Boston vs California

Put two roles head to head — any role, in any location or worldwide-remote.

Side A

Side B

California pays about 3% more at the median.

Side-by-side distribution

Boston California
$150k
$155k
$45.3k box = 25th–75th · whiskers = 10th–90th $262.5k

Boston

$150,000

median · per year, annualized USD

Median over time ▼ -10.7%
$168,000 $150,000
$107k 25th
$150k Median
$193.1k 75th
$65.6k
$241.9k
Box 25th–75th · whiskers 10th–90th Full range $5.3k – $5,000k · outliers off-axis
Disclosing
68.6%
Live roles
3,975

California

$155,000

median · per year, annualized USD

Median over time ▼ -11.4%
$175,000 $155,000
$100k 25th
$155k Median
$200k 75th
$60.3k
$247.5k
Box 25th–75th · whiskers 10th–90th Full range $5.3k – $5,000k · outliers off-axis
Disclosing
73.5%
Live roles
13,968

Top companies hiring

Company Median Roles
Whoop $158,750 138
Klaviyo $177,000 109
Motional $200,500 73
AX Axon $179,829 71
Anduril Industries $193,000 65
Datadog $163,500 58
InterSystems $134,750 56
DIG INN Chefs-In-Training $35,360 54

Top companies hiring

Company Median Roles
Anduril Industries $170,000 1,236
Databricks $216,104 282
Relativity Space $165,000 232
NoGigiddy $43,680 200
Cheer Home Care $44,720 178
Revolution Medicines $209,500 169
Archer $171,100 153
ALO $79,588 144

Highest-paying roles in Boston

Role Median Roles
Software Engineer $182,500 602
DevOps $172,500 126
Data Scientist $171,150 106
UX Designer $168,000 22
Recruiter $168,000 467
Product Manager $160,750 599
Customer Success $160,000 838
Sales $149,968 970
Project Manager $141,000 296
Marketing Manager $135,500 312

Highest-paying roles in California

Role Median Roles
DevOps $185,788 240
Software Engineer $185,750 2,515
Recruiter $181,600 1,008
Data Scientist $177,500 167
Product Manager $170,000 1,567
Customer Success $168,875 1,940
UX Designer $168,475 34
Sales $150,000 2,079
Project Manager $147,500 939
Marketing Manager $137,500 682

Boston vs California: which pays more?

The median for Boston is $150,000 per year (typically $107,000–$193,050), versus $155,000 for California ($100,000–$200,000). That puts California about 3% ahead at the median.

Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Boston and California are compared on equal terms regardless of the currency each role was originally posted in. Only roles that publish a salary range feed the medians; numbers refresh every few hours as new roles post and older ones close, so this comparison reflects the market right now rather than a fixed survey. Use it as a directional benchmark when weighing one path against the other.

See full salary data

Catch your next role the second it’s posted.

Create a free account and we’ll watch the boards for you — the instant a job matches your search, it lands in your inbox or Telegram. No digging, no refreshing.

Create free account

Free forever · takes 30 seconds · already have one?

Get an edge on your job hunt.

Join our Telegram channel for the stuff that helps you land the role — salary benchmarks, the weekly market pulse, and new-feature drops. No spam, just signal.

Join the channel — it's free