Highest-paying science jobs in Seattle

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

Stacker compiled a list of the highest-paying science jobs in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA 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. Food science technicians

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
- Annual mean salary: $51,270
- #18 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 210

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)

#29. Biological technicians

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
- Annual mean salary: $56,420
- #20 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 2,750

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)

#28. Chemical technicians

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
- Annual mean salary: $56,980
- #59 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 470

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. Environmental science and protection technicians, including health

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
- Annual mean salary: $60,210
- #12 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 220

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)

#26. Food scientists and technologists

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
- Annual mean salary: $65,800
- #72 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 50

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)

#25. Soil and plant scientists

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
- Annual mean salary: $68,260
- #52 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 470

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)

#24. Survey researchers

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
- Annual mean salary: $69,170
- #11 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 250

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)

#23. Occupational health and safety technicians

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
- Annual mean salary: $73,530
- #11 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 130

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)

#22. Microbiologists

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
- Annual mean salary: $75,600
- #34 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 360

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)

#21. Anthropologists and archeologists

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
- Annual mean salary: $78,070
- #8 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)

#20. Forensic science technicians

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
- Annual mean salary: $78,950
- #16 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 190

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)

#19. Conservation scientists

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
- Annual mean salary: $83,860
- #15 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 270

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)

#18. Zoologists and wildlife biologists

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
- Annual mean salary: $87,840
- #8 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 830

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)

#17. Chemists

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
- Annual mean salary: $90,160
- #49 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 550

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)

#16. Environmental scientists and specialists, including health

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
- Annual mean salary: $93,280
- #15 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 1,830

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)

#15. Biochemists and biophysicists

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
- Annual mean salary: $93,290
- #30 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 240

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)

#14. Foresters

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
- Annual mean salary: $96,220
- #2 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 80

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. Occupational health and safety specialists

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
- Annual mean salary: $96,760
- #5 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 1,560

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)

#12. School psychologists

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
- Annual mean salary: $99,600
- #21 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)

#11. Urban and regional planners

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
- Annual mean salary: $100,120
- #11 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 1,100

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)

#10. Geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographers

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
- Annual mean salary: $101,410
- #29 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 430

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)

#9. Atmospheric and space scientists

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
- Annual mean salary: $101,970
- #21 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 60

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. Clinical and counseling psychologists

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
- Annual mean salary: $108,660
- #54 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 580

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)

#7. Medical scientists, except epidemiologists

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
- Annual mean salary: $110,580
- #33 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 4,270

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)

#6. Political scientists

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
- Annual mean salary: $112,880
- #4 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 170

National
- Annual mean salary: $120,430
- Employment: 5,650
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD ($151,830)
--- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV ($129,130)
--- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA ($121,250)

#5. Hydrologists

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
- Annual mean salary: $114,320
- #7 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 100

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)

#4. Materials scientists

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
- Annual mean salary: $114,650
- #9 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 160

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. Economists

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
- Annual mean salary: $118,260
- #12 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 210

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. Physicists

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
- Annual mean salary: $133,930
- #30 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 200

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)

#1. Epidemiologists

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
- Annual mean salary: $145,410
- #1 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 400

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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