Soil and Plant Scientists · SOC 19-1013

Highest-Paying Metro Areas for Soil and Plant Scientistss

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

Metro areas ranked by published median annual wage for soil and plant scientists. Areas where BLS suppressed the median are not ranked (5 such areas are excluded here). Higher medians often track higher living costs — this is a pay comparison, not a ranking of where the job is “best”.

Top 25 of 82 metro areas

Soil and Plant Scientists: metro areas with the highest published median annual wages, May 2025
#	Metro area	Median annual	Employment	Per 1,000 jobs
1	Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA	$132,290	430	1.1
2	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	$116,660	70	0.1
3	Salinas, CA	$115,910	30	0.2
4	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$108,200	140	0.1
5	Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL	$106,410	30	0.0
6	Napa, CA	$104,120	70	0.9
7	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	$103,740	100	0.0
8	Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA	$101,660	50	0.2
9	Fresno, CA	$100,050	90	0.2
10	Kennewick-Richland, WA	$99,110	40	0.3
11	Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA	$98,340	190	0.2
12	Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA	$96,480	Not published	Not published
13	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	$95,870	230	0.1
14	Cedar Rapids, IA	$94,980	40	0.3
15	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA	$94,940	250	0.2
16	Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA	$94,900	70	0.0
17	Salem, OR	$93,620	110	0.6
18	Boise City, ID	$90,610	290	0.7
19	New Haven, CT	$87,110	90	0.3
20	Durham-Chapel Hill, NC	$86,570	70	0.2
21	Lafayette-West Lafayette, IN	$86,380	30	0.3
22	San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA	$86,330	140	0.1
23	Bismarck, ND	$86,110	40	0.5
24	New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	$84,740	170	0.0
25	Iowa City, IA	$84,360	30	0.4

Full state and metro tables, the national distribution, and the pay map are on the Soil and Plant Scientists 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.