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Food Scientists and Technologists · SOC 19-1012

Food Scientists and Technologists Salary in the Boston Metro Area

Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area

Figures describe the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metropolitan statistical area as defined by BLS/OMB — the whole multi-county metro region, not Boston city limits.

Median annual wage$103,580
Median hourly wage$49.80

Food Scientists and Technologists in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area earned a median of $103,580 per year ($49.80 per hour) as of the May 2025 BLS OEWS estimates. Pay ranged from $72,130 at the 10th percentile to $183,260 at the 90th. BLS estimates 370 people work in this occupation in the area.

Pay distribution

Half of Food Scientists and Technologists in the Boston metro area earn more than $103,580 per year, half earn less; the middle half earn between $92,080 and $157,100.

Wage percentiles (BLS OEWS)
Wage10th25thMedian75th90th
Annual$72,130$92,080$103,580$157,100$183,260
Hourly$34.68$44.27$49.80$75.53$88.11

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

  • Boston metro areathis metro area
    $103,580
  • Massachusettsstate (MA)
    $103,580
  • United Statesnational
    $88,720

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

The median here is about the same vs Massachusetts overall and +17% vs the U.S. median for this occupation.

Compare with other areas

Where this metro sits nationally

$56,250$75,283$94,317$113,350Lincoln, NE — $56,250Lansing-East Lansing, MI — $63,030Lawrence, KS — $64,210Madison, WI — $66,080Hanford-Corcoran, CA — $66,120Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI — $67,790Raleigh-Cary, NC — $68,590Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN — $69,970Salt Lake City-Murray, UT — $73,280Boise City, ID — $73,420Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN — $74,150Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ — $75,980Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA — $76,580Sioux City, IA-NE-SD — $78,260Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI — $78,610Columbus, OH — $79,560Wichita, KS — $79,630Bakersfield-Delano, CA — $79,900Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA — $80,050Napa, CA — $80,320Modesto, CA — $80,960Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY — $82,640Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA — $83,140Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA — $85,360Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA — $85,610San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA — $85,930Salem, OR — $85,960Providence-Warwick, RI-MA — $86,150Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI — $86,230Lancaster, PA — $86,320Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC — $87,270Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA — $88,010Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX — $88,210Visalia, CA — $89,050Rochester, NY — $90,040Stockton-Lodi, CA — $90,040Salinas, CA — $90,080Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN — $90,210Omaha, NE-IA — $90,770Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA — $91,060Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA — $92,690Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD — $93,330Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX — $93,670Fresno, CA — $93,750Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR — $94,770Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX — $95,030Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD — $96,210Merced, CA — $96,430San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX — $98,220San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA — $98,930Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY — $99,530Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO — $99,900Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA — $100,000Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN — $100,390Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI — $101,760Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR — $103,300Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH — $103,580New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ — $104,200Kansas City, MO-KS — $105,350Ann Arbor, MI — $105,420Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA — $107,970St. Louis, MO-IL — $108,200San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA — $110,810Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV — $113,350

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 Boston metro area has the 8th-highest published median for this occupation among the 64 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”.

Keep exploring

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

Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists$129,500Biochemists and Biophysicists$131,550Biological Technicians$61,610Chemists$127,290Occupational Health and Safety Specialists$105,960Biological Scientists, All Other$110,410

Highest-paying metro areas for food scientists and technologistss · Highest-paying occupations in Boston 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.