Highest-paying science jobs in Santa Cruz

Written by:
February 9, 2023
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Highest-paying science jobs in Santa Cruz

Stacker compiled a list of the highest-paying science jobs in Santa Cruz-Watsonville, 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.

#15. Chemical technicians

Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA
- Annual mean salary: $49,130
- #169 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 50

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)

#14. Environmental science and protection technicians, including health

Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA
- Annual mean salary: $53,330
- #45 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 60

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)

#13. Biological technicians

Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA
- Annual mean salary: $54,350
- #28 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 50

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)

#12. Social science research assistants

Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA
- Annual mean salary: $58,150
- #13 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 160

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)

#11. Anthropologists and archeologists

Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA
- Annual mean salary: $79,310
- #7 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 40

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)

#10. Chemists

Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA
- Annual mean salary: $82,990
- #86 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 40

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)

#9. Environmental scientists and specialists, including health

Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA
- Annual mean salary: $87,790
- #37 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 90

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)

#8. Occupational health and safety specialists

Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA
- Annual mean salary: $90,530
- #21 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 40

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)

#7. Conservation scientists

Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA
- Annual mean salary: $91,000
- #7 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 30

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)

#6. School psychologists

Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA
- Annual mean salary: $95,160
- #31 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 50

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)

#5. Clinical and counseling psychologists

Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA
- Annual mean salary: $101,310
- #79 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 60

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)

#4. Urban and regional planners

Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA
- Annual mean salary: $103,400
- #7 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 70

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)

#3. Biochemists and biophysicists

Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA
- Annual mean salary: $103,880
- #21 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 40

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)

#2. Geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographers

Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA
- Annual mean salary: $104,700
- #26 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 60

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)

#1. Medical scientists, except epidemiologists

Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA
- Annual mean salary: $109,360
- #37 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 70

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)

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