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Associate Scientist salary

Quoted expert
Dr. Howard Whiteman

Average associate scientist salary

$76,461

$36.76 hourly rate

Entry-level associate scientist salary
$53,000 yearly salary
Updated January 8, 2025

How much does an associate scientist make?

The average associate scientist salary in the United States is $76,461. Associate scientist salaries typically range between $53,000 and $109,000 yearly. The average hourly rate for associate scientists is $36.76 per hour.

Associate scientist salary is impacted by location, education, and experience. Associate scientists earn the highest average salary in California.

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Where can an Associate Scientist earn more?

Compare salary by location
Vs
124k
104k
84k
64k
44k
24k
Ashburn, VA$113,839
Columbia, SC$54,343
Compare salary by company
Vs
142k
122k
102k
82k
62k
Phillips 66$131,676
Sutro Biopharma$91,948

Associate Scientist salary estimates from across the web

Based on the latest salary information compiled by Zippia, Salary.com, Indeed, Comparably and Payscale, the average salary for an associate scientist typically falls between $54,936 and $130,500.
zippia
$76,461yearly
indeed[1]
$54,936yearly
comparably[2]
$130,500yearly
Salary.com[3]
$69,012yearly
payscale[4]
$67,812yearly

Average associate scientist salary by state

The highest-paying states for associate scientists are California, Hawaii, and Tennessee. The lowest average associate scientist salary states are Mississippi, South Carolina, and Louisiana.

  • State view
  • County view
Average salary:

Highest paying states for associate scientists

RankStateAvg. salaryHourly rate
1California$105,857$50.89
2New Jersey$82,031$39.44
3Hawaii$101,669$48.88
4Rhode Island$83,215$40.01
5Maine$85,901$41.30
6Connecticut$81,189$39.03
7Delaware$77,635$37.32
8Tennessee$90,709$43.61
9Washington$79,319$38.13
10Massachusetts$76,454$36.76
11Nevada$85,189$40.96
12Minnesota$80,341$38.63
13Maryland$77,160$37.10
14Alaska$79,305$38.13
15Arizona$81,077$38.98
16Oregon$75,898$36.49
17Montana$72,404$34.81
18Indiana$77,888$37.45
19New Hampshire$72,618$34.91
20Illinois$74,470$35.80
21Wisconsin$70,741$34.01
22New York$71,376$34.32
23Michigan$70,161$33.73
24Pennsylvania$67,288$32.35
25Oklahoma$72,194$34.71
26Virginia$66,888$32.16
27Wyoming$67,079$32.25
28North Carolina$64,187$30.86
29District of Columbia$69,257$33.30
30Ohio$65,484$31.48
31Utah$62,486$30.04
32Arkansas$66,884$32.16
33South Dakota$60,322$29.00
34Colorado$66,178$31.82
35Vermont$61,641$29.64
36Iowa$62,940$30.26
37Idaho$61,791$29.71
38Kentucky$62,898$30.24
39North Dakota$57,080$27.44
40Florida$61,939$29.78
41Nebraska$61,209$29.43
42Alabama$60,832$29.25
43West Virginia$58,341$28.05
44Texas$56,491$27.16
45Georgia$60,522$29.10
46New Mexico$50,164$24.12
47Kansas$53,821$25.88
48Missouri$48,757$23.44
49South Carolina$54,211$26.06
50Mississippi$55,187$26.53
51Louisiana$53,984$25.95

Highest paying cities for associate scientists

The highest-paying cities for associate scientists are San Francisco, CA, Newark, NJ, and New Haven, CT.

RankCityAvg. salaryHourly rate
1San Francisco, CA$113,839$54.73
2Newark, NJ$82,166$39.50
3New Haven, CT$81,252$39.06
4Seattle, WA$80,191$38.55
5Newark, DE$77,660$37.34
6Bloomington, IN$77,405$37.21
7Baltimore, MD$77,347$37.19
8Boston, MA$76,510$36.78
9North Chicago, IL$74,853$35.99
10Bartlesville, OK$72,118$34.67
11New York, NY$71,430$34.34
12Madison, WI$70,520$33.90
13Philadelphia, PA$67,450$32.43
14Boulder, CO$66,089$31.77
15Durham, NC$64,597$31.06
16Ames, IA$62,850$30.22
17Miami, FL$61,998$29.81
18Atlanta, GA$60,677$29.17
19Houston, TX$56,365$27.10
20Columbia, SC$54,343$26.13

Associate Scientists are the most in-demand in these five cities:

  1. San Francisco, CA
  2. Newark, NJ
  3. New Haven, CT
  4. Seattle, WA
  5. Bloomington, IN

Associate Scientist salary details

An associate scientist's salary ranges from $53,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $109,000 at the 90th percentile.

Average associate scientist salary graph
Average associate scientist salary graph, trends, and summary

What is an associate scientist's salary?

PercentileAnnual salaryMonthly salaryHourly rate
90th Percentile$109,000$9,083$52
75th Percentile$92,000$7,667$44
Average$76,461$6,372$37
25th Percentile$63,000$5,250$30
10th Percentile$53,000$4,417$25

Highest paying associate scientist jobs

The highest paying types of associate scientists are medical science liaison, senior scientist, and scientist.

Job titleAnnual salaryMonthly salaryHourly rateJob openings
Research Fellow$53,823$4,485$25.8859,746
Chemical Technician$42,584$3,549$20.4740,191
Quality Control Analyst$59,217$4,935$28.4785,546
Quality Control Chemist$58,892$4,908$28.3190,467
Microbiologist$54,620$4,552$26.2611,444
Chemist$64,961$5,413$31.2320,221

How would you rate the starting salaries for Associate Scientists, as well as the prospects for salary advancement?

Dr. Howard Whiteman

Professor of Biological Sciences, Director of the Watershed Studies Institute, Murray State University

Poor. Right now, people in these fields are not in it for the money; they do it because they have a passion for conservation, or science, or both. I do not see that changing shortly, but hope springs eternal.

Which companies pay associate scientists the most?

Associate scientist salaries at Phillips 66 and ConocoPhillips are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average associate scientist salary at companies like The Art Institute of Chicago and 10x Genomics are highly competitive.

RankCompanyAverage salaryHourly rate
1Phillips 66$131,676$63.31
2ConocoPhillips$115,585$55.57
3The Art Institute of Chicago$110,037$52.90
410x Genomics$104,756$50.36
5Theranos$103,441$49.73
6Parsons$102,907$49.47
7Genentech$101,944$49.01
8PRO Unlimited$101,785$48.94
9Koch Industries$99,583$47.88
10JPMorgan Chase & Co.$98,475$47.34
11Brookhaven National Laboratory$98,347$47.28
12The Kraft Group$96,035$46.17
13Natera$95,972$46.14
14OMNOVA Solutions$94,049$45.22
15The Dow Chemical Company$93,536$44.97
16Editas Medicine$93,248$44.83
17Sony Electronics$93,230$44.82
18Quidel$93,151$44.78
19Biogen$92,032$44.25
20Sutro Biopharma$91,948$44.21

Wage gap by gender, race and education

$75,000$74,800$74,600$74,400$74,200$74,000
MaleFemale

Associate Scientist salary by industry

The average associate scientist salary varies across industries:

  • The average associate scientist salary in the manufacturing industry is $80,987, the highest of any industry.
  • The average associate scientist salary in the finance industry is $79,184.
  • Associate scientists in the finance industry earn an average salary of $73,779, the lowest of any industry.

Highest paying industries for associate scientists

RankIndustryAverage salaryHourly rate
1Manufacturing$80,987$38.94
2Health Care$79,184$38.07
3Pharmaceutical$77,437$37.23
4Finance$73,779$35.47

High paying associate scientist jobs

Associate Scientist salary trends

The average associate scientist salary has risen by $12,851 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average associate scientist earned $63,610 annually, but today, they earn $76,461 a year. That works out to a 14% change in pay for associate scientists over the last decade.

Compare associate scientist salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.

Average associate scientist salary over time

Compare associate scientist salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.

    Associate Scientist salary by year

    YearAvg. salaryHourly rate% Change
    2025$76,500$36.76+3.0%
    2024$74,200$35.67+4.5%
    2023$70,900$34.07+3.2%
    2022$68,600$32.98+1.9%
    2021$67,300$32.35-2.1%

    Recently added associate scientist salaries

    CompanyJobLocationDate addedSalary
    Procter & GambleAssociate Scientist-Global Product StewardshipMason, OH12/17/2024$85,000
    Mount SinaiAssociate Scientist-Hematology & Medical OncologyNew York, NY12/16/2024$58,661
    Cellares CorporationAssociate Scientist, Process DevelopmentSan Francisco, CA12/16/2024$90,000
    PfizerAssociate Scientist-Sample Logistics & SolutionsPearl River, NY12/15/2024$54,700
    PfizerAssociate Scientist, Enzymology DmpkGroton, CT12/15/2024$54,700
    AstrazenecaAssociate Scientist, Cell Therapy Process DevelopmentGaithersburg, MD12/15/2024$66,766
    ParsonsAssociate ScientistPasadena, TX12/15/2024$44,745
    ErmConsultant Associate, ScientistSeattle, WA12/15/2024$59,094
    Weston SolutionsAssociate Scientist or GeoscientistOkemos, MI12/15/2024$40,400
    BD SystemsQM Associate ScientistHuntingtown, MD12/15/2024$53,427

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