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Quality control chemist salary

Average quality control chemist salary

$58,892

$28.31 hourly rate

Entry-level quality control chemist salary
$45,000 yearly salary
Updated December 15, 2025

Understanding Quality Control Chemist Salaries

The average salary for a Quality Control Chemist is approximately $58,892 per year, translating to about $28 per hour. These professionals play a vital role in ensuring that products meet safety and quality standards across various sectors, including pharmaceuticals, food production, and manufacturing.

Salary can vary based on several factors:

  • Location: States with a higher cost of living often offer higher salaries. For instance, quality control chemists in California and New York tend to earn more than their counterparts in less populated states.
  • Experience: Entry-level positions typically pay less, while those with several years of experience can command significantly higher wages.
  • Industry: Different industries have varying demands for quality control chemists, impacting salary levels.

In addition to the base salary, many companies offer benefits such as health insurance and retirement plans, which can add significant value to the overall compensation package. Understanding these dynamics helps you make informed decisions about your career in quality control chemistry.

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Where can a Quality Control Chemist earn more?

Compare salary by location
Vs
99k
79k
59k
39k
19k
Columbus, OH$71,401
Pleasant Grove, UT$48,730
Compare salary by company
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93k
73k
53k
33k
Hallstar$69,182
Hydrite$63,237

Quality control chemist salary estimates from across the web

Based on the latest salary information compiled by Zippia, Salary.com, Glassdoor, SalaryExpert and Comparably, the average salary for a quality control chemist typically falls between $58,892 and $98,445.
zippia
$58,892yearly
glassdoor[1]
$68,058yearly
comparably[2]
$98,445yearly
Salary.com[3]
$74,851yearly
SalaryExpert[4]
$68,381yearly

Average quality control chemist salary by state

The highest-paying states for quality control chemists are Vermont, Washington, and Rhode Island. The lowest average quality control chemist salary states are Nevada, Florida, and Arkansas.

  • State view
  • County view
Average salary:

Highest paying states for quality control chemists

RankStateAvg. salaryHourly rate
1Connecticut$69,916$33.61
2New Jersey$69,637$33.48
3Rhode Island$71,449$34.35
4Washington$71,652$34.45
5Massachusetts$71,036$34.15
6Delaware$69,270$33.30
7New Hampshire$63,217$30.39
8Tennessee$71,415$34.33
9Kentucky$61,109$29.38
10Vermont$82,092$39.47
11Michigan$61,142$29.40
12Maryland$67,751$32.57
13Virginia$67,355$32.38
14District of Columbia$76,859$36.95
15Missouri$61,382$29.51
16West Virginia$60,960$29.31
17Minnesota$58,625$28.19
18Texas$60,872$29.27
19Pennsylvania$56,873$27.34
20Louisiana$60,749$29.21
21North Carolina$55,565$26.71
22Alaska$63,641$30.60
23South Dakota$59,771$28.74
24Iowa$56,312$27.07
25New Mexico$58,292$28.02
26Kansas$58,037$27.90
27Georgia$57,321$27.56
28Montana$59,855$28.78
29California$55,480$26.67
30New York$56,858$27.34
31Mississippi$55,103$26.49
32Idaho$57,601$27.69
33Wisconsin$51,978$24.99
34Ohio$53,474$25.71
35Alabama$53,361$25.65
36South Carolina$53,265$25.61
37North Dakota$54,219$26.07
38Hawaii$59,353$28.54
39Indiana$50,386$24.22
40Illinois$51,893$24.95
41Maine$54,177$26.05
42Utah$48,753$23.44
43Arizona$52,043$25.02
44Oklahoma$53,817$25.87
45Oregon$50,280$24.17
46Arkansas$48,945$23.53
47Colorado$50,723$24.39
48Florida$49,334$23.72
49Nevada$49,465$23.78
50Nebraska$47,955$23.06
51Wyoming$43,335$20.83

Highest paying cities for quality control chemists

The highest-paying cities for quality control chemists are North Kingstown, RI, North Andover, MA, and Elizabeth, NJ.

RankCityAvg. salaryHourly rate
1North Kingstown, RI$71,401$34.33
2North Andover, MA$71,128$34.20
3Elizabeth, NJ$69,736$33.53
4Round Rock, TX$60,955$29.31
5Chaska, MN$58,497$28.12
6Levittown, PA$57,087$27.45
7Central Islip, NY$56,986$27.40
8Hayward, CA$56,751$27.28
9Wilson, NC$56,241$27.04
10Huntsville, AL$53,752$25.84
11Cincinnati, OH$52,461$25.22
12Chicago, IL$52,059$25.03
13Chandler, AZ$52,007$25.00
14Indianapolis, IN$50,217$24.14
15Largo, FL$49,312$23.71
16Pleasant Grove, UT$48,730$23.43

Quality control chemist salary details

A quality control chemist's salary ranges from $45,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $75,000 at the 90th percentile.

Average quality control chemist salary graph
Average quality control chemist salary graph, trends, and summary

What is a quality control chemist's salary?

PercentileAnnual salaryMonthly salaryHourly rate
90th Percentile$75,000$6,250$36
75th Percentile$67,000$5,583$32
Average$58,892$4,908$28
25th Percentile$51,000$4,250$25
10th Percentile$45,000$3,750$22

Highest paying quality control chemist jobs

The highest paying types of quality control chemists are scientist, senior chemist, and research and development scientist.

Job titleAnnual salaryMonthly salaryHourly rateJob openings
Chemical Technician$42,584$3,549$20.4740,191
Laboratory Analyst$44,024$3,669$21.1744,074
Research Scientist$89,998$7,500$43.2793,013
Research And Development Scientist$90,278$7,523$43.40129,803
Scientist$97,344$8,112$46.8062,467
Microbiologist$54,620$4,552$26.2611,444

Top companies hiring quality control chemists now:

  1. BASF jobs (20)
  2. Teva Pharmaceuticals jobs (40)
  3. Pfizer jobs (24)
  4. Johnson Matthey Plc jobs (33)
  5. Merck jobs (17)

Which companies pay quality control chemists the most?

Quality control chemist salaries at Hallstar and Kao Brands are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average quality control chemist salary at companies like Veritas Health Services Inc and FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies are highly competitive.

RankCompanyAverage salaryHourly rate
1Hallstar$69,182$33.26
2Kao Brands$67,729$32.56
3Veritas Health Services Inc$67,545$32.47
4FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies$66,133$31.79
5Vertellus$66,032$31.75
6CP Kelco$66,026$31.74
7Thermo Fisher Scientific$65,814$31.64
8AstraZeneca$65,670$31.57
9Sandoz$65,653$31.56
10SCIENTECH$65,560$31.52
11Watson Pharma Pvt Ltd$65,536$31.51
12Johnson Matthey Plc$65,183$31.34
13Sigma-Aldrich$64,958$31.23
14Nalco Holding Company$64,627$31.07
15Momar$64,624$31.07
16Blistex$64,328$30.93
17General Electric$63,933$30.74
18AMRI$63,610$30.58
19Air Liquide$63,596$30.57
20Hydrite$63,237$30.40

Wage gap by gender, race and education

$60,000$59,600$59,200$58,800$58,400$58,000
MaleFemale

Quality control chemist salary trends

The average quality control chemist salary has risen by $7,085 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average quality control chemist earned $51,807 annually, but today, they earn $58,892 a year. That works out to a 8% change in pay for quality control chemists over the last decade.

Compare quality control chemist salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.

Average quality control chemist salary over time

Compare quality control chemist salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.

Quality control chemist salary by year

YearAvg. salaryHourly rate% Change
2025$58,900$28.31+2.1%
2024$57,700$27.72+1.0%
2023$57,100$27.45+2.8%
2022$55,500$26.69+1.3%
2021$54,800$26.33+3.4%

Recently added quality control chemist salaries

CompanyJobLocationDate addedSalary
ZP GroupQuality Control ChemistPoint, PA06/29/2025$75,000
EMD ElectronicsQC ChemistBranchburg, NJ06/29/2025$48,001
ActalentQuality Control ChemistMilwaukee, WI06/29/2025$50,171
Abbott LaboratoriesQC Chemist ISan Diego, CA06/27/2025$72,100
Kelly ServicesQC Chemist IChaska, MN06/27/2025$52,175
Astrix TechnologyQC ChemistCovington, KY06/27/2025$52,175
ActalentQuality Control ChemistFall River, MA06/27/2025$65,000
ActalentQC ChemistCommerce, CA06/27/2025$48,001
ActalentScientist II/III-Quality Control ChemistDurham, NC06/27/2025$75,000
Cipla Ltd.QC Chemist IIFall River, MA06/26/2025$72,800

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