Highest-paying science jobs in Denver

Stacker compiled a list of the highest-paying science jobs in Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO 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.

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#30. Chemical technicians

Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO
- Annual mean salary: $57,550
- #53 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 700

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)

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#29. Environmental science and protection technicians, including health

Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO
- Annual mean salary: $57,880
- #18 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 290

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)

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#28. Social science research assistants

Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO
- Annual mean salary: $58,910
- #10 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 270

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)

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#27. Hydrologic technicians

Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO
- Annual mean salary: $60,970
- #8 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 40

National
- Annual mean salary: $71,760
- Employment: 3,550
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Baton Rouge, LA ($126,900)
--- Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX ($108,260)
--- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA ($86,310)

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#26. Survey researchers

Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO
- Annual mean salary: $61,850
- #18 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)

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#25. Soil and plant scientists

Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO
- Annual mean salary: $66,130
- #61 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 110

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)

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#24. Anthropologists and archeologists

Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO
- Annual mean salary: $66,490
- #27 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 90

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)

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#23. Conservation scientists

Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO
- Annual mean salary: $71,230
- #69 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 310

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)

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#22. Epidemiologists

Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO
- Annual mean salary: $71,450
- #34 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 370

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)

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#21. Zoologists and wildlife biologists

Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO
- Annual mean salary: $72,900
- #39 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)

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#20. Forensic science technicians

Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO
- Annual mean salary: $74,940
- #20 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 280

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)

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#19. Occupational health and safety technicians

Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO
- Annual mean salary: $75,800
- #8 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 300

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)

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#18. Microbiologists

Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO
- Annual mean salary: $76,110
- #31 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 240

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)

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#17. Geological technicians, except hydrologic technicians

Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO
- Annual mean salary: $76,130
- #6 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 360

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)

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#16. Urban and regional planners

Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO
- Annual mean salary: $84,660
- #50 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 610

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)

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#15. Medical scientists, except epidemiologists

Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO
- Annual mean salary: $85,140
- #94 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 1,210

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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#14. Historians

Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO
- Annual mean salary: $86,780
- #3 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: data not available

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)

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#13. Atmospheric and space scientists

Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO
- Annual mean salary: $86,860
- #42 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 100

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)

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#12. Geographers

Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO
- Annual mean salary: $89,690
- #2 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 70

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)

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#11. Environmental scientists and specialists, including health

Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO
- Annual mean salary: $92,720
- #17 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 1,280

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)

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#10. Clinical and counseling psychologists

Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO
- Annual mean salary: $94,760
- #107 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 370

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)

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#9. Chemists

Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO
- Annual mean salary: $95,870
- #35 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 1,250

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)

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#8. Food scientists and technologists

Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO
- Annual mean salary: $96,460
- #13 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: data not available

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)

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#7. Occupational health and safety specialists

Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO
- Annual mean salary: $96,560
- #6 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 1,670

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)

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#6. School psychologists

Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO
- Annual mean salary: $105,450
- #9 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 650

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)

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#5. Economists

Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO
- Annual mean salary: $106,780
- #27 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 160

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)

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#4. Hydrologists

Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO
- Annual mean salary: $107,950
- #11 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 250

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)

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#3. Geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographers

Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO
- Annual mean salary: $109,910
- #21 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 1,500

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)

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#2. Biochemists and biophysicists

Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO
- Annual mean salary: $133,390
- #3 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 400

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)

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#1. Physicists

Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO
- Annual mean salary: $137,640
- #27 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: data not available

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)