Highest-paying science jobs in San Diego

Written by:
February 9, 2023
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Highest-paying science jobs in San Diego

Stacker compiled a list of the highest-paying science jobs in San Diego-Carlsbad, CA metro area using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Jobs are ranked by 2021 annual mean wage. Jobs the BLS lists as "life, physical, and social science occupations" were included.

#30. Environmental science and protection technicians, including health

San Diego-Carlsbad, CA
- Annual mean salary: $49,040
- #81 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 650

National
- Annual mean salary: $50,550
- Employment: 34,110
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Kennewick-Richland, WA ($79,780)
--- Huntsville, AL ($78,320)
--- Birmingham-Hoover, AL ($76,970)

#29. Chemical technicians

San Diego-Carlsbad, CA
- Annual mean salary: $49,970
- #152 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 1,210

National
- Annual mean salary: $55,040
- Employment: 57,690
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Billings, MT ($86,340)
--- Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV ($78,000)
--- Baton Rouge, LA ($77,020)

#28. Food science technicians

San Diego-Carlsbad, CA
- Annual mean salary: $51,120
- #20 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 110

National
- Annual mean salary: $47,870
- Employment: 11,530
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- St. Louis, MO-IL ($66,580)
--- Owensboro, KY ($63,700)
--- Columbus, OH ($61,420)

#27. Agricultural technicians

San Diego-Carlsbad, CA
- Annual mean salary: $51,370
- #19 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: data not available

National
- Annual mean salary: $44,850
- Employment: 13,560
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH ($59,300)
--- Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI ($58,050)
--- Corvallis, OR ($57,990)

#26. Biological technicians

San Diego-Carlsbad, CA
- Annual mean salary: $53,560
- #31 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 1,790

National
- Annual mean salary: $51,770
- Employment: 76,150
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX ($69,050)
--- Boulder, CO ($68,640)
--- Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA ($65,940)

#25. Occupational health and safety technicians

San Diego-Carlsbad, CA
- Annual mean salary: $53,990
- #78 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 360

National
- Annual mean salary: $57,560
- Employment: 21,750
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Evansville, IN-KY ($77,880)
--- Anchorage, AK ($77,690)
--- Oklahoma City, OK ($77,100)

#24. Social science research assistants

San Diego-Carlsbad, CA
- Annual mean salary: $57,100
- #16 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 1,540

National
- Annual mean salary: $56,430
- Employment: 28,690
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA ($88,730)
--- Columbia, SC ($77,760)
--- Springfield, MA-CT ($70,570)

#23. Survey researchers

San Diego-Carlsbad, CA
- Annual mean salary: $61,870
- #17 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 130

National
- Annual mean salary: $64,690
- Employment: 8,850
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV ($90,860)
--- Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ ($88,580)
--- Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY ($86,230)

#22. Geological technicians, except hydrologic technicians

San Diego-Carlsbad, CA
- Annual mean salary: $68,850
- #10 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 80

National
- Annual mean salary: $59,080
- Employment: 9,210
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Tulsa, OK ($89,210)
--- Anchorage, AK ($88,050)
--- Baton Rouge, LA ($86,860)

#21. Anthropologists and archeologists

San Diego-Carlsbad, CA
- Annual mean salary: $70,700
- #16 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 190

National
- Annual mean salary: $66,800
- Employment: 6,650
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Anchorage, AK ($85,120)
--- Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA ($84,300)
--- Urban Honolulu, HI ($81,990)

#20. Food scientists and technologists

San Diego-Carlsbad, CA
- Annual mean salary: $77,400
- #55 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 60

National
- Annual mean salary: $84,150
- Employment: 13,510
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Kansas City, MO-KS ($138,600)
--- San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($103,970)
--- Wichita, KS ($102,100)

#19. Chemists

San Diego-Carlsbad, CA
- Annual mean salary: $81,650
- #92 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 1,310

National
- Annual mean salary: $89,130
- Employment: 80,600
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV ($131,290)
--- Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT ($115,790)
--- Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH ($108,330)

#18. Conservation scientists

San Diego-Carlsbad, CA
- Annual mean salary: $83,120
- #16 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 80

National
- Annual mean salary: $68,230
- Employment: 22,550
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Springfield, MA-CT ($108,670)
--- Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI ($106,200)
--- Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV ($101,900)

#17. Forensic science technicians

San Diego-Carlsbad, CA
- Annual mean salary: $86,150
- #9 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 200

National
- Annual mean salary: $66,850
- Employment: 17,020
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($106,600)
--- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA ($96,980)
--- San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($96,410)

#16. Occupational health and safety specialists

San Diego-Carlsbad, CA
- Annual mean salary: $86,220
- #48 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 1,090

National
- Annual mean salary: $78,740
- Employment: 106,340
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Kennewick-Richland, WA ($111,950)
--- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($108,240)
--- San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($108,020)

#15. Zoologists and wildlife biologists

San Diego-Carlsbad, CA
- Annual mean salary: $90,000
- #6 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 120

National
- Annual mean salary: $70,300
- Employment: 15,930
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Barnstable Town, MA ($109,570)
--- Gulfport-Biloxi-Pascagoula, MS ($106,800)
--- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV ($100,350)

#14. Environmental scientists and specialists, including health

San Diego-Carlsbad, CA
- Annual mean salary: $90,210
- #25 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 1,120

National
- Annual mean salary: $81,240
- Employment: 76,890
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Idaho Falls, ID ($116,630)
--- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($109,190)
--- San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($107,710)

#13. Microbiologists

San Diego-Carlsbad, CA
- Annual mean salary: $90,460
- #13 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 400

National
- Annual mean salary: $87,820
- Employment: 19,430
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Knoxville, TN ($125,380)
--- Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH ($121,530)
--- San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($115,340)

#12. Urban and regional planners

San Diego-Carlsbad, CA
- Annual mean salary: $92,520
- #21 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 800

National
- Annual mean salary: $81,310
- Employment: 38,940
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Boulder, CO ($119,680)
--- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($112,760)
--- San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($112,740)

#11. Soil and plant scientists

San Diego-Carlsbad, CA
- Annual mean salary: $94,770
- #11 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 160

National
- Annual mean salary: $76,290
- Employment: 15,610
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Durham-Chapel Hill, NC ($111,450)
--- Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX ($109,490)
--- Raleigh, NC ($109,320)

#10. School psychologists

San Diego-Carlsbad, CA
- Annual mean salary: $97,320
- #26 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 700

National
- Annual mean salary: $82,770
- Employment: 57,110
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Boulder, CO ($116,280)
--- El Centro, CA ($116,010)
--- Fresno, CA ($115,360)

#9. Atmospheric and space scientists

San Diego-Carlsbad, CA
- Annual mean salary: $105,630
- #14 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 50

National
- Annual mean salary: $96,880
- Employment: 8,520
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($118,860)
--- Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH ($118,420)
--- Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA ($114,860)

#8. Biochemists and biophysicists

San Diego-Carlsbad, CA
- Annual mean salary: $109,320
- #14 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 2,230

National
- Annual mean salary: $113,460
- Employment: 35,050
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH ($135,070)
--- Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA ($133,520)
--- Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO ($133,390)

#7. Hydrologists

San Diego-Carlsbad, CA
- Annual mean salary: $109,820
- #9 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 80

National
- Annual mean salary: $94,780
- Employment: 6,390
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA ($148,150)
--- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV ($136,920)
--- San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($125,470)

#6. Materials scientists

San Diego-Carlsbad, CA
- Annual mean salary: $110,250
- #11 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 70

National
- Annual mean salary: $104,790
- Employment: 6,690
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD ($142,410)
--- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($135,480)
--- Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH ($133,380)

#5. Geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographers

San Diego-Carlsbad, CA
- Annual mean salary: $111,860
- #20 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 300

National
- Annual mean salary: $103,550
- Employment: 23,620
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX ($161,290)
--- Corpus Christi, TX ($156,870)
--- Midland, TX ($156,270)

#4. Medical scientists, except epidemiologists

San Diego-Carlsbad, CA
- Annual mean salary: $115,420
- #25 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 3,110

National
- Annual mean salary: $104,050
- Employment: 108,550
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Memphis, TN-MS-AR ($176,770)
--- Columbia, SC ($155,570)
--- Danbury, CT ($151,970)

#3. Economists

San Diego-Carlsbad, CA
- Annual mean salary: $122,220
- #8 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 120

National
- Annual mean salary: $120,830
- Employment: 15,640
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA ($162,870)
--- San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($161,320)
--- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($156,360)

#2. Clinical and counseling psychologists

San Diego-Carlsbad, CA
- Annual mean salary: $136,630
- #2 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 1,050

National
- Annual mean salary: $99,640
- Employment: 58,100
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- San Diego-Carlsbad, CA ($136,630)
--- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($134,200)
--- Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA ($133,060)

#1. Physicists

San Diego-Carlsbad, CA
- Annual mean salary: $144,120
- #20 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 140

National
- Annual mean salary: $151,580
- Employment: 20,020
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD ($199,830)
--- Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ ($195,300)
--- Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX ($188,250)

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