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Postdoc salary
Average postdoc salary
$65,875
How much does a postdoc make?
The average postdoc salary in the United States is $65,875. Postdoc salaries typically range between $46,000 and $94,000 yearly. The average hourly rate for postdocs is $31.67 per hour.
Postdoc salary is impacted by location, education, and experience. Postdocs earn the highest average salary in Hawaii.
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Where can a Postdoc earn more?
Average postdoc salary by state
Highest paying states for postdocs
Rank  | State | Avg. Salary | Hourly Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tennessee | $84,479 | $40.61 |
| 2 | Massachusetts | $75,948 | $36.51 |
| 3 | California | $84,058 | $40.41 |
| 4 | Montana | $75,574 | $36.33 |
| 5 | Oregon | $70,342 | $33.82 |
| 6 | Maine | $73,877 | $35.52 |
| 7 | New Jersey | $72,524 | $34.87 |
| 8 | Indiana | $75,481 | $36.29 |
| 9 | Connecticut | $75,250 | $36.18 |
| 10 | Arizona | $77,732 | $37.37 |
| 11 | Hawaii | $87,876 | $42.25 |
| 12 | Nevada | $76,396 | $36.73 |
| 13 | North Carolina | $63,195 | $30.38 |
| 14 | Minnesota | $67,984 | $32.68 |
| 15 | Alaska | $73,302 | $35.24 |
| 16 | Colorado | $66,569 | $32.00 |
| 17 | Delaware | $67,767 | $32.58 |
| 18 | Idaho | $60,478 | $29.08 |
| 19 | Missouri | $58,830 | $28.28 |
| 20 | West Virginia | $58,717 | $28.23 |
| 21 | Pennsylvania | $58,519 | $28.13 |
| 22 | New Mexico | $57,029 | $27.42 |
| 23 | Arkansas | $59,978 | $28.84 |
| 24 | Vermont | $61,302 | $29.47 |
| 25 | Wyoming | $60,974 | $29.31 |
| 26 | Oklahoma | $60,654 | $29.16 |
| 27 | Rhode Island | $61,845 | $29.73 |
| 28 | District of Columbia | $65,601 | $31.54 |
| 29 | Illinois | $57,427 | $27.61 |
| 30 | Maryland | $60,167 | $28.93 |
| 31 | Nebraska | $55,821 | $26.84 |
| 32 | Texas | $56,883 | $27.35 |
| 33 | New York | $57,483 | $27.64 |
| 34 | Washington | $59,237 | $28.48 |
| 35 | New Hampshire | $59,404 | $28.56 |
| 36 | Georgia | $57,855 | $27.81 |
| 37 | Ohio | $55,088 | $26.48 |
| 38 | Alabama | $55,362 | $26.62 |
| 39 | Virginia | $54,812 | $26.35 |
| 40 | Wisconsin | $55,849 | $26.85 |
| 41 | Michigan | $54,901 | $26.39 |
| 42 | Kentucky | $52,769 | $25.37 |
| 43 | Florida | $52,962 | $25.46 |
| 44 | Mississippi | $50,751 | $24.40 |
| 45 | South Dakota | $52,566 | $25.27 |
| 46 | Kansas | $53,440 | $25.69 |
| 47 | Iowa | $41,623 | $20.01 |
| 48 | Utah | $50,826 | $24.44 |
| 49 | South Carolina | $46,741 | $22.47 |
| 50 | North Dakota | $48,793 | $23.46 |
| 51 | Louisiana | $48,320 | $23.23 |
Highest paying cities for postdocs
The highest-paying cities for postdocs are San Francisco, CA, Memphis, TN, and Boston, MA.
| Rank | City | Avg. Salary | Hourly Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $88,170 | $42.39 |
| 2 | Memphis, TN | $85,314 | $41.02 |
| 3 | Boston, MA | $76,058 | $36.57 |
| 4 | Indianapolis, IN | $75,522 | $36.31 |
| 5 | Boulder, CO | $66,520 | $31.98 |
| 6 | Morgantown, WV | $58,990 | $28.36 |
| 7 | Philadelphia, PA | $58,875 | $28.31 |
| 8 | Idaho Falls, ID | $58,579 | $28.16 |
| 9 | New York, NY | $57,518 | $27.65 |
| 10 | Chicago, IL | $57,396 | $27.59 |
| 11 | Albuquerque, NM | $57,067 | $27.44 |
| 12 | Mobile, AL | $55,626 | $26.74 |
| 13 | Cleveland, OH | $55,420 | $26.64 |
| 14 | Ann Arbor, MI | $54,904 | $26.40 |
| 15 | Richmond, VA | $54,714 | $26.30 |
| 16 | Charleston, SC | $46,509 | $22.36 |
Postdoc salary details
A postdoc's salary ranges from $46,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $94,000 at the 90th percentile.
What is a postdoc's salary?
| Percentile | Annual Salary | Monthly Salary | Hourly Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90th Percentile | $94,000 | $7,833 | $45 |
| 75th Percentile | $79,000 | $6,583 | $38 |
| Average | $65,875 | $5,490 | $32 |
| 25th Percentile | $54,000 | $4,500 | $26 |
| 10th Percentile | $46,000 | $3,833 | $22 |
Highest paying postdoc jobs
The highest paying types of postdocs are medical science liaison, principal scientist, and senior scientist.
| Job Title | Annual Salary | Monthly Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medical Science Liaison | $145,718 | $12,143 | $70.06 | 57,208 |
| Research Fellow | $53,823 | $4,485 | $25.88 | 59,746 |
| Research And Development Scientist | $90,278 | $7,523 | $43.40 | 129,803 |
| Fellow | $66,364 | $5,530 | $31.91 | 7,459 |
| Research Scientist | $89,998 | $7,500 | $43.27 | 93,013 |
| Research Laboratory Manager | $64,333 | $5,361 | $30.93 | 89,981 |
Which companies pay postdocs the most?
Postdoc salaries at IBM and AstraZeneca are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average postdoc salary at companies like Amgen and Genentech are highly competitive.
| Rank | Company | Average Salary | Hourly Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | IBM | $95,310 | $45.82 |
| 2 | AstraZeneca | $83,453 | $40.12 |
| 3 | Amgen | $83,393 | $40.09 |
| 4 | Genentech | $82,936 | $39.87 |
| 5 | Argonne National Laboratory | $76,172 | $36.62 |
| 6 | Jet Propulsion Laboratory | $76,038 | $36.56 |
| 7 | Brookhaven National Laboratory | $75,826 | $36.45 |
| 8 | Los Alamos National Laboratory | $75,290 | $36.20 |
| 9 | Oak Ridge National Laboratory | $75,265 | $36.19 |
| 10 | Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory | $73,827 | $35.49 |
| 11 | Sandia National Labs | $73,324 | $35.25 |
| 12 | Xerox | $72,000 | $34.62 |
| 13 | Universal Health Services | $71,547 | $34.40 |
| 14 | Clear Labs | $66,505 | $31.97 |
| 15 | Alliance for Sustainable Energy | $66,333 | $31.89 |
| 16 | National Renewable Energy Laboratory | $66,239 | $31.85 |
| 17 | Lilly & Company | $66,200 | $31.83 |
| 18 | Brookhaven Science Associates LLC | $66,104 | $31.78 |
| 19 | St. Jude Children's Research Hospital | $65,275 | $31.38 |
| 20 | Stanford University | $63,474 | $30.52 |
Wage gap by gender, race and education
Postdoc salary trends
The average postdoc salary has risen by $11,071 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average postdoc earned $54,804 annually, but today, they earn $65,875 a year. That works out to a 14% change in pay for postdocs over the last decade.
Compare postdoc salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.
Average postdoc salary over time
Compare postdoc salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.
- National Average
- Columbus, OH
Postdoc salary by year
| Year | Avg. Salary | Hourly Rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $65,900 | $31.67 | +3.0% |
| 2024 | $63,900 | $30.73 | +4.5% |
| 2023 | $61,100 | $29.35 | +3.2% |
| 2022 | $59,100 | $28.41 | +1.9% |
| 2021 | $58,000 | $27.87 | -2.1% |
Recently added postdoc salaries
| Company | Job | Location | Date Added | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kaiser | Neuropsychology Postdoc Resident, Outptneuropsych&Inptneurorehab-Wc, 2Yval) | Emeryville, CA | 12/17/2024 | $80,000 |
| Oilandgas.org.Uk | Postdoc-The Sustainable Energy and Environmental Systems Department | Berkeley, CA | 12/17/2024 | $82,692 |
| Los Alamos National Laboratory | Acoustics Experimental and Data Analysis Postdoc | Los Alamos, NM | 12/13/2024 | $94,500 |
| Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute | Postdoc, Physical-Biological Interactions | Moss Landing, CA | 12/12/2024 | $70,000 |
| MUSC Enterprise | Univ-Postdoc-Department of Regenerative Medicine | Charleston, SC | 12/11/2024 | $20,000 |
| Pherobase | Postdoc Scholar | Riverside, CA | 12/09/2024 | $60,000 |
| NASA JPL | Postdoc: Large-Scale Structure Cosmology With Roman and Euclid | Pasadena, CA | 12/07/2024 | $82,180 |
| Jet Propulsion Laboratory | Postdoc: Roman Space Telescope Coronagraph Instrument | Pasadena, CA | 11/27/2024 | $82,180 |
| Jet Propulsion Laboratory | Postdoc: Pulsar/Frb Astrophysics | Campus, IL | 11/25/2024 | $82,180 |
| The Gladstone Companies | Postdoc-Ramani Lab | San Francisco, CA | 11/25/2024 | $64,480 |
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