Clinical Research Scientist salary

Average clinical research scientist salary

$99,160

$47.67 hourly rate

Entry-level clinical research scientist salary
$63,000 yearly salary
Updated January 8, 2025

How much does a clinical research scientist make?

The average clinical research scientist salary in the United States is $99,160. Clinical research scientist salaries typically range between $63,000 and $154,000 yearly. The average hourly rate for clinical research scientists is $47.67 per hour.

Clinical research scientist salary is impacted by location, education, and experience. Clinical research scientists earn the highest average salary in California.

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Where can a Clinical Research Scientist earn more?

Compare salary by location
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Columbus, OH$129,245
Kansas City, MO$65,146
Compare salary by company
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Meta$170,193
EQRx$95,008

Clinical Research Scientist salary estimates from across the web

Based on the latest salary information compiled by Zippia, Indeed, Glassdoor and Payscale, the average salary for a clinical research scientist typically falls between $85,168 and $119,980.
zippia
$99,160yearly
glassdoor[1]
$113,145yearly
indeed[2]
$85,168yearly
payscale[3]
$119,980yearly

Average clinical research scientist salary by state

The average clinical research scientist salary in California, Washington, and New Hampshire are the highest in the U.S. The lowest average clinical research scientist salary states are Kansas, South Carolina, and Kentucky.

  • State View
  • County View
Average Salary:

Highest paying states for clinical research scientists

Rank
ascdesc
State
ascdesc
Avg. Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
1California$120,824$58.09
2Vermont$101,918$49.00
3Oregon$96,042$46.17
4New Hampshire$109,355$52.57
5New Jersey$96,777$46.53
6Arizona$103,799$49.90
7Washington$115,107$55.34
8Maine$91,644$44.06
9Rhode Island$91,304$43.90
10Delaware$94,631$45.50
11New York$95,639$45.98
12Massachusetts$105,235$50.59
13Minnesota$92,202$44.33
14Nevada$94,357$45.36
15Idaho$91,761$44.12
16Michigan$88,415$42.51
17Illinois$89,501$43.03
18Utah$87,145$41.90
19Montana$85,236$40.98
20Connecticut$84,862$40.80
21Indiana$88,685$42.64
22Virginia$86,584$41.63
23North Carolina$80,411$38.66
24New Mexico$82,286$39.56
25Pennsylvania$79,805$38.37
26Hawaii$91,377$43.93
27District of Columbia$96,993$46.63
28North Dakota$77,434$37.23
29Colorado$81,567$39.21
30Iowa$83,693$40.24
31Alaska$88,517$42.56
32Georgia$80,732$38.81
33Ohio$77,718$37.36
34Florida$78,899$37.93
35South Dakota$74,760$35.94
36Wyoming$75,922$36.50
37Maryland$77,548$37.28
38Oklahoma$79,359$38.15
39West Virginia$74,341$35.74
40Nebraska$71,762$34.50
41Wisconsin$69,156$33.25
42Louisiana$72,412$34.81
43Mississippi$72,978$35.09
44Tennessee$69,543$33.43
45Texas$70,149$33.73
46Kansas$67,880$32.63
47Missouri$65,697$31.59
48Kentucky$67,321$32.37
49Arkansas$66,696$32.07
50South Carolina$67,324$32.37
51Alabama$64,633$31.07

Highest paying cities for clinical research scientists

The highest-paying cities for clinical research scientists are San Francisco, CA, Seattle, WA, and Boston, MA.

Rank
ascdesc
City
ascdesc
Avg. Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
1San Francisco, CA$129,245$62.14
2Seattle, WA$116,557$56.04
3Boston, MA$105,443$50.69
4Phoenix, AZ$104,521$50.25
5Hackensack, NJ$97,402$46.83
6New York, NY$95,698$46.01
7Wilmington, DE$95,165$45.75
8Indianapolis, IN$87,928$42.27
9Pleasant Grove, UT$86,514$41.59
10Oklahoma City, OK$79,720$38.33
11Orlando, FL$79,061$38.01
12Gaithersburg, MD$76,814$36.93
13Athens, OH$76,460$36.76
14Knoxville, TN$71,723$34.48
15San Antonio, TX$71,347$34.30
16Madison, WI$67,458$32.43
17Kansas City, MO$65,146$31.32

Clinical Research Scientist salary details

A clinical research scientist's salary ranges from $63,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $154,000 at the 90th percentile.

Average Clinical Research Scientist Salary Graph
Average Clinical Research Scientist Salary Graph, Trends, and Summary

What is a clinical research scientist's salary?

Percentile
ascdesc
Annual Salary
ascdesc
Monthly Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
90th Percentile$154,000$12,833$74
75th Percentile$125,000$10,417$60
Average$99,160$8,263$48
25th Percentile$78,000$6,500$38
10th Percentile$63,000$5,250$30

Highest paying clinical research scientist jobs

The highest paying types of clinical research scientists are clinical project manager, scientist, and clinical research manager.

Job Title
ascdesc
Annual Salary
ascdesc
Monthly Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
Job Openings
ascdesc
Study Director$82,066$6,839$39.456,789
Study Coordinator$47,435$3,953$22.8114,929
Clinical Trial Manager$93,644$7,804$45.0260,284
Clinical Coordinator$57,665$4,805$27.7274,962
Clinical Project Manager$100,510$8,376$48.32153,837
Research Project Coordinator$48,683$4,057$23.4167,800

Top companies hiring clinical research scientists now:

  1. Meta Jobs (13)
  2. Amgen Jobs (9)
  3. Merck Jobs (7)
  4. Novartis Jobs (31)
  5. Gilead Sciences Jobs (4)

Which companies pay clinical research scientists the most?

Clinical research scientist salaries at Meta and Apple are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average clinical research scientist salary at companies like Amgen and Cepheid are highly competitive.

Rank
ascdesc
Company
ascdesc
Average Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
1Meta$170,193$81.82
2Apple$147,135$70.74
3Amgen$136,713$65.73
4Cepheid$134,665$64.74
5Emergent BioSolutions$131,363$63.16
6Incyte$124,202$59.71
7Abiomed$120,062$57.72
8Gilead Sciences$109,435$52.61
9Eli Lilly and Company$109,108$52.46
10Karyopharm$108,104$51.97
11Boston Scientific$103,058$49.55
12AstraZeneca$102,775$49.41
13Abbott$100,602$48.37
14Insys Therapeutics$99,279$47.73
15Philips$97,823$47.03
16Purdue Pharma L.P.$96,843$46.56
17Ferring Pharmaceuticals$95,987$46.15
18Eisai$95,396$45.86
19dōTERRA$95,089$45.72
20EQRx$95,008$45.68

Wage gap by gender, race and education

$103,000$100,600$98,200$95,800$93,400$91,000
MaleFemale

Clinical Research Scientist salary by industry

The average clinical research scientist salary varies across industries:

  • The average clinical research scientist salary in the pharmaceutical industry is $105,459, the highest of any industry.
  • The average clinical research scientist salary in the finance industry is $95,328.
  • Clinical research scientists in the professional industry earn an average salary of $81,756, the lowest of any industry.

Highest paying industries for clinical research scientists

Rank
ascdesc
Industry
ascdesc
Average Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
1Pharmaceutical$105,459$50.70
2Health Care$95,328$45.83
3Finance$94,763$45.56
4Manufacturing$94,555$45.46
5Professional$81,756$39.31

High Paying Clinical Research Scientist Jobs

Clinical Research Scientist salary trends

The average clinical research scientist salary has risen by $16,656 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average clinical research scientist earned $82,504 annually, but today, they earn $99,160 a year. That works out to a 15% change in pay for clinical research scientists over the last decade.

Compare clinical research scientist salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.

Average clinical research scientist salary over time

Compare clinical research scientist salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.

  • National Average
  • Columbus, OH

Clinical Research Scientist salary by year

Year
ascdesc
Avg. Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
% Change
ascdesc
2025$99,200$47.67+6.4%
2024$92,800$44.62+4.1%
2023$89,000$42.81+3.9%
2022$85,500$41.12-0.7%
2021$86,200$41.42-0.3%

Recently added clinical research scientist salaries

Company
ascdesc
Job
ascdesc
Location
ascdesc
Date Added
ascdesc
Salary
ascdesc
Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd.Lead Clinical Research Scientist, MetabolismBoston, MA12/16/2024$141,000
Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd.Lead Clinical Research Scientist, MetabolismSouth San Francisco, CA12/16/2024$141,000
GenentechLead Clinical Research Scientist, MetabolismBoston, MA12/15/2024$141,000
GenentechLead Clinical Research Scientist, MetabolismSouth San Francisco, CA12/15/2024$141,000
Amway CorpResearch Scientist-Nutrition Research & Clinical InvestigatorBowne, MI12/11/2024$92,370
Omada Health, Inc.Clinical Research Scientist Remote, USAIone, CA12/11/2024$133,400
ZeissgroupClinical Research Scientist, StaffDublin, CA11/25/2024$137,300
ZeissClinical Research Scientist, StaffIone, CA11/22/2024$137,300
St. Jude Children's Research HospitalClinical Research ScientistMemphis, TN11/20/2024$86,320
LifelancerClinical Research ScientistSan Francisco, CA11/20/2024$132,000

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