Physician Assistants salary in Merced, CA

Median pay for physician assistants in Merced, CA: $130,530/yr

Typical range (10th–90th percentile): $108,340 – $176,900 · about 50 employed locally

Above the typical metro median ($125,700) by +$4,830 (+4%).

What it's really worth in Merced

With Merced's cost of living at 100 (US=100), that $130,530 has the buying power of about $131,031 in an average-cost US metro.

Local context: median household income $64,772 · median home $419,171 · median rent $1,975/mo.

Full Merced cost of living & taxes →

How Merced ranks for this job

On raw pay, Merced, CA is 50th of the 180 metros we hold physician assistants wages for. Once Merced's cost of living is applied, it ranks 87th.

The headline number flatters Merced. Once housing and everyday costs are taken into account, physician assistants here keep less of what they earn than the raw salary implies.

What that salary buys in Merced

A median home in Merced, CA costs $419,171 — about 3.2× this salary, against a typical US metro figure of 4.7×. Buying is more attainable here than in the average metro on this income.

Median rent of $1,975/mo works out at 18% of gross pay — inside the conventional 30% affordability ceiling.

Where physician assistants earn more

Pay on its own is only half the picture, so each row shows what rent costs there relative to Merced.

Metro	Median pay	vs Merced	Rent vs Merced
San Jose, CA	$208,000	+59%	1.8×
Vallejo, CA	$174,670	+34%	1.2×
Modesto, CA	$171,600	+31%	1×
San Francisco, CA	$171,470	+31%	1.6×

Same job elsewhere in CA

Metro	Median pay	vs Merced	Rent vs Merced
San Jose, CA	$208,000	+59%	1.8×
Vallejo, CA	$174,670	+34%	1.2×
Modesto, CA	$171,600	+31%	1×
San Francisco, CA	$171,470	+31%	1.6×

Staying in CA keeps state income tax and licensing the same, which makes these the most directly comparable moves.

Other jobs in Merced