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Receptionists and Information Clerks pay in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA and Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Receptionists and Information Clerks is $49,450 per year in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA. It is $35,590 per year in Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA is 38.9% above Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 43-4171 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 8,510 wage and salary jobs in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA and 240 in Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA. 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