Materials Scientists · SOC 19-2032

Materials Scientists Salary in the Atlanta Metro Area

Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA metro area

Figures describe the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA metropolitan statistical area as defined by BLS/OMB — the whole multi-county metro region, not Atlanta city limits.

Median annual wage$93,240
Median hourly wage$44.83

Materials Scientists in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA metro area earned a median of $93,240 per year ($44.83 per hour) as of the May 2025 BLS OEWS estimates. Pay ranged from $63,820 at the 10th percentile to $155,820 at the 90th. BLS estimates 240 people work in this occupation in the area.

Pay distribution

Half of Materials Scientists in the Atlanta metro area earn more than $93,240 per year, half earn less; the middle half earn between $66,950 and $107,780.

Wage percentiles (BLS OEWS)
Wage10th25thMedian75th90th
Annual$63,820$66,950$93,240$107,780$155,820
Hourly$30.68$32.19$44.83$51.82$74.92

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.

Download CSV

How this area compares

  • Atlanta metro areathis metro area
    $93,240 median for Atlanta metro area; middle half earns $66,950 to $107,780
  • Georgiastate (GA)
    $91,970 median for Georgia; middle half earns $66,950 to $117,490
  • $117,790 median for United States; middle half earns $89,990 to $150,550

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

The median here is +1% vs Georgia overall and −21% vs the U.S. median for this occupation.

Compare with other areas

Where this metro sits nationally

$60,690$117,767$174,843$231,920Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN — $60,690College Station-Bryan, TX — $63,390Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX — $75,360Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX — $82,080Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD — $92,390Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA — $93,240San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA — $96,050Reno, NV — $97,750Salt Lake City-Murray, UT — $101,120Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC — $102,070Rochester, NY — $102,890Columbus, OH — $104,430Greensboro-High Point, NC — $106,470Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO — $106,720Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN — $107,500Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI — $107,650Akron, OH — $109,720Cleveland, OH — $111,810Trenton-Princeton, NJ — $117,650New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ — $120,650Durham-Chapel Hill, NC — $123,070Boulder, CO — $126,880Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD — $127,470Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV — $127,490Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA — $129,050Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI — $132,160Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH — $132,600Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY — $132,650Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN — $133,340Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA — $137,520Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA — $149,980Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA — $150,550Worcester, MA — $151,070San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA — $231,710San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA — $231,920

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 Atlanta metro area has the 30th-highest published median for this occupation among the 35 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:

Highest-paying metro areas for materials scientistss · Highest-paying occupations in Atlanta 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.