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Soil and Plant Scientists · SOC 19-1013

Soil and Plant Scientists Salary in the Washington Metro Area

Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area

Figures describe the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metropolitan statistical area as defined by BLS/OMB — the whole multi-county metro region, not Washington city limits.

Median annual wage$95,870
Median hourly wage$46.09

Soil and Plant Scientists in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area earned a median of $95,870 per year ($46.09 per hour) as of the May 2025 BLS OEWS estimates. Pay ranged from $63,250 at the 10th percentile to $170,980 at the 90th. BLS estimates 230 people work in this occupation in the area.

Pay distribution

Half of Soil and Plant Scientists in the Washington metro area earn more than $95,870 per year, half earn less; the middle half earn between $79,230 and $128,610.

Wage percentiles (BLS OEWS)
Wage10th25thMedian75th90th
Annual$63,250$79,230$95,870$128,610$170,980
Hourly$30.41$38.09$46.09$61.83$82.20

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

  • Washington metro areathis metro area
    $95,870
  • District of Columbiastate (DC)
    $107,140
  • United Statesnational
    $78,850

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

The median here is −11% vs District of Columbia overall and +22% vs the U.S. median for this occupation.

Compare with other areas

Where this metro sits nationally

$37,830$69,317$100,803$132,290Tulsa, OK — $37,830San Juan-Bayamon-Caguas, PR — $38,200Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN — $50,160Knoxville, TN — $51,110Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN — $56,470Green Bay, WI — $56,770Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI — $57,160Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD — $57,840Cleveland, OH — $58,220Salt Lake City-Murray, UT — $59,900Columbus, OH — $60,970Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA — $61,610Auburn-Opelika, AL — $61,840Lincoln, NE — $63,760Bozeman, MT — $64,010Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD — $64,070Champaign-Urbana, IL — $64,460Ames, IA — $65,080Kansas City, MO-KS — $65,190Appleton, WI — $65,290Fargo, ND-MN — $65,320Lansing-East Lansing, MI — $65,390Manhattan, KS — $66,100Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI — $66,200Memphis, TN-MS-AR — $66,450Fort Collins-Loveland, CO — $67,330Lexington-Fayette, KY — $67,340Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH — $69,880Reno, NV — $70,450Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT — $72,750Rapid City, SD — $73,310Sioux Falls, SD-MN — $73,320Madison, WI — $73,510Richmond, VA — $73,920Greensboro-High Point, NC — $74,280Wichita, KS — $74,440Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC — $76,330Las Cruces, NM — $76,400St. Louis, MO-IL — $76,790Charleston-North Charleston, SC — $77,090Raleigh-Cary, NC — $78,020New Orleans-Metairie, LA — $78,870Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI — $79,610Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN — $80,030Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN — $80,360Omaha, NE-IA — $81,300Missoula, MT — $81,350Corvallis, OR — $81,420Modesto, CA — $81,570San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA — $81,570Urban Honolulu, HI — $82,110Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV — $82,490Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA — $82,490Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ — $82,510Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI — $83,370Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA — $83,390Idaho Falls, ID — $83,780Iowa City, IA — $84,360New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ — $84,740Bismarck, ND — $86,110San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA — $86,330Lafayette-West Lafayette, IN — $86,380Durham-Chapel Hill, NC — $86,570New Haven, CT — $87,110Boise City, ID — $90,610Salem, OR — $93,620Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA — $94,900Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA — $94,940Cedar Rapids, IA — $94,980Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV — $95,870Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA — $96,480Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA — $98,340Kennewick-Richland, WA — $99,110Fresno, CA — $100,050Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA — $101,660Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL — $103,740Napa, CA — $104,120Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL — $106,410San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA — $108,200Salinas, CA — $115,910San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA — $116,660Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA — $132,290

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 Washington metro area has the 13th-highest published median for this occupation among the 82 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:

Social Scientists and Related Workers, All Other$138,250Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists$107,110Biological Scientists, All Other$114,920Economists$156,750Political Scientists$156,730Physical Scientists, All Other$170,980

Highest-paying metro areas for soil and plant scientistss · Highest-paying occupations in Washington 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.