Modesto, CA Salaries
Highest published occupation medians in Modesto, CA - BLS OEWS May 2025
Observed metro pay change
What changed, BLS OEWS 2024–2025
- BLS's published All Occupations median in Modesto, CA moved from $49,360 in May 2024 to $50,610 in May 2025 (+2.5%).
- Across the 393 metros priced in both releases, the median place changed +3.1%.
- Modesto, CA sits -0.6 pp behind that median, nominal dollars, no price deflator applied.
Based on wage level, year-over-year wage growth, and regional-price-parity-adjusted purchasing power from BLS and BEA sources, not job availability, industry mix, or day-to-day livability.
Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education shows the widest metro-area vs national median gap in Modesto, CA
Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education publishes $101,640 here versus $63,970 nationally (+58.9%; 2,450metro-area jobs). Next is Fast Food and Counter Workers at $42,630 locally versus $31,200 nationally (+36.6%).
- Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education$101,640 in Modesto, CA sits 58.9% above the national Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education median of $63,970 (2,450 published local jobs).
- Fast Food and Counter Workers$42,630 in Modesto, CA sits 36.6% above the national Fast Food and Counter Workers median of $31,200 (6,700 published local jobs).
- Registered Nurses$132,590 in Modesto, CA sits 35.9% above the national Registered Nurses median of $97,550 (4,850 published local jobs).
- Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary$47,990 in Modesto, CA sits 30.5% above the national Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary median of $36,780 (3,470 published local jobs).
Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education and the other occupations above are descriptive OEWS endpoints for Modesto, CA; they are not findings about taxes, employers, or worker experience.
BLS OEWS metro wage desk
MSA 33700 · Modesto, CA $66K mean
MEAN-HIGH · RPP-MID · OCC-MID · TOP-LEAD · EMP-MIX · TREND-INLINE · PHOTO-FINISH · BOOK-FULL
- MEAN-HIGH #83/528
- RPP-MID 104.1
- OCC-MID 398 occs
- TOP-LEAD Physicians, Al… · $324K
- EMP-MIX Medical and…
- TREND-INLINE -0.6 pp
- PHOTO-FINISH Eastern Washingt…
- BOOK-FULL 396 rows · May 2025
Read with Eastern Washington nonmetropolitan area ($2 on published-row mean) · Highest-paying careers
Instrument codes from this MSA’s OEWS published-row mean, BEA RPP, occupation book, employment lead, All Occupations pay change, and nearest peer, not a moving recommendation.
Published-row mean neighbourhood around Modesto, CA
Employment scale inside Modesto, CA's top-pay list
Medical and Health Services Managers and Financial Managers lead published employment inside Modesto, CA's top-pay sample, order follows OEWS job counts, not median wage.
- 1. Medical and Health Services Managers 980 jobs · $138,950
- 2. Financial Managers 600 jobs · $160,180
- 3. Education Administrators, Kindergarten through Secondary 460 jobs · $160,240
- 4. Nurse Practitioners 380 jobs · $173,380
- 5. Pharmacists 380 jobs · $160,520
- 6. Lawyers 370 jobs · $164,010
- 7. Physicians, All Other 310 jobs · $323,580
- 8. Chief Executives 230 jobs · $200,900
- 9. Computer and Information Systems Managers 230 jobs · $159,720
- 10. Physician Assistants 210 jobs · $165,730
- 11. Diagnostic Medical Sonographers 200 jobs · $141,210
- 12. Dentists, General 160 jobs · $167,050
- 13. Marketing Managers 160 jobs · $160,520
- 14. Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists 160 jobs · $143,760
- 15. Human Resources Managers 150 jobs · $153,630
- 16. Veterinarians 120 jobs · $162,160
- 17. Family Medicine Physicians 100 jobs · $260,020
- 18. Architectural and Engineering Managers 90 jobs · $163,680
Occupations Tracked
398
with wage data
Published-Row Mean
$66,333
employment-weighted, 396 complete rows
Top Salary
$323,580
Physicians, All Other
Cost of Living
104.1
4% above US avg
Highest Paying Jobs in Modesto, CA
| # | Occupation | Median Salary |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Physicians, All Other | $323,580 |
| 2 | Family Medicine Physicians | $260,020 |
| 3 | Chief Executives | $200,900 |
| 4 | Nurse Practitioners | $173,380 |
| 5 | Nuclear Medicine Technologists | $172,530 |
| 6 | Dentists, General | $167,050 |
| 7 | Physician Assistants | $165,730 |
| 8 | Lawyers | $164,010 |
| 9 | Architectural and Engineering Managers | $163,680 |
| 10 | Veterinarians | $162,160 |
| 11 | Marketing Managers | $160,520 |
| 12 | Pharmacists | $160,520 |
| 13 | Education Administrators, Kindergarten through Secondary | $160,240 |
| 14 | Financial Managers | $160,180 |
| 15 | Natural Sciences Managers | $160,070 |
| 16 | Computer and Information Systems Managers | $159,720 |
| 17 | Human Resources Managers | $153,630 |
| 18 | Psychiatrists | $151,270 |
| 19 | Education Administrators, All Other | $150,500 |
| 20 | Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists | $143,760 |
| 21 | Purchasing Managers | $142,970 |
| 22 | Training and Development Managers | $142,450 |
| 23 | Diagnostic Medical Sonographers | $141,210 |
| 24 | Commercial Pilots | $140,920 |
| 25 | Medical and Health Services Managers | $138,950 |
Lowest Paying Jobs in Modesto, CA
| Occupation | Median Salary |
|---|---|
| Home Health and Personal Care Aides | $34,320 |
| Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers | $34,870 |
| Manicurists and Pedicurists | $34,890 |
| Waiters and Waitresses | $34,910 |
| Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop | $35,030 |
| Bartenders | $35,100 |
| Parking Attendants | $35,180 |
| Amusement and Recreation Attendants | $35,440 |
| Food Preparation and Serving Related Workers, All Other | $35,760 |
| Personal Care and Service Workers, All Other | $35,960 |
Other BLS Wage Areas in CA
Other metropolitan or nonmetropolitan OEWS areas assigned to the same state. Cross-state pay and employment peers live in Nationwide similar metros below.
Nationwide metros with similar published-row mean pay or employment scale
Two OEWS peer sets outside CA. Same-state wage areas above stay geographic; these neighborhoods are cross-state nearest neighbors on employment-weighted published-row mean wage ($66,333 here) and summed published employment.
Similar mean wage
Nearest other metros by employment-weighted published-row annual mean wage.
Similar employment scale
Nearest headcount peers (floor 100,000 summed published jobs), distinct from the mean-wage column.
Peers are nearest-neighbor matches on BLS OEWS employment-weighted published-row mean wage and summed occupation employment. Employment peers exclude metros already listed in the mean-wage column so the two link sets stay distinct. Mean wage here is not a worker-level median.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the average salary in Modesto, CA? ▼
Which published medians lead Modesto, CA? ▼
What is the cost of living in Modesto, CA? ▼
Where does BLS salary data for Modesto, CA come from? ▼
Related federal data
What to do with this data
How to use Modesto, CA wage figures in a real decision
- Physicians, All Other leads published medians in Modesto, CA at $323,580/year; open the occupation for percentile bands and state rows. Physicians, All Other
- The employment-weighted published-row mean of $66,333 adjusts to about $63,716 on a national-price basis at BEA RPP 104.1. Salary vs cost of living
- Compare this metropolitan statistical area against the statewide occupation table for CA before treating one geography as the other. State wage page
BLS OEWS estimates reflect the May 2025 reference period; small occupation-area cells can be suppressed, and figures are not employer offers.
Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. Occupation rows use BLS OEWS May 2025. The metro benchmark is WageDex's employment-weighted mean of published occupation means; where BEA RPP is available, the price-level figure divides that benchmark by the published area parity. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.