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Job outlook for biochemists in the United States
Biochemist job growth summary. After extensive research, interviews, and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
The projected biochemist job growth rate is 15% from 2018-2028.
About 5,700 new jobs for biochemists are projected over the next decade.
Biochemist salaries have increased 15% for biochemists in the last 5 years.
There are over 30,366 biochemists currently employed in the United States.
There are 16,016 active biochemist job openings in the US.
The average biochemist salary is $72,910.
Are biochemist jobs in demand?
Biochemist job and salary trends over time
Biochemist jobs over time
Biochemist job growth rate over time
| Year | # of jobs | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 30,366 | 0.01% |
| 2020 | 27,732 | 0.01% |
| 2019 | 27,169 | 0.01% |
| 2018 | 24,691 | 0.01% |
| 2017 | 23,721 | 0.01% |
Average biochemist salary over time
Biochemist salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $72,910 | $35.05 | --0.2% |
| 2024 | $73,080 | $35.13 | +1.3% |
| 2023 | $72,145 | $34.68 | +2.3% |
| 2022 | $70,528 | $33.91 | +11.0% |
| 2021 | $63,560 | $30.56 | +0.0% |
Biochemist jobs by state
Most common states for biochemists
| Rank | State | Population | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Massachusetts | 6,859,819 | 1,208 | 18% |
| 2 | District of Columbia | 693,972 | 68 | 10% |
| 3 | Washington | 7,405,743 | 591 | 8% |
| 4 | Maryland | 6,052,177 | 482 | 8% |
| 5 | Delaware | 961,939 | 63 | 7% |
| 6 | California | 39,536,653 | 2,439 | 6% |
| 7 | New Jersey | 9,005,644 | 559 | 6% |
| 8 | Pennsylvania | 12,805,537 | 582 | 5% |
| 9 | New York | 19,849,399 | 811 | 4% |
| 10 | Missouri | 6,113,532 | 241 | 4% |
| 11 | Wisconsin | 5,795,483 | 236 | 4% |
| 12 | Oregon | 4,142,776 | 184 | 4% |
| 13 | Connecticut | 3,588,184 | 148 | 4% |
| 14 | Iowa | 3,145,711 | 121 | 4% |
| 15 | New Hampshire | 1,342,795 | 60 | 4% |
| 16 | Rhode Island | 1,059,639 | 38 | 4% |
| 17 | Indiana | 6,666,818 | 224 | 3% |
| 18 | Minnesota | 5,576,606 | 187 | 3% |
| 19 | North Dakota | 755,393 | 24 | 3% |
| 20 | Vermont | 623,657 | 17 | 3% |
Most common cities for biochemists
| Rank | City | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl | Avg. salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Walpole | 2 | 8% | $82,281 |
| 2 | Gaithersburg | 2 | 3% | $77,806 |
| 3 | Lancaster | 2 | 3% | $70,053 |
| 4 | Cambridge | 2 | 2% | $82,327 |
| 5 | Bridgewater | 1 | 2% | $83,460 |
| 6 | Jupiter | 1 | 2% | $52,708 |
| 7 | Mishawaka | 1 | 2% | $68,215 |
| 8 | Indianapolis | 6 | 1% | $66,946 |
| 9 | San Diego | 2 | 0% | $82,673 |
| 10 | Oakland | 1 | 0% | $96,506 |
| 11 | Saint Louis | 1 | 0% | $55,882 |
Biochemist job outlook: Expert opinions
Our panel of biochemist experts
Earlham College
Northeastern State University
Washburn University of Topeka
Utah State University
Pepperdine University
University of Hawaii at Manoa
University of Dallas
University of San Diego
Georgetown University
University of the Pacific
Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Northern Kentucky University
What will help Biochemists increase their earning potential?
Christopher Vitek Ph.D.: I love being a population biologist because it allows me to work with a lot of other people and help public health offices learn how to control vector-borne diseases. The work is interesting and has an end result that can provide some use to the public. One thing that people may not like is that population biology often uses a lot of math and mathematical modeling to help predict growth and distribution patterns. You don’t need to be an expert, but you should be comfortable with math.
What Biochemist skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Dr. Taufika Williams PhD: Wet-laboratory skills will always be important, however, data interrogation is a key space of growth, as biotechnology research is being driven by big data. Seek education in scientific writing, computer programming, delivering scientific presentations, statistics and the analysis of large datasets.
What general advice would you give to a Biochemist?
John Richardson: Skills? Well, both hard and soft... Obviously, you will need to have the basic lab and knowledge skills that would be expected of a competent chemistry graduate. Yes, your new employer will spend time training you in the specific skills that pertain to your new job, but basic knowledge and skill sets (e.g., pipetting, calculating dilution factors, having baseline knowledge of common instrumentation) will be expected. As for soft skills, be friendly, cooperative, and curious. Extend these character traits to both your peers and supervisors. Other useful skills that my former students mention would be having some basic knowledge of business and perhaps coding.
What Biochemist skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Frank David MD, PhD: My main piece of advice is to network. Do tons of informational interviews with folks and then follow up to see if there are possible opportunities or other connections that folks can help you make. Many biotech and pharma positions go to folks with 'inside tracks' because they are recommended by current employees or already know the hiring manager. Also: be flexible about the type of role whenever possible. For example, if you’re looking at an entry-level lab-based job, don’t get hung up on the specific disease area. Or if you’re interested in regulatory science, cast a broad net and also explore roles in program management and medical writing, which involve similar activities and required skills. Finally: it’s great to look for opportunities at biotech and pharma firms, but don’t forget about contract research organizations, consultancies, and other vendors that serve drug companies. Those types of organizations are often more willing to train folks who are coming straight out of school, and those positions are great stepping stones to eventually move 'to the client side' (into drug companies) as experienced hires.
Mr. Brian Zimmerman III
Assistant Vice President of Strategic CommunicationsEarlham College
Drama/Theatre Arts And Stagecraft
What will help Biochemists increase their earning potential?
Mr. Brian Zimmerman III: In my specific subdiscipline of molecular biology and biochemistry, new graduates tend to pursue jobs in the "wet" or "bench" laboratory. Every lab, whether in a government setting, industry setting, or academic setting, will be outfitted with its own equipment, protocols, and standard operating procedures. Typically, new members of the lab are trained in these lab-specific procedures by a more experienced member. It can be strange to have someone explain concepts to you that you may already know, or demo equipment that you've already used; it can feel like the lab doesn't trust you or believe you're capable. In reality, this is not the case at all! Usually, this training is an intentional opportunity for you to get to know the workflow in the lab and the specific logistics of the space. However, new lab members often will be shy and not ask questions out of fear of seeming insufficiently knowledgeable. New lab members may even experience a phenomenon called "imposter syndrome," which is the feeling that one does not belong in the space but rather is an "imposter" who obtained their role not by their own merit. Imposter syndrome is particularly likely when an individual begins working in a new space where there is a substantial amount of training and on-boarding that needs to occur, which reinforces that false sense that the lab doesn't trust you. I'll be the first, but not the last, to tell a new lab member that they deserve to be there! Undergraduate programs in Biology are designed to prepare graduates to be successful in their careers and to equip them with the skills to apply what they know to novel situations and to be self-sufficient in learning new things. Don't let being in a new space shake your confidence and let self-doubt take hold!! One way to combat the "shyness" or imposter syndrome of being in a new lab is to ask questions and to build a community of support. So, my advice to a graduate beginning their laboratory career is to (1) ask questions - you will only become a better biologist by seeking the knowledge of your peers and colleagues, and you will grow by learning new techniques and protocols, and (2) to lean on your friends and colleagues to remind you of your own excellence and ability to grow. You are so not alone - we've all had to start somewhere, so seek the advice of your community!
What Biochemist skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Dulanjani Wijayasekara Ph.D.: Research skills and data analysis for pharmaceutical and drug development companies, Biostatistics, Bioinformatics and Medical laboratory sciences
What general advice would you give to a Biochemist?
Ross Weatherman Ph.D.: Generally, broad training across a number of different types of biochemical and molecular biology methods will make you an attractive candidate to a larger number of employers and expand your potential options, but deep skills in one or two really important techniques areas, such as proteomics or bioinformatics, will make you most attractive to a single employer and improve your salary potential.
Susan Bjerke
Associate Professor of BiologyWashburn University of Topeka
Biological And Physical Sciences
What will help Biochemists increase their earning potential?
Susan Bjerke: Some of the skills that will be important in the next 3-5 years will be general critical thinking skills and the ability to adapt to changing technology. Almost all science fields are increasingly dependent on technology, so being able to learn new skills and change the way you do things in your job will be important. Being an effective communicator, both in writing and orally, is an overlooked skill in the sciences and is always an important asset.
What general advice would you give to a Biochemist?
Ronald Sims: Communication skills, especially including verbal and visualization skills utilized in explaining complex biological processes and statistical design of experiments with interpretation of data. Be able to communicate with both scientists and engineers in addressing technical aspects and issues related to product development. Leadership and management skills related to team building and collaborative approaches, as well as sharing credit for accomplishments with others. Trust. An attitude of innovation and change for improvement in quality of the work or product. Computer management, modeling, and interrogation of large data sets of measurements is becoming increasingly important.
What Biochemist skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Ronald Sims: Be flexible and adaptable in considering employers and employment opportunities to take advantage of the very broad field of biological engineering that includes bioprocess, biopharmaceutical, bioagricultural, bioenvironmental, and biomedical applications. Let the experiences of the first employment opportunity be your "real world teacher" to learn practical applications of theories from the classroom and academic laboratory sessions. These experiences will help you make decisions about future positions while you are building your resume with experience at the same time.
What will help Biochemists increase their earning potential?
Ronald Sims: Be less focused on jobs that are technician-oriented and involve operating automated diagnostic testing machines as these are generally much lower paying. Industry-based positions generally pay higher starting salaries than positions with government and consulting organizations. Demonstrate pro-active behavior, interest, and initiative in taking on new and difficult tasks. Demonstrate that you can represent the company or organization to outside audiences or at least show an interest in doing that (customer relations).
What general advice would you give to a Biochemist?
Rachel Tan Ph.D.: I do not have an answer for this. My response would be to be proactive during undergraduate studies, to discern where you find joy and curiosity. Pursue that topic. I do not think that the salary should be the priority when considering careers.
What will help Biochemists increase their earning potential?
Rachel Tan Ph.D.: Listen and be curious: ask questions (the why and how?), ask for opportunities, do extra readings outside of work. Aim for excellence: treat each assigned task as priority–go above and beyond. Connect: talk to colleagues, your boss, staff–be excited to learn from others. Be grateful: constantly reflect on the small details that led you to this point, for gratitude gives you foundation for joy during your career.
What Biochemist skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Qing Li: AI will become more important and prevalent in the field in the next 3-5 years but laboratory experiments will continue to make new discoveries.
What Biochemist skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Dr. Prajay Patel Ph.D.: As high throughput instruments and supercomputers continue to generate massive amounts of data, learn how to do tasks with programming languages like Python for larger scale data analysis and visualization. However, communicating effectively, working well in team-based environments, one’s writing ability, and the ability to handle multiple projects/experiments at the same time are all valuable soft skills that one should build regardless of any new trends in a particular field.
What Biochemist skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Nicole Danos PhD: In the next 3-5 years techniques in Biotech will constantly improve. Which will mean three things:
a) there will be much more data to sort through! It will be important to let the questions being asked direct data analyses.
b) workers will need to be nimble to improve their lab skills. The same principles of good practices will apply!
c) AI tools will be in the workplace. Workers will need to understand these tools and know whether or not they are appropriate for what they are trying to use, and not trust them blindly.
Luz Garcini PhD, MPH
Assistant ProfessorWhat general advice would you give to a Biochemist?
Luz Garcini PhD, MPH: Find a purpose and a meaning in their work and be open to learning from interdisciplinary fields.
What will help Biochemists increase their earning potential?
Ivica Labuda PhD: Everyone's career is a unique path, but a strong education gets your foot in the door and graduate programs such as Georgetown's MS in Biotechnology are accelerators for your potential. An advanced degree and the exposure to real-world internships they often provide bring you to a much higher starting point in negotiations and can help you gain confidence to start at higher positions. Salary, however, is just one measure of success -- also important to consider are satisfaction from the working environment, a great team, and potential for professional and personal growth.
What general advice would you give to a Biochemist?
Konstantinos Vogiatzis: Chemistry is a scientific field that it stands by itself, but at the same time it offers the fundamental knowledge to other disciplines such as materials science, polymers, spectroscopy, biochemistry, and agriculture. This interdisciplinary character is pivotal for many technological applications related to medicine, environment, electronics, etc.
What Biochemist skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Konstantinos Vogiatzis: The day-to-day work heavily depends on the actual position. It might include the application of analytical or spectroscopic techniques for quality control, synthesis of molecules or materials, or simply the utilization of computers for the simulation of chemical processes.
What will help Biochemists increase their earning potential?
Konstantinos Vogiatzis: It’s hard to respond to this question, since chemical technology is exciting in any aspect! The chemical elements are the alphabet of a chemist, and the decillion of different combinations between them form an enormous chemical space that needs to be explored for the discovery of new, fascinating molecular structures. Modern AI is actively helping the chemist to navigate the molecular space. Some people (like me!) dislike the laborious chemical synthesis, but for others this is the true beauty of our discipline.
What general advice would you give to a Biochemist?
Kristopher Koudelka Ph.D.: There are two skillsets, and one field I see become more important. The first skillset is application of material. You must know the language of your field; however, most content can be quickly found through simple research. People who can apply this knowledge, and formulate the new questions are more valuable employees. The second skill set is troubleshooting. Very often experiments fail or give strange results, how one can glean as much information as possible from the experiment and then plan the next course of action is a huge asset. The field I see becoming more important is computer programming. Very often these fields deal with large datasets that are so big, complex, or repetitive that computer assistance isn’t just helpful… but mandatory.
What Biochemist skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Joseph Harrison: Chemistry is an expansive field and chemists do a wide range of things from helping to make new pharmaceutical drugs, to testing water for contaminants, to working on specialized equipment used to identify characteristics of new molecules.
What general advice would you give to a Biochemist?
Jacob Nordman: Salary potential in my field of neuroscience almost always involves publications, awards, and technical acumen. Therefore, as I mentioned, it is important to start early looking for opportunities that can strengthen these areas. Another important aspect of getting high-profile, and thus high-paying, positions, is being able to tell a story with your research and career. Employers want to see that you have thought deeply and strategically about your career and where it’s going. This will allow them to believe you are a safe bet and worthy of their investment.
What will help Biochemists increase their earning potential?
Patrick Hare: Facility with using and interpreting AI results is an obvious growing need. Many of those skills are just applied analytical and critical thinking. The trick will be to do the applying and keep them fresh. Understanding how the systems work will also be useful.