California vs Massachusetts

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

Side A

Side B

California pays about 24% more at the median.

Side-by-side distribution

California Massachusetts
$155k
$125k
$25.1k box = 25th–75th · whiskers = 10th–90th $264k

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
73.7%
Live roles
13,966

Massachusetts

$125,000

median · per year, annualized USD

Median over time ▼ -26%
$169,000 $125,000
$75k 25th
$125k Median
$177.7k 75th
$41.6k
$225k
Box 25th–75th · whiskers 10th–90th Full range $5.3k – $3,000k · outliers off-axis
Disclosing
69%
Live roles
3,118

Top companies hiring

Company Median Roles
Anduril Industries $170,000 1,234
Databricks $216,104 282
Relativity Space $165,000 232
NoGigiddy $43,680 200
Cheer Home Care $44,720 177
Revolution Medicines $209,500 169
Archer $171,100 153
ALO $79,588 144

Top companies hiring

Company Median Roles
Anduril Industries $193,000 159
Formlabs $129,250 86
AX Axon $179,829 75
JCC Greater Boston $39,260 70
The Trustees of Reservations $39,520 62
Centria Autism $50,960 58
Datadog $147,500 53
Professional Physical Therapy $95,000 49

Highest-paying roles in California

Role Median Roles
Software Engineer $185,866 2,514
DevOps $185,788 240
Recruiter $181,025 1,012
Data Scientist $177,500 167
Product Manager $170,000 1,565
Customer Success $168,750 1,943
UX Designer $168,475 34
Sales $150,000 2,087
Project Manager $147,500 940
Marketing Manager $137,500 683

Highest-paying roles in Massachusetts

Role Median Roles
Software Engineer $173,000 365
DevOps $167,592 70
Customer Success $150,250 461
Product Manager $150,000 319
Recruiter $145,400 302
Data Scientist $143,754 46
UX Designer $142,649 7
Financial Analyst $130,000 46
Sales $128,000 618
Project Manager $125,000 192

California vs Massachusetts: which pays more?

The median for California is $155,000 per year (typically $100,000–$200,000), versus $125,000 for Massachusetts ($75,000–$177,698). That puts California about 24% ahead at the median.

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