In our Clinical Psychologist employment snapshot, one can see that the major U.S. population centers are top employment centers for the profession.  However, a deeper dive into U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data reveals that in smaller metro markets MRI technologists can often achieve better-paying employment. A review of May 2021 BLS data tells us that only four of the 20 biggest metropolitan centers in the U.S. were among the 20 best metro areas for clinical psychologist pay:

20 Best Metro Areas for Clinical Psychologist Pay

	Metropolitan Area		# Employed	Mean Annual Wage
1	San Diego-Carlsbad (#)		1,050	$136,630
2	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA		410	$134,200
3	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA		530	$133,060
4	Napa, CA		170	$130,540
5	San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward (#)		1,660	$129,880
6	New York-Newark-Jersey City (#)		3,880	$129,390
7	North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, FL		120	$129,070
8	Cleveland-Elyria, OH		390	$127,820
9	Hartford-W. Hartford-E. Hartford, CT		250	$125,070
10	Vallejo-Fairfield, CA		150	$124,930
11	Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT		130	$124,480
12	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim (#)		3,500	$122,170
13	Las Cruces, NM		30	$120,880
14	San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA		180	$120,760
15	Madera, CA		80	$120,680
16	Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade		560	$119,240
17	Trenton, NJ		130	$119,020
18	Memphis, TN-MS-AR		100	$118,390
19	Stockton-Lodi, CA		110	$117,920
20	Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA		60	$117,040
	National		58,100	$99,640

Report Period:  May 2021
(#) a Top 20 U.S. Metro areas from the 2020 Census
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Occupational Statistics
Data extracted on December 24, 2022