Best states for a clinical scientist

Q: What is the best state for clinical scientists?

The best state to be a clinical scientist is Maine based on clinical scientist salaries and job opportunities.

Q: What is the highest paying state for clinical scientists?

The highest paying state for clinical scientists is Nebraska based on Zippia’s salary database.

Q: What is the worst state for clinical scientists?

The worst state for clinical scientists is Mississippi, due to a combination of low salaries and few job opportunities.

Quoted expert

Sami Mejri Ph.D.

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Are you wondering which place in the United States is the best state for clinical scientists? Knowing how challenging it is to figure out where to start your career or where to move to advance your career, we decided to bring you a list of best states for clinical scientist jobs.We wanted to look at the best states for clinical scientists -- where there are plenty of clinical scientist jobs to go around and clinical scientists get paid what they deserve during every phase of their career.

To that end, we dove into our dataset of job and salary numbers to figure out which states have the best opportunities for clinical scientists. Maine is the best state for clinical scientists, where the median salary is $136,631.We found that Maine is the best state for clinical scientist jobs, whereas Mississippi is the worst.

10 best states for clinical scientists in 2025

1. Maine
Total clinical scientist jobs: 282
Average annual salary: $136,631
Lowest 10 percent earn: $109,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $170,000
Location Quotient:
1.24
Clinical scientist jobs in Maine
2. Montana
Total clinical scientist jobs: 191
Average annual salary: $148,560
Lowest 10 percent earn: $115,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $190,000
Location Quotient:
0.96
Clinical scientist jobs in Montana
3. New Jersey
Total clinical scientist jobs: 1,976
Average annual salary: $134,823
Lowest 10 percent earn: $107,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $169,000
Location Quotient:
1.45
Clinical scientist jobs in New Jersey
4. Connecticut
Total clinical scientist jobs: 635
Average annual salary: $135,953
Lowest 10 percent earn: $108,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $170,000
Location Quotient:
1.11
Clinical scientist jobs in Connecticut
5. California
Total clinical scientist jobs: 7,041
Average annual salary: $139,882
Lowest 10 percent earn: $106,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $184,000
Location Quotient:
1.4
Clinical scientist jobs in California
6. Tennessee
Total clinical scientist jobs: 842
Average annual salary: $139,591
Lowest 10 percent earn: $109,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $177,000
Location Quotient:
0.83
Clinical scientist jobs in Tennessee
7. Indiana
Total clinical scientist jobs: 846
Average annual salary: $154,406
Lowest 10 percent earn: $121,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $195,000
Location Quotient:
0.75
Clinical scientist jobs in Indiana
8. Alaska
Total clinical scientist jobs: 96
Average annual salary: $156,142
Lowest 10 percent earn: $123,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $197,000
Location Quotient:
0.67
Clinical scientist jobs in Alaska
9. Wisconsin
Total clinical scientist jobs: 834
Average annual salary: $130,714
Lowest 10 percent earn: $103,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $165,000
Location Quotient:
0.88
Clinical scientist jobs in Wisconsin
10. Delaware
Total clinical scientist jobs: 231
Average annual salary: $128,536
Lowest 10 percent earn: $101,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $162,000
Location Quotient:
1.07
Clinical scientist jobs in Delaware

Clinical scientist jobsNear Columbus, OH

How Zippia determines the best states to be a clinical scientist

You can read about how the best state rankings are calculated here.

Detailed list of the best states for a clinical scientist

Rank	State	Average salary	Lowest 10% earn	Population	Job count
1	Maine	$136,631	$109,000	1,335,907	282
2	Montana	$148,560	$115,000	1,050,493	191
3	New Jersey	$134,823	$107,000	9,005,644	1,976
4	Connecticut	$135,953	$108,000	3,588,184	635
5	California	$139,882	$106,000	39,536,653	7,041
6	Tennessee	$139,591	$109,000	6,715,984	842
7	Indiana	$154,406	$121,000	6,666,818	846
8	Alaska	$156,142	$123,000	739,795	96
9	Wisconsin	$130,714	$103,000	5,795,483	834
10	Delaware	$128,536	$101,000	961,939	231
11	Massachusetts	$126,486	$100,000	6,859,819	2,383
12	North Carolina	$122,803	$97,000	10,273,419	1,900
13	Oregon	$127,351	$96,000	4,142,776	801
14	Pennsylvania	$125,109	$99,000	12,805,537	2,109
15	Virginia	$128,945	$102,000	8,470,020	1,747
16	Nevada	$132,059	$100,000	2,998,039	284
17	Illinois	$125,534	$99,000	12,802,023	1,916
18	District of Columbia	$129,777	$102,000	693,972	322
19	Colorado	$125,876	$97,000	5,607,154	904
20	Arizona	$121,440	$93,000	7,016,270	869
21	Minnesota	$121,659	$96,000	5,576,606	1,011
22	Washington	$118,545	$90,000	7,405,743	1,623
23	Florida	$119,251	$94,000	20,984,400	2,473
24	Wyoming	$115,645	$89,000	579,315	86
25	Maryland	$117,721	$93,000	6,052,177	1,480
26	Rhode Island	$112,800	$89,000	1,059,639	232
27	South Dakota	$108,519	$85,000	869,666	182
28	Vermont	$114,313	$91,000	623,657	128
29	West Virginia	$112,286	$88,000	1,815,857	204
30	Hawaii	$120,580	$98,000	1,427,538	154
31	Arkansas	$112,094	$87,000	3,004,279	227
32	Oklahoma	$111,739	$86,000	3,930,864	339
33	New York	$105,963	$84,000	19,849,399	3,115
34	Iowa	$108,744	$85,000	3,145,711	388
35	Utah	$106,052	$81,000	3,101,833	471
36	Louisiana	$106,760	$83,000	4,684,333	444
37	Georgia	$109,318	$86,000	10,429,379	1,179
38	Michigan	$106,408	$84,000	9,962,311	962
39	North Dakota	$97,460	$77,000	755,393	188
40	Ohio	$104,467	$82,000	11,658,609	1,322
41	Alabama	$106,431	$83,000	4,874,747	330
42	New Mexico	$100,622	$77,000	2,088,070	299
43	Kansas	$102,466	$79,000	2,913,123	426
44	New Hampshire	$105,854	$84,000	1,342,795	175
45	South Carolina	$103,598	$81,000	5,024,369	536
46	Texas	$100,458	$78,000	28,304,596	2,971
47	Kentucky	$101,797	$80,000	4,454,189	416
48	Missouri	$99,481	$77,000	6,113,532	876
49	Idaho	$100,247	$76,000	1,716,943	225
50	Nebraska	$92,163	$72,000	1,920,076	268
51	Mississippi	$96,684	$75,000	2,984,100	167

Highest paying states for clinical scientists

Rank	State	Avg. Clinical Scientist Salary
1	Maine	$136,631
2	Montana	$148,560
3	New Jersey	$134,823
4	Connecticut	$135,953
5	California	$139,882
6	Tennessee	$139,591
7	Indiana	$154,406
8	Alaska	$156,142
9	Wisconsin	$130,714
10	Delaware	$128,536
11	Massachusetts	$126,486
12	North Carolina	$122,803
13	Oregon	$127,351
14	Pennsylvania	$125,109
15	Virginia	$128,945
16	Nevada	$132,059
17	Illinois	$125,534
18	District of Columbia	$129,777
19	Colorado	$125,876
20	Arizona	$121,440
21	Minnesota	$121,659
22	Washington	$118,545
23	Florida	$119,251
24	Wyoming	$115,645
25	Maryland	$117,721
26	Rhode Island	$112,800
27	South Dakota	$108,519
28	Vermont	$114,313
29	West Virginia	$112,286
30	Hawaii	$120,580
31	Arkansas	$112,094
32	Oklahoma	$111,739
33	New York	$105,963
34	Iowa	$108,744
35	Utah	$106,052
36	Louisiana	$106,760
37	Georgia	$109,318
38	Michigan	$106,408
39	North Dakota	$97,460
40	Ohio	$104,467
41	Alabama	$106,431
42	New Mexico	$100,622
43	Kansas	$102,466
44	New Hampshire	$105,854
45	South Carolina	$103,598
46	Texas	$100,458
47	Kentucky	$101,797
48	Missouri	$99,481
49	Idaho	$100,247
50	Nebraska	$92,163
51	Mississippi	$96,684

Expert opinions on the best states for clinical scientists

Are there any particularly good places in the United States for clinical scientists to find work opportunities?
Sami Mejri Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Science, Assistant Dean, Graduate Programs, Tiffin University
With the rising cost of living, a college graduate's ideal first job may not be in their home state or favorite vacation town. According to Business Insider, MidWestern cities like Columbus-Ohio, Cincinnati-Ohio, Madison-Wisconsin, Milwaukee-Wisconsin, and Indianapolis-Indiana were some of the best geographical areas to live for college graduates. The cost of living in these Midwestern states remains relatively lower than coastal areas, making these locations ideal for college graduates entering the workforce. However, college graduates with degrees in healthcare, computer science, and data analytics may not be limited to these geographical areas, given employers' incentives to these in-demand jobs.

Clinical scientist best states FAQs

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Best states for Clinical Scientists

Updated January 8, 2025

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Total clinical scientist jobs:	282
Average annual salary:	$136,631
Lowest 10 percent earn:	$109,000
Highest 10 percent earn:	$170,000
Location Quotient:	1.24

Best states for a clinical scientist

10 best states for clinical scientists in 2025

1. Maine

2. Montana

3. New Jersey

4. Connecticut

5. California

6. Tennessee

7. Indiana

8. Alaska

9. Wisconsin

10. Delaware