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Anthropologists and Archeologists salary in California

SOC 19-3091 · BLS OEWS May 2025

Median
$72,240
per year in California
Middle half
$62,620–$87,940
25th to 75th percentile
Employed
2,060
in California
Concentration
1.96×
share of workforce vs. U.S.

How local pay compares

California
$72,240
published median
United States
$70,770
2.1% above the national median
Rank among states and DC
16th
45 with a published estimate

After local prices: the $72,240 median has purchasing power comparable to about $65,246 nationally. California's BEA regional price parity is 110.7 (2024).

What the local range looks like

The wash spans the 10th to 90th percentile, the darker section is the middle half, and the tick is the median for California.

$55,140$104,770

Getting in

Typical education to enter
Master's degree
Related work experience
None
On-the-job training
None

Narrow to a metro in California

Every linked area below has a published estimate for anthropologists and archeologists. Missing areas were withheld by BLS rather than measured at zero.

The median wage as published, before local prices are taken into account.

#Metro areaMedianCost of livingEmployedConcentrationvs. national
1Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA$79,530106.72003.16×
2San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA$76,010110.4901.43×
3San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA$75,480115.63502.57×
4Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA$74,490107.8403.54×
5Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA$66,620110.5603.04×
6San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA$66,160111.92302.60×
7Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA$66,040109.9407.87×
8Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA$65,240113.65401.50×
9Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA$63,630106.41101.08×

Cost of living is the BEA regional price parity for all items, where 100 is the national average. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: how much more of the local workforce does this job than the national average, so 2.00× means twice the national share. It is often the reason wages differ — a place that concentrates an occupation has the employers and the competition for it. Metro areas where anthropologists and archeologists wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.

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