How much does someone with a Ph.D. in biostatistics make?

Question

Zippia Team · Accepted Answer

Someone with a Ph.D. in biostatistics makes between $65,000 and $130,000 a year. The average Ph.D. in biostatistics averages $103,009 a year. This amount is significantly higher than the national average for biostatisticians at $87,000 a year. Factors such as location and industry impact just how much a biostatistician with a Ph.D. can earn.

Top paying states for biostatisticians with Ph.D. degrees:

California averages $111,000 a year
New York averages $125,000 a year
New Jersey averages $111,410 a year
Washington D.C. averages $125,000 a year
Illinois averages $116,000 a year

Lowest paying states for biostatisticians with Ph.D. degrees:

Hawaii averages $66,000 a year
Maine averages $90,000 a year
Louisiana averages $88,000 a year
Nebraska averages $76,000 a year

At the end of the day, a Ph.D. is a tremendous amount of work and will likely slow your ability to build wealth as a biostatistician by around $30 to 40k for the additional three to four years it takes to complete it.

You should only do a Ph.D. if you are interested enough in the material and love the work enough to justify the (considerable) cost in time and delayed earning potential that comes with it.

At the end of the day, the boost to your income in the industry that comes with the doctorate is probably less than or equal to the natural increase in earning potential you'd accrue if you spend that time actually working and building up a portfolio and experience.