Research Summary. After extensive research by the Zippia data science team, we identified these details of research assistant salary by state for the United States:
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New Jersey has the highest research assistant salary of $58,492
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Wyoming has the lowest research assistant salary of $26,498
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The national average salary for research assistants is $42,896
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The national hourly pay for research assistants is $20.62
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 assistants 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 assistant 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 assistants after this adjustment? That would be New Jersey.
Here’s a quick snapshot of the top ten states for research assistant salaries:
Let’s take a look at how we got here and a full ranking of all the states.
Highest-Paid Research Assistants By State
| Rank | State | Average Research Assistant Salary | 10th Percentile | 90th Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Jersey | $58,492 | $37,000 | $90,000 |
| 2 | Alaska | $54,653 | $38,000 | $77,000 |
| 3 | Massachusetts | $53,102 | $35,000 | $80,000 |
| 4 | Vermont | $50,955 | $34,000 | $76,000 |
| 5 | Connecticut | $50,484 | $32,000 | $77,000 |
| 6 | California | $50,227 | $32,000 | $78,000 |
| 7 | Illinois | $49,989 | $32,000 | $76,000 |
| 8 | Delaware | $47,925 | $30,000 | $74,000 |
| 9 | New York | $45,645 | $29,000 | $70,000 |
| 10 | Virginia | $45,277 | $28,000 | $71,000 |
| 11 | Rhode Island | $44,240 | $29,000 | $67,000 |
| 12 | Pennsylvania | $43,364 | $27,000 | $67,000 |
| 13 | Idaho | $42,781 | $28,000 | $64,000 |
| 14 | New Hampshire | $42,775 | $28,000 | $64,000 |
| 15 | Georgia | $42,700 | $28,000 | $63,000 |
| 16 | Oregon | $42,603 | $27,000 | $65,000 |
| 17 | North Carolina | $42,580 | $27,000 | $65,000 |
| 18 | Louisiana | $41,838 | $28,000 | $62,000 |
| 19 | Michigan | $41,084 | $26,000 | $63,000 |
| 20 | Nevada | $41,054 | $26,000 | $63,000 |
| 21 | Maryland | $40,887 | $26,000 | $64,000 |
| 22 | Florida | $40,693 | $27,000 | $60,000 |
| 23 | West Virginia | $40,229 | $25,000 | $62,000 |
| 24 | North Dakota | $39,842 | $26,000 | $59,000 |
| 25 | Minnesota | $39,190 | $26,000 | $58,000 |
| 26 | Mississippi | $38,986 | $26,000 | $58,000 |
| 27 | Ohio | $38,763 | $25,000 | $59,000 |
| 28 | Maine | $38,630 | $26,000 | $57,000 |
| 29 | Arkansas | $38,441 | $25,000 | $57,000 |
| 30 | Wisconsin | $38,382 | $25,000 | $58,000 |
| 31 | Missouri | $38,237 | $25,000 | $57,000 |
| 32 | Washington | $38,201 | $25,000 | $58,000 |
| 33 | Kentucky | $37,988 | $24,000 | $57,000 |
| 34 | Colorado | $37,821 | $25,000 | $55,000 |
| 35 | South Carolina | $37,322 | $24,000 | $56,000 |
| 36 | Indiana | $36,880 | $24,000 | $56,000 |
| 37 | Arizona | $36,746 | $23,000 | $56,000 |
| 38 | New Mexico | $36,551 | $24,000 | $54,000 |
| 39 | Hawaii | $35,556 | $25,000 | $49,000 |
| 40 | Nebraska | $35,166 | $23,000 | $52,000 |
| 41 | Iowa | $33,835 | $22,000 | $50,000 |
| 42 | Kansas | $33,633 | $22,000 | $49,000 |
| 43 | South Dakota | $32,610 | $21,000 | $48,000 |
| 44 | Tennessee | $32,453 | $21,000 | $48,000 |
| 45 | Utah | $32,414 | $21,000 | $48,000 |
| 46 | Oklahoma | $32,201 | $21,000 | $47,000 |
| 47 | Texas | $31,634 | $20,000 | $47,000 |
| 48 | Alabama | $30,884 | $20,000 | $46,000 |
| 49 | Montana | $30,209 | $20,000 | $44,000 |
| 50 | Wyoming | $26,498 | $18,000 | $38,000 |
Methodology: Research Assistant Salary By State
To better understand research assistant 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 assistants by state.
We took the average annual salary data for research assistants from these estimates and ranked every state on this criteria with the state with the highest salary ranking as highest average salary for research assistants.
Research Assistant Salary By State FAQs
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What is the highest-paid state for research assistants?
The highest-paid state for research assistants is New Jersey with an average salary of $58,492 per year.
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What city pays research assistants the most?
New Brunswick, NJ pays research assistants the most with an average salary of $58,524 per year.
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What is the worst state for research assistants?
The worst state for research assistants is Wyoming with an average salary of $26,498 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.
