
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Psychiatric Technicians is $46,060 per year in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN. It is $95,580 per year in Stockton-Lodi, CA. Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN is 51.8% below Stockton-Lodi, CA on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 29-2053 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 6,730 wage and salary jobs in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN and 330 in Stockton-Lodi, 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