Start with the answer
Purchasing Managers pay in Burlington-South Burlington, VT and San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Purchasing Managers is $139,780 per year in Burlington-South Burlington, VT. It is $198,980 per year in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA. Burlington-South Burlington, VT is 29.8% below San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 11-3061 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 Burlington-South Burlington, VT and 700 in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, 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