Biochemist salary

Quoted Expert
Kimberley Cousins

Average biochemist salary

$72,910

$35.05 hourly rate

Entry-level biochemist salary
$47,000 yearly salary
Updated January 8, 2025

How much does a biochemist make?

The average biochemist salary in the United States is $72,910. Biochemist salaries typically range between $47,000 and $110,000 yearly. The average hourly rate for biochemists is $35.05 per hour.

Biochemist salary is impacted by location, education, and experience. Biochemists earn the highest average salary in Connecticut.

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Where can a Biochemist earn more?

Compare salary by location
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115k
95k
75k
55k
35k
15k
Columbus, OH$96,782
Salt Lake City, UT$44,679
Compare salary by company
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119k
99k
79k
59k
Genentech$104,199
Merck$89,173

Biochemist salary estimates from across the web

Based on the latest salary information compiled by Zippia, Salary.com, Indeed, Glassdoor, Ziprecruiter, SalaryExpert, Comparably, Payscale and CareerExplorer, the average salary for a biochemist typically falls between $56,428 and $114,000.
zippia
$72,910yearly
glassdoor[1]
$100,803yearly
indeed[2]
$56,428yearly
comparably[3]
$90,178yearly
Salary.com[4]
$73,201yearly
ZipRecruiter[5]
$60,815yearly
payscale[6]
$70,402yearly
SalaryExpert[7]
$114,000yearly
CareerExplorer[8]
$102,270yearly

Average biochemist salary by state

Highest paying states for biochemists

Rank
ascdesc
State
ascdesc
Avg. Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
1Connecticut$92,008$44.23
2California$88,278$42.44
3Massachusetts$82,191$39.51
4New Jersey$83,419$40.11
5New Hampshire$76,369$36.72
6Maryland$78,112$37.55
7Michigan$80,804$38.85
8Vermont$81,691$39.27
9North Dakota$75,114$36.11
10Rhode Island$73,676$35.42
11Pennsylvania$70,289$33.79
12Delaware$71,443$34.35
13Nevada$80,275$38.59
14Minnesota$72,346$34.78
15Wisconsin$67,233$32.32
16Indiana$67,119$32.27
17Virginia$72,072$34.65
18Washington$67,238$32.33
19Arizona$72,871$35.03
20Wyoming$71,030$34.15
21North Carolina$63,380$30.47
22Oregon$66,108$31.78
23Georgia$67,532$32.47
24Tennessee$62,502$30.05
25Maine$62,418$30.01
26Illinois$62,765$30.18
27Montana$63,960$30.75
28Alabama$63,472$30.52
29South Dakota$62,224$29.92
30South Carolina$61,851$29.74
31Louisiana$62,765$30.18
32New York$56,198$27.02
33Idaho$60,680$29.17
34District of Columbia$59,222$28.47
35Missouri$55,768$26.81
36Colorado$60,759$29.21
37Hawaii$66,280$31.87
38Kansas$57,935$27.85
39Ohio$53,880$25.90
40New Mexico$50,526$24.29
41West Virginia$56,516$27.17
42Kentucky$54,410$26.16
43Oklahoma$57,544$27.67
44Texas$49,562$23.83
45Iowa$45,697$21.97
46Arkansas$47,359$22.77
47Utah$44,841$21.56
48Nebraska$48,634$23.38
49Florida$52,572$25.27
50Alaska$52,492$25.24
51Mississippi$41,933$20.16

Highest paying cities for biochemists

The highest-paying cities for biochemists are San Francisco, CA, Newark, NJ, and Boston, MA.

Rank
ascdesc
City
ascdesc
Avg. Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
1San Francisco, CA$96,782$46.53
2Newark, NJ$83,718$40.25
3Boston, MA$82,351$39.59
4Ann Arbor, MI$80,547$38.72
5Baltimore, MD$78,299$37.64
6Phoenix, AZ$73,026$35.11
7Newark, DE$71,520$34.38
8Philadelphia, PA$70,577$33.93
9Seattle, WA$68,336$32.85
10Indianapolis, IN$66,946$32.19
11Durham, NC$63,965$30.75
12Washington, DC$59,326$28.52
13Shirley, NY$56,624$27.22
14Saint Louis, MO$55,882$26.87
15Cleveland, OH$54,934$26.41
16Austin, TX$49,913$24.00
17Salt Lake City, UT$44,679$21.48

Biochemist salary details

A biochemist's salary ranges from $47,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $110,000 at the 90th percentile.

Average Biochemist Salary Graph
Average Biochemist Salary Graph, Trends, and Summary

What is a biochemist's salary?

Percentile
ascdesc
Annual Salary
ascdesc
Monthly Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
90th Percentile$110,000$9,167$53
75th Percentile$90,000$7,500$43
Average$72,910$6,076$35
25th Percentile$58,000$4,833$28
10th Percentile$47,000$3,917$23

Highest paying biochemist jobs

The highest paying types of biochemists are clinical biochemist, scientist, and research and development scientist.

Job Title
ascdesc
Annual Salary
ascdesc
Monthly Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
Job Openings
ascdesc
Research And Development Scientist$90,278$7,523$43.40129,803
Research Scientist$89,998$7,500$43.2793,013
Scientist$97,344$8,112$46.8062,467
Research Chemist$75,843$6,320$36.4653,769
Chemist$64,961$5,413$31.2320,221

How would you rate the starting salaries for Biochemists, as well as the prospects for salary advancement?

K

Kimberley Cousins

John M. Pfau Endowed Professor and Department Chair, California State University San Bernardino

Most job surveys show starting salaries for chemists averaging in the mid-'40s but varying a lot by region and industry (industrial, specialty, government, education). Having additional education or credentials increases starting salaries. In a 2019 survey by C&E; News, baccalaureate educated chemists averaged nearly $80,000 across all sectors and age groups. Traditionally chemists have very low unemployment rates, even during economic downturns and in times of crisis, as they are employed in fields that are essential for society to function. In 2016 and 2019, unemployment among chemists hovered around 2.5%

Which companies pay biochemists the most?

Biochemist salaries at Genentech and Agilent Technologies are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average biochemist salary at companies like Amgen and Oak Ridge National Laboratory are highly competitive.

Rank
ascdesc
Company
ascdesc
Average Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
1Genentech$104,199$50.10
2Agilent Technologies$98,515$47.36
3Amgen$95,998$46.15
4Oak Ridge National Laboratory$95,350$45.84
5AbbVie$95,121$45.73
6IDEXX$94,208$45.29
7Bristol-Myers Squibb$93,663$45.03
8Ingredion$93,117$44.77
9Battelle$93,061$44.74
10Biogen$92,847$44.64
11Exelixis$92,453$44.45
12Sanofi Genzyme$91,746$44.11
13Mayo Clinic$91,442$43.96
14AgaMatrix$91,224$43.86
15Quidel$91,024$43.76
16Regeneron$90,950$43.73
17Novartis$90,906$43.70
18Eli Lilly and Company$90,867$43.69
19Vertex Pharmaceuticals$89,547$43.05
20Merck$89,173$42.87

Wage gap by gender, race and education

$79,000$78,600$78,200$77,800$77,400$77,000
MaleFemale

Biochemist salary by industry

The average biochemist salary varies across industries:

  • The average biochemist salary in the health care industry is $84,365, the highest of any industry.
  • The average biochemist salary in the finance industry is $83,593.
  • Biochemists in the education industry earn an average salary of $62,090, the lowest of any industry.

Highest paying industries for biochemists

Rank
ascdesc
Industry
ascdesc
Average Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
1Health Care$84,365$40.56
2Pharmaceutical$83,593$40.19
3Manufacturing$79,155$38.06
4Education$62,090$29.85

High Paying Biochemist Jobs

Biochemist salary trends

The average biochemist salary has risen by $11,632 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average biochemist earned $61,278 annually, but today, they earn $72,910 a year. That works out to a 15% change in pay for biochemists over the last decade.

Compare biochemist salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.

Average biochemist salary over time

Compare biochemist salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.

  • National Average
  • Columbus, OH

Biochemist salary by year

Year
ascdesc
Avg. Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
% Change
ascdesc
2025$72,900$35.05-0.2%
2024$73,100$35.13+1.3%
2023$72,100$34.68+2.2%
2022$70,500$33.91+9.9%
2021$63,600$30.56+0.0%

Recently added biochemist salaries

Company
ascdesc
Job
ascdesc
Location
ascdesc
Date Added
ascdesc
Salary
ascdesc
Cynet SystemsBiochemistSan Diego, CA12/12/2024$50,088
Coursefinder Australia Pty Ltd.BiochemistIone, WA12/11/2024$46,291
Arcadia ScienceProtein Biochemist, Core TechnologiesBerkeley, CA12/09/2024$130,000
Piper CompaniesBiochemistPoint, PA12/09/2024$73,045
ZP GroupBiochemistPoint, PA11/28/2024$73,045
RevvityBiochemist II-Bacterial Cell CultureSan Diego, CA11/25/2024$60,523
Eurofins PSS Ireland Ltd.BiochemistSan Diego, CA10/23/2024$50,000
EurofinsBiochemistSan Diego, CA10/18/2024$50,000
Eurofins USA PSS Insourcing SolutionsBiochemistRensselaer, NY10/14/2024$40,697
RevvityBiochemist II-Bacterial Cell CultureSan Diego, CA10/12/2024$60,523

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