Start with the answer
Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service pay in Charleston-North Charleston, SC and San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service is $36,890 per year in Charleston-North Charleston, SC. It is $79,260 per year in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA. Charleston-North Charleston, SC is 53.5% below San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 43-2011 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 Charleston-North Charleston, SC and 440 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