Life Scientists, All Other · SOC 19-1099

Highest-Paying Metro Areas for Life Scientists, All Others

Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025U.S. metropolitan areas

Metro areas ranked by published median annual wage for life scientists, all other. Areas where BLS suppressed the median are not ranked. Higher medians often track higher living costs — this is a pay comparison, not a ranking of where the job is “best”.

Top 25 of 29 metro areas

Life Scientists, All Other: metro areas with the highest published median annual wages, May 2025
#	Metro area	Median annual	Employment	Per 1,000 jobs
1	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$134,810	170	0.1
2	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	$126,120	340	0.1
3	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	$125,430	60	0.1
4	Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ	$124,260	70	0.0
5	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	$115,230	100	0.0
6	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA	$109,580	120	0.1
7	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD	$105,900	170	0.1
8	Durham-Chapel Hill, NC	$105,850	460	1.3
9	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC	$105,370	60	0.0
10	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	$104,740	230	0.0
11	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	$103,000	140	0.1
12	Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA	$100,720	50	0.1
13	New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	$100,600	220	0.0
14	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	$96,030	100	0.0
15	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	$89,640	Not published	Not published
16	Pittsburgh, PA	$81,540	80	0.1
17	San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA	$80,120	160	0.1
18	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	$78,640	50	0.0
19	St. Louis, MO-IL	$75,300	130	0.1
20	Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY	$73,920	50	0.1
21	Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA	$73,670	50	0.1
22	Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN	$70,690	110	0.0
23	Richmond, VA	$70,050	210	0.3
24	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	$64,610	Not published	Not published
25	Providence-Warwick, RI-MA	$64,320	Not published	Not published

Full state and metro tables, the national distribution, and the pay map are on the Life Scientists, All Other overview.

About this data. Estimates are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, May 2025 release, retrieved from bls.gov/oes/tables.htm on July 24, 2026. OEWS estimates describe metropolitan/nonmetropolitan areas and states — not city limits — and are not designed for year-over-year comparisons. See BLS methodology, our plain-English methodology, and sources. CitySalaryData is independent and not affiliated with BLS.