Highest-paying science jobs in Atlanta

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

Stacker compiled a list of the highest-paying science jobs in Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA 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. Forensic science technicians

Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA
- Annual mean salary: $51,880
- #67 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 490

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)

#29. Environmental science and protection technicians, including health

Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA
- Annual mean salary: $52,370
- #54 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 830

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)

#28. Chemical technicians

Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA
- Annual mean salary: $53,160
- #92 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 550

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)

#27. Anthropologists and archeologists

Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA
- Annual mean salary: $55,290
- #42 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 170

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)

#26. Food science technicians

Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA
- Annual mean salary: $59,800
- #4 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 320

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)

#25. Biochemists and biophysicists

Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA
- Annual mean salary: $60,160
- #55 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 100

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)

#24. Geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographers

Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA
- Annual mean salary: $64,430
- #109 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 280

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)

#23. Epidemiologists

Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA
- Annual mean salary: $64,440
- #46 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 260

National
- Annual mean salary: $86,740
- Employment: 8,180
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA ($145,410)
--- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA ($139,240)
--- Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY ($124,460)

#22. Forest and conservation technicians

Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA
- Annual mean salary: $68,370
- #1 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 40

National
- Annual mean salary: $43,420
- Employment: 30,440
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA ($68,370)
--- Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH ($66,570)
--- Corvallis, OR ($62,260)

#21. Food scientists and technologists

Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA
- Annual mean salary: $68,760
- #68 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 160

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)

#20. Geographers

Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA
- Annual mean salary: $69,200
- #5 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 40

National
- Annual mean salary: $86,740
- Employment: 1,440
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV ($100,570)
--- Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO ($89,690)
--- Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD ($78,050)

#19. Historians

Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA
- Annual mean salary: $69,940
- #11 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 60

National
- Annual mean salary: $72,130
- Employment: 2,910
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV ($101,240)
--- Urban Honolulu, HI ($89,840)
--- Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO ($86,780)

#18. Occupational health and safety technicians

Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA
- Annual mean salary: $70,240
- #18 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 480

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)

#17. Zoologists and wildlife biologists

Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA
- Annual mean salary: $74,290
- #34 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 60

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)

#16. Clinical and counseling psychologists

Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA
- Annual mean salary: $75,500
- #212 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 440

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)

#15. Urban and regional planners

Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA
- Annual mean salary: $77,710
- #89 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 510

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)

#14. Foresters

Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA
- Annual mean salary: $80,970
- #15 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: data not available

National
- Annual mean salary: $67,710
- Employment: 9,500
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA ($96,820)
--- Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA ($96,220)
--- Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD ($90,320)

#13. Atmospheric and space scientists

Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA
- Annual mean salary: $81,160
- #48 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 290

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)

#12. Conservation scientists

Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA
- Annual mean salary: $82,050
- #19 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 150

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)

#11. School psychologists

Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA
- Annual mean salary: $83,720
- #68 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 450

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)

#10. Environmental scientists and specialists, including health

Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA
- Annual mean salary: $83,810
- #58 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 780

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)

#9. Occupational health and safety specialists

Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA
- Annual mean salary: $84,740
- #63 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 1,020

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)

#8. Geological technicians, except hydrologic technicians

Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA
- Annual mean salary: $85,660
- #5 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 110

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)

#7. Materials scientists

Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA
- Annual mean salary: $87,790
- #27 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 100

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)

#6. Social science research assistants

Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA
- Annual mean salary: $88,730
- #1 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 650

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)

#5. Microbiologists

Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA
- Annual mean salary: $100,540
- #8 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 580

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)

#4. Chemists

Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA
- Annual mean salary: $100,680
- #21 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 730

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)

#3. Hydrologists

Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA
- Annual mean salary: $104,330
- #14 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 30

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)

#2. Medical scientists, except epidemiologists

Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA
- Annual mean salary: $105,480
- #51 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 880

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)

#1. Physicists

Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA
- Annual mean salary: $126,200
- #33 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 170

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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