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Chemists · SOC 19-2031

Chemists Salary in the Boulder Metro Area

Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025Boulder, CO metro area

Figures describe the Boulder, CO metropolitan statistical area as defined by BLS/OMB — the whole multi-county metro region, not Boulder city limits.

Median annual wage$105,590
Median hourly wage$50.77

Chemists in the Boulder, CO metro area earned a median of $105,590 per year ($50.77 per hour) as of the May 2025 BLS OEWS estimates. Pay ranged from $61,260 at the 10th percentile to $165,280 at the 90th. BLS estimates 500 people work in this occupation in the area.

Pay distribution

Half of Chemists in the Boulder metro area earn more than $105,590 per year, half earn less; the middle half earn between $84,240 and $136,940.

Wage percentiles (BLS OEWS)
Wage10th25thMedian75th90th
Annual$61,260$84,240$105,590$136,940$165,280
Hourly$29.45$40.50$50.77$65.84$79.46

A percentile is a cut point: 25% of workers in this occupation and area earn less than the 25th-percentile wage. The median is the 50th percentile — half earn less, half earn more.

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How this area compares

  • Boulder metro areathis metro area
    $105,590
  • Coloradostate (CO)
    $101,980
  • United Statesnational
    $91,240

Bars span the 25th–75th percentile (the middle half of workers); the tick marks the median.

The median here is +4% vs Colorado overall and +16% vs the U.S. median for this occupation.

Compare with other areas

Where this metro sits nationally

$48,180$80,347$112,513$144,680Ponce, PR — $48,180Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN — $48,530Lafayette-West Lafayette, IN — $52,140Tallahassee, FL — $53,000Lubbock, TX — $57,090Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR — $57,970Billings, MT — $59,780Johnstown, PA — $59,920Topeka, KS — $60,130Oklahoma City, OK — $61,750Waco, TX — $61,880El Paso, TX — $63,620Lansing-East Lansing, MI — $63,810Lynchburg, VA — $63,960Portland-South Portland, ME — $64,320Bellingham, WA — $64,560College Station-Bryan, TX — $65,080Youngstown-Warren, OH — $65,170Iowa City, IA — $65,270Asheville, NC — $66,910Ann Arbor, MI — $67,050Champaign-Urbana, IL — $67,310Bozeman, MT — $67,570Lexington-Fayette, KY — $68,640Fargo, ND-MN — $71,510Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC — $72,340Lima, OH — $72,570Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL — $73,100Columbia, SC — $73,430Fresno, CA — $73,470Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA — $73,670Pittsburgh, PA — $74,200Green Bay, WI — $74,660Omaha, NE-IA — $74,890South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI — $74,890Gulfport-Biloxi, MS — $75,610Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH — $76,110Springfield, MO — $76,270Terre Haute, IN — $76,290Canton-Massillon, OH — $76,660Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL — $76,830Memphis, TN-MS-AR — $76,980Bloomington, IN — $77,080San Juan-Bayamon-Caguas, PR — $77,380Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA — $77,400Joplin, MO-KS — $77,460Elkhart-Goshen, IN — $77,830Provo-Orem-Lehi, UT — $78,020Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ — $78,060Wilmington, NC — $78,130St. Joseph, MO-KS — $78,230Toledo, OH — $78,250Racine-Mount Pleasant, WI — $78,260Yakima, WA — $78,580Madison, WI — $78,730Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN — $78,770Fort Wayne, IN — $78,860Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI — $78,860Boise City, ID — $78,930Akron, OH — $78,990Dover, DE — $79,300Auburn-Opelika, AL — $79,530Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ — $79,600Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX — $79,770Salt Lake City-Murray, UT — $79,980Stockton-Lodi, CA — $80,080Shreveport-Bossier City, LA — $80,190Cedar Rapids, IA — $80,510Bowling Green, KY — $80,780Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC — $80,860Greenville-Anderson-Greer, SC — $80,870Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV — $81,170Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX — $81,270Jacksonville, FL — $81,330Vallejo, CA — $81,470Trenton-Princeton, NJ — $81,500Reading, PA — $81,520Durham-Chapel Hill, NC — $81,580Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL — $81,640Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA — $81,680Montgomery, AL — $81,700Colorado Springs, CO — $81,840Reno, NV — $81,860Morgantown, WV — $81,970Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC — $81,990Cleveland, OH — $82,020Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI — $82,110Sheboygan, WI — $82,260Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA — $82,400Syracuse, NY — $82,410Birmingham, AL — $82,790North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL — $82,850Lincoln, NE — $82,920Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA — $82,960Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV — $82,990Modesto, CA — $83,120Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL — $83,180Sioux Falls, SD-MN — $83,220Fort Collins-Loveland, CO — $83,340Kansas City, MO-KS — $83,420Waterbury-Shelton, CT — $83,420Rochester, NY — $84,030Springfield, IL — $84,110Raleigh-Cary, NC — $84,150Ames, IA — $84,300Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY — $84,510Kenosha, WI — $84,520Urban Honolulu, HI — $84,910New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ — $85,150Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI — $85,770Idaho Falls, ID — $85,810Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA — $85,930San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA — $86,060Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN — $86,090Burlington-South Burlington, VT — $86,120St. Louis, MO-IL — $86,690Roanoke, VA — $86,720Columbia, MO — $87,000Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA — $87,060Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY — $87,130Charlottesville, VA — $87,260Greeley, CO — $87,350Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA — $87,560Visalia, CA — $87,570Richmond, VA — $87,580Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA — $87,990Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA — $88,530Charleston, WV — $88,640Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC — $88,890Napa, CA — $89,180Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT — $90,010Charleston-North Charleston, SC — $90,070Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL — $90,640Ogden, UT — $90,740Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN — $90,920San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX — $91,040Ithaca, NY — $91,330Duluth, MN-WI — $91,560Fayetteville, NC — $92,080Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA — $92,240Muskegon-Norton Shores, MI — $92,320Chattanooga, TN-GA — $92,490Gainesville, GA — $92,500Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA — $92,660Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA — $93,340Corpus Christi, TX — $93,410Columbus, OH — $94,170York-Hanover, PA — $94,200Corvallis, OR — $94,990Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA — $94,990Salinas, CA — $95,080San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA — $95,160Evansville, IN — $95,210Janesville-Beloit, WI — $95,430Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD — $95,440Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA — $95,840Wichita, KS — $96,040Lawrence, KS — $96,050New Orleans-Metairie, LA — $96,100Gainesville, FL — $96,110Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN — $96,170Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA — $96,650Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, FL — $97,470Bakersfield-Delano, CA — $97,570New Haven, CT — $97,610Bend, OR — $97,690Greensboro-High Point, NC — $97,690Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA — $97,930Winston-Salem, NC — $98,090Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI — $99,280Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX — $99,390Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT — $99,530Knoxville, TN — $99,790Longview, TX — $99,880Manchester-Nashua, NH — $100,090Worcester, MA — $100,720Providence-Warwick, RI-MA — $100,730Huntsville, AL — $101,500Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO — $102,390Eugene-Springfield, OR — $102,460Mobile, AL — $102,600Savannah, GA — $103,380Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL — $103,980Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek, OH — $104,510Kalamazoo-Portage, MI — $105,220Peoria, IL — $105,370Boulder, CO — $105,590Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ — $105,610Midland, MI — $105,710Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL — $105,770Anchorage, AK — $106,000Tulsa, OK — $106,690Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX — $106,740Baton Rouge, LA — $107,590State College, PA — $107,890Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA — $108,010Decatur, AL — $109,110Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY — $110,920San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA — $114,890Athens-Clarke County, GA — $117,990Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD — $118,880Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT — $121,770Spartanburg, SC — $122,350Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL — $123,840Albuquerque, NM — $126,960Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH — $127,290San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA — $127,790Lake Charles, LA — $128,330Lexington Park, MD — $131,810Midland, TX — $131,860Bay City, MI — $132,480Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV — $144,680

Each dot is one metro area with a published median — hover any dot for the name and figure. Metros without published estimates are not drawn.

The Boulder metro area has the 26th-highest published median for this occupation among the 212 metro areas where BLS publishes it. Higher medians often track higher living costs — this is a pay comparison, not a ranking of where the job is “best”.

Other metro areas in Colorado

Metro areas in the same state with published May 2025 medians for chemists, highest first. Areas without published estimates are not listed.

  • Boulder metro areathis page
    $105,590
  • Denver metro area
    $102,390
  • Greeley metro area
    $87,350
  • Fort Collins metro area
    $83,340
  • Colorado Springs metro area
    $81,840

Bars span the 25th–75th percentile (the middle half of workers); the tick marks the median.

Keep exploring

Other occupations in the same SOC group with published medians here, largest employment first:

Physicists$104,580Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health$65,260Atmospheric and Space Scientists$121,870Biochemists and Biophysicists$140,710Biological Scientists, All Other$98,800Chemical Technicians$66,960

Highest-paying metro areas for chemistss · Highest-paying occupations in Boulder Metro

About this estimate

These figures are survey estimates from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program — modeled from employer reports collected over three years and benchmarked to May 2025. They describe what employers in this area currently pay across all industries, not what any individual worker will be offered.

Employment counts wage-and-salary jobs in the occupation (self-employed workers are excluded). Estimates carry sampling error; percentile wages are rounded by BLS. Some values are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality or quality — suppressed values appear here as “not published”, never as zero. Read the full methodology.

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.