Laboratory Scientist salary

Quoted Expert
Professor Susan Bergeson

Average laboratory scientist salary

$66,249

$31.85 hourly rate

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

How much does a laboratory scientist make?

The average laboratory scientist salary in the United States is $66,249. Laboratory scientist salaries typically range between $47,000 and $93,000 yearly. The average hourly rate for laboratory scientists is $31.85 per hour.

Laboratory scientist salary is impacted by location, education, and experience. Laboratory scientists earn the highest average salary in Connecticut.

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Where can a Laboratory Scientist earn more?

Compare salary by location
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California$97,170
Edinburg, TX$52,808
Compare salary by company
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Microsoft$131,602
Amphastar Pharmaceuticals$69,677

Laboratory Scientist salary estimates from across the web

Based on the latest salary information compiled by Zippia, Glassdoor and Ziprecruiter, the average salary for a laboratory scientist typically falls between $66,249 and $97,750.
zippia
$66,249yearly
glassdoor[1]
$72,760yearly
ZipRecruiter[2]
$97,750yearly

Average laboratory scientist salary by state

Highest paying states for laboratory scientists

Rank
ascdesc
State
ascdesc
Avg. Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
1New Jersey$84,643$40.69
2California$88,738$42.66
3Massachusetts$81,362$39.12
4Connecticut$99,998$48.08
5Delaware$84,895$40.81
6New York$75,022$36.07
7Maine$77,525$37.27
8Rhode Island$79,404$38.17
9Pennsylvania$64,913$31.21
10Maryland$68,469$32.92
11Illinois$71,112$34.19
12Vermont$64,255$30.89
13Indiana$75,109$36.11
14Alaska$65,148$31.32
15Arizona$69,334$33.33
16New Hampshire$61,171$29.41
17Michigan$66,055$31.76
18Washington$63,302$30.43
19Wisconsin$61,933$29.78
20Tennessee$64,309$30.92
21Oregon$63,962$30.75
22Minnesota$60,897$29.28
23South Dakota$56,445$27.14
24North Carolina$59,283$28.50
25Virginia$60,824$29.24
26District of Columbia$68,395$32.88
27Hawaii$70,453$33.87
28Nevada$63,659$30.61
29Montana$59,211$28.47
30Wyoming$55,809$26.83
31Missouri$55,189$26.53
32Ohio$54,735$26.31
33Arkansas$55,496$26.68
34Idaho$55,410$26.64
35Iowa$54,146$26.03
36Oklahoma$55,192$26.53
37Kentucky$54,509$26.21
38New Mexico$50,902$24.47
39North Dakota$47,322$22.75
40Colorado$54,547$26.22
41Texas$52,233$25.11
42Alabama$52,269$25.13
43Kansas$50,368$24.22
44Utah$43,043$20.69
45West Virginia$47,727$22.95
46Florida$50,473$24.27
47South Carolina$47,079$22.63
48Nebraska$45,170$21.72
49Louisiana$41,872$20.13
50Mississippi$43,137$20.74
51Georgia$41,217$19.82

Highest paying cities for laboratory scientists

The highest-paying cities for laboratory scientists are San Francisco, CA, Union, NJ, and Boston, MA.

Rank
ascdesc
City
ascdesc
Avg. Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
1San Francisco, CA$97,170$46.72
2Union, NJ$84,777$40.76
3Boston, MA$81,441$39.15
4Fort Wayne, IN$76,564$36.81
5New York, NY$75,123$36.12
6Baltimore, MD$68,825$33.09
7Washington, DC$68,373$32.87
8Novi, MI$66,074$31.77
9Easton, PA$65,782$31.63
10Jackson, TN$64,179$30.86
11Arlington, VA$62,420$30.01
12Madison, WI$61,485$29.56
13Concord, NH$61,008$29.33
14Raleigh, NC$60,029$28.86
15Laramie, WY$55,735$26.80
16Saint Louis, MO$55,524$26.69
17Boulder, CO$54,497$26.20
18Waterloo, IA$54,461$26.18
19Reynoldsburg, OH$54,333$26.12
20Edinburg, TX$52,808$25.39

Laboratory Scientist salary details

A laboratory scientist's salary ranges from $47,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $93,000 at the 90th percentile.

Average Laboratory Scientist Salary Graph
Average Laboratory Scientist Salary Graph, Trends, and Summary

What is a laboratory scientist's salary?

Percentile
ascdesc
Annual Salary
ascdesc
Monthly Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
90th Percentile$93,000$7,750$45
75th Percentile$79,000$6,583$38
Average$66,249$5,521$32
25th Percentile$55,000$4,583$26
10th Percentile$47,000$3,917$23

Highest paying laboratory scientist jobs

The highest paying types of laboratory scientists are senior scientist, scientist, and staff scientist.

Job Title
ascdesc
Annual Salary
ascdesc
Monthly Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
Job Openings
ascdesc
Research Fellow$53,823$4,485$25.8859,746
Chemist$64,961$5,413$31.2320,221
Microbiologist$54,620$4,552$26.2611,444
Quality Control Analyst$59,217$4,935$28.4785,546
Research And Development Scientist$90,278$7,523$43.40129,803
Scientist$97,344$8,112$46.8062,467

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

P
Salaries for biotechnology technicians, research associates, and research scientists vary widely by experience and location. Graduates in biotechnology with engineering or bioinformatics backgrounds may start at higher salaries. I encourage my biotechnology students to consider adding an MBA as this broadens their potential for advancement and gives them a better understanding of how the company works while they simultaneously enjoy the scientific process.

Top companies hiring laboratory scientists now:

  1. Aramco Services Company Jobs (35)
  2. U.S. Pharmacopeia Jobs (7)
  3. Pfizer Jobs (9)
  4. DuPont Jobs (4)
  5. Quest Diagnostics Jobs (4)

Which companies pay laboratory scientists the most?

Laboratory scientist salaries at Microsoft and Aramco Services Company are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average laboratory scientist salary at companies like Amazon and Adobe are highly competitive.

Rank
ascdesc
Company
ascdesc
Average Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
1Microsoft$131,602$63.27
2Aramco Services Company$119,064$57.24
3Amazon$111,987$53.84
4Adobe$106,935$51.41
5Eli Lilly and Company$97,405$46.83
6Micron Technology$95,665$45.99
7U.S. Pharmacopeia$95,477$45.90
8Hologic$94,734$45.55
9Sandia National Labs$89,709$43.13
10Ridgecrest Regional Hospital$85,035$40.88
11Gilead Sciences$83,087$39.95
12ABB$79,285$38.12
13Palomar Health$76,281$36.67
14HRL Laboratories$75,300$36.20
15Messiah College$74,589$35.86
16Buck Institute for Research on Aging$71,456$34.35
17US MED$71,137$34.20
18Tenet Healthcare$70,710$34.00
19Quest Diagnostics$70,227$33.76
20Amphastar Pharmaceuticals$69,677$33.50

Wage gap by gender, race and education

$65,000$64,800$64,600$64,400$64,200$64,000
MaleFemale

Laboratory Scientist salary by industry

The average laboratory scientist salary varies across industries:

  • The average laboratory scientist salary in the manufacturing industry is $78,424, the highest of any industry.
  • The average laboratory scientist salary in the finance industry is $75,593.
  • Laboratory scientists in the government industry earn an average salary of $45,891, the lowest of any industry.

Highest paying industries for laboratory scientists

Rank
ascdesc
Industry
ascdesc
Average Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
1Manufacturing$78,424$37.70
2Pharmaceutical$75,593$36.34
3Health Care$65,316$31.40
4Government$45,891$22.06

High Paying Laboratory Scientist Jobs

Laboratory Scientist salary trends

The average laboratory scientist salary has risen by $11,135 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average laboratory scientist earned $55,114 annually, but today, they earn $66,249 a year. That works out to a 14% change in pay for laboratory scientists over the last decade.

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

Average laboratory scientist salary over time

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

  • National Average

Laboratory Scientist salary by year

Year
ascdesc
Avg. Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
% Change
ascdesc
2025$66,200$31.85+3.0%
2024$64,300$30.90+4.5%
2023$61,400$29.52+3.2%
2022$59,400$28.57+1.9%
2021$58,300$28.03-2.1%

Recently added laboratory scientist salaries

Company
ascdesc
Job
ascdesc
Location
ascdesc
Date Added
ascdesc
Salary
ascdesc
Hesperos Inc.PH.D. Laboratory Scientist IOrlando, FL12/16/2024$64,000
Eurofins HortiScientist, TEM | EAG LaboratoriesSanta Clara, CA12/16/2024$110,000
Cedars-SinaiPostdoctoral Scientist-Chen Lab-Lung InstituteLos Angeles, CA12/15/2024$62,400
Minnesota Department of AgricultureLaboratory Scientist-Laboratory Scientist 2Union, NJ12/15/2024$58,102
DasstateohLaboratory Scientist 2-MolecularReynoldsburg, OH12/15/2024$55,577
ArcinstituteMachine Learning Scientist-HSU & Konermann LabPalo Alto, CA12/15/2024$124,000
Randstad UsLab ScientistSan Diego, CA12/14/2024$62,088
Pyramid Consulting, Inc.Scientist/Lab OperationsMalvern, PA12/14/2024$73,045
Hepquant, LLCLaboratory Scientist IAurora, CO12/14/2024$60,000
AmazonApplied Scientist II, AWS Ai/Ml, DS3, Think Forward LabNew York, NY12/12/2024$136,000

Laboratory Scientist salary FAQs

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