Start with the answer
Service Unit Operators, Oil and Gas pay in Anchorage, AK and Vallejo, CA
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Service Unit Operators, Oil and Gas is $95,370 per year in Anchorage, AK. It is $57,020 per year in Vallejo, CA. Anchorage, AK is 67.3% above Vallejo, CA on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 47-5013 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 100 wage and salary jobs in Anchorage, AK and 40 in Vallejo, 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
