SOC 49-9071 · May 2025 · BLS OEWS
Maintenance and Repair Workers, General — California
California · 10 metro areas compared
Median pay for this occupation in California comes to $57,000 a year, ahead of the national median of $49,590 by 14.9%.
Wage distribution · annual
Shaded band holds the middle 50% of earners
How pay has moved
The next ten years
Projected to grow about as fast as average
- Change in jobs, 2024 to 2034
- +3.8%
- Openings per year
- 159,800
- Typical entry-level education
- High school diploma or equivalent
- On-the-job training
- Moderate-term on-the-job training
Includes jobs opened by workers leaving the occupation, not only new positions.
Projections are published nationally only. This is the outlook for the occupation across the United States, not a measurement for California.
Projections are based on 2024 employment and run to 2034. The wages above are from the May 2025 survey, a separate BLS programme on a different release cycle, so the two are not two views of one dataset.
Salary overview
Median pay for this occupation in California comes to $57,000 a year, ahead of the national median of $49,590 by 14.9%. Pay ranges from under $38,810 at the tenth percentile to more than $82,710 at the ninetieth, with the interquartile range running from $46,330 to $71,220.
The area has 143,060 jobs in this occupation, giving a location quotient of 0.80 — a measure of how concentrated the occupation is here relative to the country as a whole. California ranks number 9th out of 51 states by median pay for this occupation. Within the state, San Francisco records the highest median at $63,630. Of the 793 occupations with published wages in this area, it sits 529th.
Percentile breakdown
| Percentile | Annual | vs US median |
|---|---|---|
| 10th | $38,810 | −21.7% |
| 25th | $46,330 | −6.6% |
| Median (50th) | $57,000 | +14.9% |
| 75th | $71,220 | +43.6% |
| 90th | $82,710 | +66.8% |
| Mean | $60,050 | +21.1% |
Highest-paying metro areas in California
| # | Metro area | Median | Jobs | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco | $63,630 | 18,550 | |
| 2 | San Jose | $63,220 | 7,750 | |
| 3 | Napa | $61,860 | 830 | |
| 4 | Vallejo | $61,400 | 1,190 | |
| 5 | Modesto | $59,650 | 1,660 | |
| 6 | Stockton | $59,590 | 2,740 | |
| 7 | Hanford | $59,200 | 520 | |
| 8 | Santa Rosa | $58,170 | 1,930 | |
| 9 | Merced | $56,700 | 930 | |
| 10 | Sacramento | $56,570 | 7,980 |
What the pay is worth locally
Prices in California run 10.7% above the national average, so the median of $57,000 buys what $51,491 would elsewhere in the country. Measured that way the gap against the national median narrows to 3.8% above the national median in real terms.
Published median
$57,000as reported by BLSLocal price level
110.7US average = 100 · BEA 2024Adjusted for local prices
$51,491US average = 100 · BEA 2024Why the state that pays most is usually not where pay goes furthest
Key takeaways
- Median pay is $57,000 a year, 14.9% above the national median.
- Published pay spans $38,810 to $82,710 between the tenth and ninetieth percentiles.
- The area has 143,060 jobs in this occupation.
- It ranks 9th of 51 states for this occupation.
- The highest-paying metro area covered is San Francisco, at $63,630.
Frequently asked questions
What is the median wage for Maintenance and Repair Workers, General in California?
The median annual wage is $57,000, or $27.41 per hour, as of May 2025. Half of the workers in this occupation earn more than that and half earn less.
Is that higher than the national average?
The national median for this occupation is $49,590, so pay in California is 14.9% higher. These figures are medians, not averages: half of workers fall on each side.
What do the top earners make?
The top tenth of this occupation in California earns more than $82,710 per year. The ninetieth percentile is the highest figure the survey publishes.
What is the starting range?
The tenth percentile wage is $38,810 per year. The survey measures wages actually paid rather than experience level, so this reflects the lowest-paid tenth rather than entry-level pay specifically.
Which area nearby pays the most?
The highest median for this occupation among the metro areas covered is in San Francisco, at $63,630 per year.
How many jobs are there in this occupation here?
The survey estimates 143,060 jobs in this occupation in California. Self-employed workers are not included.
Source and methodology
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 Wages are for wage-and-salary workers; self-employed workers are not included. Salary Explorer is an independent project. It is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics or any government agency. Full methodology.
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