Highest-paying science jobs in Houston

Written by:
February 9, 2023
Tonhom1009 // Shutterstock

Highest-paying science jobs in Houston

Stacker compiled a list of the highest-paying science jobs in Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX 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. Social science research assistants

Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX
- Annual mean salary: $45,860
- #53 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 200

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)

#29. Food science technicians

Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX
- Annual mean salary: $47,510
- #37 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 220

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)

#28. Environmental science and protection technicians, including health

Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX
- Annual mean salary: $53,760
- #39 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 760

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)

#27. Conservation scientists

Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX
- Annual mean salary: $59,670
- #150 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 240

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)

#26. Geological technicians, except hydrologic technicians

Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX
- Annual mean salary: $61,840
- #19 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 940

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)

#25. Occupational health and safety technicians

Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX
- Annual mean salary: $62,090
- #50 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 890

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. Microbiologists

Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX
- Annual mean salary: $62,410
- #58 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 130

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)

#23. Anthropologists and archeologists

Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX
- Annual mean salary: $62,780
- #32 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: data not available

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)

#22. Forensic science technicians

Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX
- Annual mean salary: $64,310
- #36 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 500

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)

#21. Soil and plant scientists

Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX
- Annual mean salary: $68,790
- #50 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 50

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)

#20. Urban and regional planners

Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX
- Annual mean salary: $73,320
- #116 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 240

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)

#19. Chemical technicians

Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX
- Annual mean salary: $73,630
- #7 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 2,200

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)

#18. School psychologists

Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX
- Annual mean salary: $73,770
- #139 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 1,900

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)

#17. Historians

Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX
- Annual mean salary: $75,260
- #7 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)

#16. Medical scientists, except epidemiologists

Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX
- Annual mean salary: $77,440
- #114 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 3,450

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)

#15. Environmental scientists and specialists, including health

Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX
- Annual mean salary: $78,730
- #93 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 1,560

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)

#14. Occupational health and safety specialists

Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX
- Annual mean salary: $81,640
- #98 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 5,160

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)

#13. Epidemiologists

Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX
- Annual mean salary: $83,720
- #25 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 180

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)

#12. Biochemists and biophysicists

Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX
- Annual mean salary: $83,930
- #36 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 190

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)

#11. Clinical and counseling psychologists

Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX
- Annual mean salary: $85,720
- #157 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 670

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)

#10. Food scientists and technologists

Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX
- Annual mean salary: $86,280
- #34 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 150

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)

#9. Atmospheric and space scientists

Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX
- Annual mean salary: $86,310
- #43 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 150

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. Zoologists and wildlife biologists

Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX
- Annual mean salary: $89,910
- #7 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 40

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)

#7. Chemists

Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX
- Annual mean salary: $101,570
- #16 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 1,340

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)

#6. Hydrologic technicians

Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX
- Annual mean salary: $108,260
- #2 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 450

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)

#5. Economists

Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX
- Annual mean salary: $115,590
- #15 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 100

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)

#4. Materials scientists

Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX
- Annual mean salary: $117,220
- #7 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 30

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)

#3. Astronomers

Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX
- Annual mean salary: $132,810
- #4 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 40

National
- Annual mean salary: $139,410
- Employment: 1,930
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($145,820)
--- Boulder, CO ($139,090)
--- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV ($136,250)

#2. Geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographers

Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX
- Annual mean salary: $161,290
- #1 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 2,700

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. Physicists

Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX
- Annual mean salary: $188,250
- #3 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 180

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)

Trending Now