Research Summary. After extensive research by the Zippia data science team, we identified these details of research associate salary by state for the United States:
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Massachusetts has the highest research associate salary of $71,991
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Oklahoma has the lowest research associate salary of $40,614
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The national average salary for research associates is $60,166
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The national hourly pay for research associates is $28.93
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 associates 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 associate 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 associates after this adjustment? That would be Massachusetts.
Here’s a quick snapshot of the top ten states for research associate salaries:
Let’s take a look at how we got here and a full ranking of all the states.
Highest-Paid Research Associates By State
| Rank | State | Average Research Associate Salary | 10th Percentile | 90th Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Massachusetts | $71,991 | $50,000 | $102,000 |
| 2 | New Jersey | $69,731 | $47,000 | $101,000 |
| 3 | Connecticut | $68,933 | $47,000 | $99,000 |
| 4 | Delaware | $65,974 | $45,000 | $96,000 |
| 5 | Alaska | $64,145 | $53,000 | $77,000 |
| 6 | New Mexico | $63,145 | $42,000 | $93,000 |
| 7 | Georgia | $61,926 | $42,000 | $90,000 |
| 8 | Illinois | $61,086 | $41,000 | $90,000 |
| 9 | California | $60,536 | $39,000 | $93,000 |
| 10 | New York | $60,060 | $41,000 | $87,000 |
| 11 | Oregon | $59,457 | $39,000 | $89,000 |
| 12 | Rhode Island | $58,703 | $40,000 | $84,000 |
| 13 | North Carolina | $57,606 | $39,000 | $84,000 |
| 14 | Maryland | $57,545 | $39,000 | $84,000 |
| 15 | South Carolina | $57,255 | $39,000 | $83,000 |
| 16 | New Hampshire | $56,675 | $39,000 | $80,000 |
| 17 | Pennsylvania | $56,461 | $38,000 | $82,000 |
| 18 | Hawaii | $56,419 | $32,000 | $97,000 |
| 19 | Idaho | $56,334 | $38,000 | $81,000 |
| 20 | Minnesota | $56,190 | $37,000 | $83,000 |
| 21 | Florida | $55,934 | $38,000 | $80,000 |
| 22 | Kentucky | $55,230 | $37,000 | $81,000 |
| 23 | West Virginia | $54,910 | $37,000 | $81,000 |
| 24 | Washington | $53,804 | $36,000 | $80,000 |
| 25 | Virginia | $53,766 | $36,000 | $78,000 |
| 26 | Louisiana | $52,632 | $35,000 | $77,000 |
| 27 | Arizona | $52,510 | $34,000 | $79,000 |
| 28 | Maine | $52,248 | $37,000 | $73,000 |
| 29 | Colorado | $52,194 | $36,000 | $75,000 |
| 30 | Nevada | $52,002 | $34,000 | $78,000 |
| 31 | Ohio | $50,974 | $34,000 | $75,000 |
| 32 | Indiana | $50,850 | $34,000 | $75,000 |
| 33 | Michigan | $50,397 | $33,000 | $74,000 |
| 34 | Missouri | $50,372 | $34,000 | $73,000 |
| 35 | Wisconsin | $49,889 | $33,000 | $74,000 |
| 36 | Arkansas | $49,777 | $34,000 | $72,000 |
| 37 | Utah | $48,658 | $33,000 | $70,000 |
| 38 | Vermont | $48,512 | $34,000 | $68,000 |
| 39 | Mississippi | $48,021 | $32,000 | $70,000 |
| 40 | North Dakota | $47,755 | $32,000 | $69,000 |
| 41 | Nebraska | $47,067 | $32,000 | $68,000 |
| 42 | Wyoming | $46,504 | $32,000 | $66,000 |
| 43 | Tennessee | $46,488 | $31,000 | $68,000 |
| 44 | Kansas | $45,420 | $31,000 | $66,000 |
| 45 | South Dakota | $43,355 | $29,000 | $63,000 |
| 46 | Iowa | $43,022 | $29,000 | $63,000 |
| 47 | Texas | $41,885 | $28,000 | $62,000 |
| 48 | Alabama | $41,883 | $28,000 | $61,000 |
| 49 | Montana | $41,781 | $29,000 | $59,000 |
| 50 | Oklahoma | $40,614 | $27,000 | $59,000 |
Methodology: Research Associate Salary By State
To better understand research associate 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 associates by state.
We took the average annual salary data for research associates from these estimates and ranked every state on this criteria with the state with the highest salary ranking as highest average salary for research associates.
Research Associate Salary By State FAQs
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What is the highest-paid state for research associates?
The highest-paid state for research associates is Massachusetts with an average salary of $71,991 per year.
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What city pays research associates the most?
Worcester, MA pays research associates the most with an average salary of $72,205 per year.
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What is the worst state for research associates?
The worst state for research associates is Oklahoma with an average salary of $40,614 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.
