Start with the answer
Surgical Assistants pay in Appleton, WI and Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Surgical Assistants is $66,480 per year in Appleton, WI. It is $161,710 per year in Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ. Appleton, WI is 58.9% below Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 29-9093 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 Not published wage and salary jobs in Appleton, WI and Not published in Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ. 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