Research Summary. After extensive research by the Zippia data science team, we identified these details of research and development internship salary by state for the United States:
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Pennsylvania has the highest research and development internship salary of $46,596
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North Carolina has the lowest research and development internship salary of $30,205
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The national average salary for research and development interns is $38,489
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The national hourly pay for research and development interns is $18.5
You can read more on the specific methodology.
Background
Without fail, in surveys across basically every demographic, the number one most important aspect of a job for most people is the salary — how much do research and development interns get paid where I live?
And while there are many things to go into how much you, specifically, can expect to make, there’s really good data for average salaries for research and development internship by state across America broken down by seniority level. So while your city may be slightly different than the state average, these averages give you a rough sense of what to expect for your salary.
The state with the best salary for research and development interns after this adjustment? That would be Pennsylvania.
Here’s a quick snapshot of the top ten states for research and development internship salaries:
Let’s take a look at how we got here and a full ranking of all the states.
Highest-Paid Research And Development Interns By State
| Rank | State | Average Research And Development Internship Salary | 10th Percentile | 90th Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pennsylvania | $46,596 | $37,000 | $57,000 |
| 2 | Maine | $45,330 | $38,000 | $52,000 |
| 3 | North Dakota | $44,216 | $37,000 | $52,000 |
| 4 | New Hampshire | $42,489 | $35,000 | $50,000 |
| 5 | Virginia | $41,545 | $32,000 | $52,000 |
| 6 | Arizona | $41,333 | $33,000 | $51,000 |
| 7 | South Dakota | $40,957 | $33,000 | $49,000 |
| 8 | Oregon | $40,807 | $33,000 | $50,000 |
| 9 | Alaska | $40,573 | $36,000 | $45,000 |
| 10 | Vermont | $39,927 | $34,000 | $46,000 |
| 11 | Colorado | $39,835 | $32,000 | $48,000 |
| 12 | Nevada | $39,615 | $31,000 | $49,000 |
| 13 | New Jersey | $39,593 | $32,000 | $48,000 |
| 14 | Minnesota | $39,398 | $32,000 | $47,000 |
| 15 | New Mexico | $39,167 | $31,000 | $48,000 |
| 16 | Rhode Island | $39,134 | $32,000 | $47,000 |
| 17 | Washington | $39,089 | $32,000 | $47,000 |
| 18 | Connecticut | $38,862 | $31,000 | $47,000 |
| 19 | Indiana | $38,607 | $31,000 | $47,000 |
| 20 | Idaho | $38,546 | $31,000 | $47,000 |
| 21 | Texas | $38,348 | $30,000 | $48,000 |
| 22 | Hawaii | $38,107 | $33,000 | $43,000 |
| 23 | Illinois | $37,978 | $30,000 | $46,000 |
| 24 | Missouri | $37,933 | $30,000 | $46,000 |
| 25 | Michigan | $37,133 | $30,000 | $45,000 |
| 26 | California | $36,511 | $29,000 | $45,000 |
| 27 | Montana | $36,456 | $30,000 | $43,000 |
| 28 | Ohio | $36,298 | $29,000 | $44,000 |
| 29 | Iowa | $36,085 | $29,000 | $44,000 |
| 30 | New York | $36,017 | $29,000 | $44,000 |
| 31 | Maryland | $35,940 | $28,000 | $45,000 |
| 32 | Massachusetts | $35,913 | $29,000 | $43,000 |
| 33 | Wyoming | $35,666 | $29,000 | $43,000 |
| 34 | Kansas | $35,534 | $28,000 | $43,000 |
| 35 | Kentucky | $35,447 | $28,000 | $44,000 |
| 36 | Delaware | $35,332 | $28,000 | $43,000 |
| 37 | Wisconsin | $35,317 | $28,000 | $43,000 |
| 38 | Utah | $35,037 | $28,000 | $43,000 |
| 39 | Georgia | $34,995 | $27,000 | $44,000 |
| 40 | Nebraska | $34,537 | $28,000 | $42,000 |
| 41 | West Virginia | $33,936 | $26,000 | $42,000 |
| 42 | Louisiana | $33,896 | $26,000 | $43,000 |
| 43 | Arkansas | $33,682 | $26,000 | $42,000 |
| 44 | Oklahoma | $33,274 | $26,000 | $41,000 |
| 45 | Mississippi | $32,801 | $25,000 | $41,000 |
| 46 | Alabama | $32,458 | $25,000 | $41,000 |
| 47 | Florida | $31,996 | $24,000 | $41,000 |
| 48 | Tennessee | $30,745 | $24,000 | $38,000 |
| 49 | South Carolina | $30,540 | $23,000 | $39,000 |
| 50 | North Carolina | $30,205 | $23,000 | $38,000 |
Methodology: Research And Development Internship Salary By State
To better understand research and development internship pay by state, Zippia has aggregated data across a multitude of channels including the BLS, FLC, and OPM. We then supplement that data with actual listed salaries from job posts. Finally, the data science team calculates a weighted average of these inputs to create an average pay for research and development interns by state.
We took the average annual salary data for research and development interns from these estimates and ranked every state on this criteria with the state with the highest salary ranking as highest average salary for research and development interns.
Research And Development Internship Salary By State FAQs
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What is the highest-paid state for research and development interns?
The highest-paid state for research and development interns is Pennsylvania with an average salary of $46,596 per year.
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What city pays research and development interns the most?
Easton, PA pays research and development interns the most with an average salary of $46,624 per year.
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What is the worst state for research and development interns?
The worst state for research and development interns is North Carolina with an average salary of $30,205 per year.
Author
Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.
