Environmental Science and Protection Technicians, Including Health Salary — Santa Maria, California

The average Environmental Science and Protection Technicians, Including Health in Santa Maria, California earns $71,690 a year.

$71,690 / year, mean
↑ 16.2% above national average 41th percentile in California

Santa Maria sits roughly in the middle of the pack for this role within California — neither a standout nor a laggard. That's a solid premium over the national average for environmental science and protection technicians, including health. Cost of living here is close to the national average — not a major factor either way. This is a reasonably reliable estimate, though the underlying sample is moderate in size.

Percentile within California

0th 50th 100th
Employment (this metro)
90
Estimate confidence
RSE 6.2%
Cost of living 109 #14 most expensive of 188 cities in this dataset 100 = U.S. average · Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024
Crime index 2124 #140 safest of 188 cities in this dataset Per 100k residents · Source: FBI Crime Data Explorer
Median home value $1,005,339 #4 priciest of 188 cities in this dataset Source: zillow_real
Median household income $95,977 #18 highest of 188 cities in this dataset Source: Census Bureau ACS 5-year

Combining these four figures gives a fuller picture than salary alone: Santa Maria ranks #14 for cost of living and #4 for home prices among the 188 cities in this pilot dataset, which matters as much as the headline salary number when comparing where to live.

Redding $95,860 San Luis Obispo $87,520 San Francisco $87,000 Santa Rosa $79,940 Santa Cruz $79,310 Visalia $78,180 Fresno $77,750 Kiryas Joel $77,050 San Jose $74,890 Modesto $74,620 Vallejo $73,410 Scranton $73,360 Santa Maria $71,690 New York $69,320 Oxnard $66,990 Los Angeles $66,750 Chicago $66,570 Albany $66,130 Philadelphia $65,330 Bakersfield $65,010 Baltimore $64,500 Seattle $64,310 Sacramento $63,440 San Diego $62,980 Portland $62,890 Trenton $62,140 Kalamazoo $61,540 Charlottesville $61,290 Allentown $61,280 Harrisburg $61,150 Fort Wayne $60,860 Riverside $60,680 Lansing $60,430 Eugene $59,980 Midland $59,540 Rochester $59,380 Champaign $58,960 Dallas $58,500 Austin $58,230 Olympia $57,830 Pittsburgh $57,750 San Antonio $57,560 Houston $56,760 Charleston $56,570 Virginia Beach $56,480 Beckley $55,930 Lubbock $55,780 Tampa $55,710 Syracuse $55,700 Miami $55,360 Buffalo $55,270 Louisville $54,760 Beaumont $54,700 Detroit $54,480 Indianapolis $54,410 Peoria $53,980 Gainesville $53,710 Traverse City $53,680 Grand Rapids $53,550 Lexington $53,090 Palm Bay $52,930 Panama City $52,640 Port St. Lucie $52,620 El Paso $52,580 Sarasota $52,510 Jacksonville $51,800 Lakeland $51,640 Richmond $51,550 Huntington $50,850 Corpus Christi $50,410 Fort Myers $49,940 Pensacola $49,910 Orlando $49,580 Wheeling $49,320 College Station $49,160 Evansville $48,250 Paducah $48,230 Terre Haute $47,900 Longview $46,800 McAllen $46,410 Roanoke $46,260 Atlantic City $45,550
CityMean salaryvs. Santa Maria
Albany, New York$66,130-7.8%
Allentown, Pennsylvania$61,280-14.5%
Atlantic City, New Jersey$45,550-36.5%
Austin, Texas$58,230-18.8%
Bakersfield, California$65,010-9.3%
Baltimore, Maryland$64,500-10.0%
Beaumont, Texas$54,700-23.7%
Beckley, West Virginia$55,930-22.0%
Buffalo, New York$55,270-22.9%
Fort Myers, Florida$49,940-30.3%
Champaign, Illinois$58,960-17.8%
Charleston, West Virginia$56,570-21.1%
Charlottesville, Virginia$61,290-14.5%
Chicago, Illinois$66,570-7.1%
College Station, Texas$49,160-31.4%
Corpus Christi, Texas$50,410-29.7%
Dallas, Texas$58,500-18.4%
Detroit, Michigan$54,480-24.0%
El Paso, Texas$52,580-26.7%
Eugene, Oregon$59,980-16.3%
Evansville, Indiana$48,250-32.7%
Fort Wayne, Indiana$60,860-15.1%
Fresno, California$77,750+8.5%
Gainesville, Florida$53,710-25.1%
Grand Rapids, Michigan$53,550-25.3%
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania$61,150-14.7%
Houston, Texas$56,760-20.8%
Huntington, West Virginia$50,850-29.1%
Indianapolis, Indiana$54,410-24.1%
Jacksonville, Florida$51,800-27.7%
Kalamazoo, Michigan$61,540-14.2%
Kiryas Joel, New York$77,050+7.5%
Lakeland, Florida$51,640-28.0%
Lansing, Michigan$60,430-15.7%
Lexington, Kentucky$53,090-25.9%
Longview, Texas$46,800-34.7%
Los Angeles, California$66,750-6.9%
Louisville, Kentucky$54,760-23.6%
Lubbock, Texas$55,780-22.2%
McAllen, Texas$46,410-35.3%
Miami, Florida$55,360-22.8%
Midland, Texas$59,540-16.9%
Modesto, California$74,620+4.1%
New York, New York$69,320-3.3%
Sarasota, Florida$52,510-26.8%
Olympia, Washington$57,830-19.3%
Orlando, Florida$49,580-30.8%
Oxnard, California$66,990-6.6%
Paducah, Kentucky$48,230-32.7%
Palm Bay, Florida$52,930-26.2%
Panama City, Florida$52,640-26.6%
Pensacola, Florida$49,910-30.4%
Peoria, Illinois$53,980-24.7%
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania$65,330-8.9%
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania$57,750-19.4%
Portland, Oregon$62,890-12.3%
Port St. Lucie, Florida$52,620-26.6%
Redding, California$95,860+33.7%
Richmond, Virginia$51,550-28.1%
Riverside, California$60,680-15.4%
Roanoke, Virginia$46,260-35.5%
Rochester, New York$59,380-17.2%
Sacramento, California$63,440-11.5%
San Antonio, Texas$57,560-19.7%
San Diego, California$62,980-12.1%
San Francisco, California$87,000+21.4%
San Jose, California$74,890+4.5%
San Luis Obispo, California$87,520+22.1%
Santa Cruz, California$79,310+10.6%
Santa Rosa, California$79,940+11.5%
Scranton, Pennsylvania$73,360+2.3%
Seattle, Washington$64,310-10.3%
Syracuse, New York$55,700-22.3%
Tampa, Florida$55,710-22.3%
Terre Haute, Indiana$47,900-33.2%
Traverse City, Michigan$53,680-25.1%
Trenton, New Jersey$62,140-13.3%
Vallejo, California$73,410+2.4%
Virginia Beach, Virginia$56,480-21.2%
Visalia, California$78,180+9.1%
Wheeling, West Virginia$49,320-31.2%
Gross salary
71,690/yr
Estimated take-home
56,601/yr
Est. total withheld
21.0%

Single filer, federal + California state tax + FICA, 2025 rates. Does not include state-specific payroll withholdings beyond income tax (see Data transparency). Not tax advice — verify with a professional for your specific situation.

View cost of living in this state All Environmental Science and Protection Technicians, Including Health salaries in California → All Environmental Science and Protection Technicians, Including Health salaries →
Community reality check

Community reality check for Santa Maria

These notes add local color around Santa Maria, California: comfort ranges, budget constraints and location trade-offs reported in public discussions.

Relocation gap2.0× calculator gap
City comparison anecdotal

Discussion highlights that calculators may imply roughly 2x gross income for comparable standard of living, while some employers offer only about 10% location premiums. Tech total compensation can be an exception, so the page should distinguish salary from total compensation.

2.0×calculator multiplier10%HCOL premium cited$200KAtlanta TC example$450KBay Area TC example

Anecdotal public-discussion signals, not official salary data, rent data or financial advice. Read this alongside the official figures on the page.

Data transparency

Sources used for this page

Official occupation and area metadata behind the visible salary, cost, housing and safety signals.

Occupation 19-4042 SOC code
Official area Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA BLS metro/geographic area
Area code 42200 Stable geographic key
Reference year 2025 BLS OEWS
Cost: bea_realHousing: zillow_realCrime: latest availableNet-pay source: ca_ftb_verificado 2025
Metro also includes
Santa Barbara
No additional caveats are attached to this row.
Methodology

How this page is built

The salary figure is the mean annual wage reported by the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program for this occupation and metro area. Percentile and national-average comparisons are calculated directly from the 188 cities currently in this dataset, not from a fixed external benchmark. Cost of living, crime and housing figures come from BEA, FBI and Zillow respectively — see "Data transparency" above for the exact sources and reference years used on this specific page.

Confidence: the RSE (relative standard error) shown under Overview indicates how reliable the salary estimate is for this metro — a lower RSE means a larger underlying sample.

On this page

Where this is

AK HI

Highlighted: California

Population (metro area)
443,975