California vs Los Angeles

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

Side A

Side B

California pays about 19% more at the median.

Side-by-side distribution

California Los Angeles
$155k
$130.2k
$38.5k box = 25th–75th · whiskers = 10th–90th $264.6k

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
$249k
Box 25th–75th · whiskers 10th–90th Full range $5.3k – $5,000k · outliers off-axis
Disclosing
73.7%
Live roles
13,965

Los Angeles

$130,200

median · per year, annualized USD

Median over time ▼ -9%
$143,000 $130,200
$85.5k 25th
$130.2k Median
$175k 75th
$54.1k
$217k
Box 25th–75th · whiskers 10th–90th Full range $6k – $5,000k · outliers off-axis
Disclosing
66.8%
Live roles
4,506

Top companies hiring

Company Median Roles
Anduril Industries $170,000 1,227
Databricks $216,104 282
Relativity Space $165,000 233
NoGigiddy $43,680 200
Cheer Home Care $44,720 177
Revolution Medicines $209,500 165
Archer $171,100 156
ALO $78,838 144

Top companies hiring

Company Median Roles
CHAOS Industries $175,000 127
DoorDash USA $130,200 110
Apex Technology, Inc. $150,000 93
Hadrian Automation $185,000 92
L( LA28 (Web) $101,500 85
General Matter $132,500 76
AEG Worldwide $85,020 60
Freeform $135,000 53

Highest-paying roles in California

Role Median Roles
Software Engineer $187,000 2,526
DevOps $185,650 235
Recruiter $182,250 1,023
Data Scientist $175,500 170
Product Manager $170,000 1,547
Customer Success $170,000 1,931
UX Designer $168,475 34
Sales $150,000 2,097
Project Manager $146,500 938
Marketing Manager $138,175 679

Highest-paying roles in Los Angeles

Role Median Roles
DevOps $180,000 78
Software Engineer $170,000 557
Data Scientist $170,000 32
UX Designer $165,000 23
Nurse $150,000 34
Recruiter $141,550 288
Product Manager $139,500 494
Customer Success $135,000 545
Project Manager $120,635 326
Sales $117,500 736

California vs Los Angeles: which pays more?

The median for California is $155,000 per year (typically $100,000–$200,000), versus $130,200 for Los Angeles ($85,455–$175,000). That puts California about 19% ahead at the median.

Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so California and Los Angeles 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.

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