Salinas, CA Salaries
Highest published occupation medians in Salinas, CA - BLS OEWS May 2025
Observed metro pay change
What changed, BLS OEWS 2024–2025
- BLS's published All Occupations median in Salinas, CA moved from $46,790 in May 2024 to $47,380 in May 2025 (+1.3%).
- Across the 393 metros priced in both releases, the median place changed +3.1%.
- Salinas, CA sits -1.8 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.
Teachers and Instructors, All Other shows the widest metro-area vs national median gap in Salinas, CA
Teachers and Instructors, All Other publishes $113,360 here versus $66,140 nationally (+71.4%; 2,170metro-area jobs). Next is Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education at $100,220 locally versus $63,970 nationally (+56.7%).
- Teachers and Instructors, All Other$113,360 in Salinas, CA sits 71.4% above the national Teachers and Instructors, All Other median of $66,140 (2,170 published local jobs).
- Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education$100,220 in Salinas, CA sits 56.7% above the national Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education median of $63,970 (2,280 published local jobs).
- Fast Food and Counter Workers$43,260 in Salinas, CA sits 38.7% above the national Fast Food and Counter Workers median of $31,200 (4,180 published local jobs).
- Registered Nurses$134,910 in Salinas, CA sits 38.3% above the national Registered Nurses median of $97,550 (3,180 published local jobs).
Teachers and Instructors, All Other and the other occupations above are descriptive OEWS endpoints for Salinas, CA; they are not findings about taxes, employers, or worker experience.
BLS OEWS metro wage desk
MSA 41500 · Salinas, CA $64K mean
MEAN-HIGH · RPP-ELEV · OCC-MID · TOP-LEAD · EMP-MIX · TREND-INLINE · PHOTO-FINISH · BOOK-FULL
- MEAN-HIGH #122/528
- RPP-ELEV 109.0
- OCC-MID 369 occs
- TOP-LEAD Family Medicin… · $410K
- EMP-MIX Registered N…
- TREND-INLINE -1.8 pp
- PHOTO-FINISH Connecticut nonm…
- BOOK-FULL 367 rows · May 2025
Read with Connecticut 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 Salinas, CA
Employment scale inside Salinas, CA's top-pay list
Registered Nurses and Medical and Health Services Managers lead published employment inside Salinas, CA's top-pay sample, order follows OEWS job counts, not median wage.
- 1. Registered Nurses 3,180 jobs · $134,910
- 2. Medical and Health Services Managers 510 jobs · $140,610
- 3. Financial Managers 450 jobs · $153,370
- 4. Lawyers 380 jobs · $166,940
- 5. Education Administrators, Kindergarten through Secondary 350 jobs · $161,590
- 6. Family Medicine Physicians 320 jobs · $410,370
- 7. Software Developers 290 jobs · $135,160
- 8. Pharmacists 260 jobs · $166,470
- 9. Physicians, All Other 250 jobs · $384,990
- 10. Chief Executives 220 jobs · $226,270
- 11. Computer and Information Systems Managers 200 jobs · $167,160
- 12. Dentists, General 170 jobs · $185,040
- 13. First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives 150 jobs · $153,930
- 14. Human Resources Managers 150 jobs · $150,390
- 15. Nurse Practitioners 140 jobs · $166,090
- 16. Physician Assistants 130 jobs · $170,180
- 17. Marketing Managers 130 jobs · $155,940
- 18. Veterinarians 120 jobs · $163,080
Occupations Tracked
369
with wage data
Published-Row Mean
$63,610
employment-weighted, 367 complete rows
Top Salary
$410,370
Family Medicine Physicians
Cost of Living
109.0
9% above US avg
Highest Paying Jobs in Salinas, CA
| # | Occupation | Median Salary |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Family Medicine Physicians | $410,370 |
| 2 | Physicians, All Other | $384,990 |
| 3 | Chief Executives | $226,270 |
| 4 | Architectural and Engineering Managers | $187,730 |
| 5 | Dentists, General | $185,040 |
| 6 | Psychiatrists | $178,630 |
| 7 | Natural Sciences Managers | $171,290 |
| 8 | Physician Assistants | $170,180 |
| 9 | Computer and Information Systems Managers | $167,160 |
| 10 | Lawyers | $166,940 |
| 11 | Pharmacists | $166,470 |
| 12 | Nurse Practitioners | $166,090 |
| 13 | Veterinarians | $163,080 |
| 14 | Education Administrators, Kindergarten through Secondary | $161,590 |
| 15 | Purchasing Managers | $158,550 |
| 16 | Marketing Managers | $155,940 |
| 17 | First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives | $153,930 |
| 18 | Financial Managers | $153,370 |
| 19 | Human Resources Managers | $150,390 |
| 20 | Medical and Health Services Managers | $140,610 |
| 21 | Fundraising Managers | $139,240 |
| 22 | Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists | $138,590 |
| 23 | Software Developers | $135,160 |
| 24 | Registered Nurses | $134,910 |
| 25 | Optometrists | $133,350 |
Lowest Paying Jobs in Salinas, CA
| Occupation | Median Salary |
|---|---|
| Home Health and Personal Care Aides | $34,320 |
| Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Workers | $34,620 |
| Packers and Packagers, Hand | $35,480 |
| Waiters and Waitresses | $35,540 |
| Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers | $35,600 |
| Amusement and Recreation Attendants | $36,290 |
| Rehabilitation Counselors | $36,310 |
| Bartenders | $36,350 |
| Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop | $36,380 |
| Ushers, Lobby Attendants, and Ticket Takers | $36,390 |
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 ($63,610 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 Salinas, CA? ▼
Which published medians lead Salinas, CA? ▼
What is the cost of living in Salinas, CA? ▼
Where does BLS salary data for Salinas, CA come from? ▼
Related federal data
What to do with this data
How to use Salinas, CA wage figures in a real decision
- Family Medicine Physicians leads published medians in Salinas, CA at $410,370/year; open the occupation for percentile bands and state rows. Family Medicine Physicians
- The employment-weighted published-row mean of $63,610 adjusts to about $58,335 on a national-price basis at BEA RPP 109.0. 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.