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Updated April 6, 2023

Research Internship Salary Estimate

$39,573

$19.03 hourly

Entry level Salary
$26,000 yearly

How much does a Research Internship make?

The average salary for a research internship in the United States is $39,573. Research internship salaries typically range between $26,000 and $59,000 a year. The average hourly rate for research interns is $19.03 per hour.

Location, education, and experience impacts how much a research internship can expect to make. Research interns make the most in New Jersey, Washington, California, New York, and Massachusetts.

Research Summary.
  • The average salary for a research internship is $39,573 in the US.
  • The average research internship salary ranges between $26,000 and $59,000 in the US.
  • Hourly rates for research interns in the US typically range between $12 and $28 an hour.
  • The average research internship salary is $58,529 in New Jersey, $55,734 in Washington, and $53,525 in California. These are the three highest-paying states for research interns in the US.
  • Meta has the highest average salary for research interns.
  • Technology is the highest-paying industry for research interns in the US.

Highest Paying States For Research Interns

While a research internship can average a salary of $39,573 per year, or $19.03 per hour, there are many opportunities for research interns to make more. For example, in Newark, NJ you might make $58,588 per year. Other high-paying locations include San Francisco, CA, Seattle, WA and New York, NY. If you're in an entry-level position, your best bet is to move to Newark, NJ where the average starting salary is $36,000. The highest paying states for research interns include New Jersey, Washington and California. Meanwhile, Louisiana, Nebraska, and Mississippi offer the lowest salaries.
  • State View
  • County View
Average Salary:

Research Internship average salary by State

RankStateAvg. SalaryHourly RateJob Count
1New Jersey$58,529$28.141,403
2Massachusetts$50,322$24.192,347
3Delaware$48,614$23.37268
4Washington$55,734$26.801,135
5California$53,525$25.735,381
6Maine$44,911$21.59280
7Rhode Island$45,218$21.74290
8Alaska$47,793$22.98145
9Vermont$43,399$20.86236
10New York$50,519$24.291,781
11Connecticut$46,388$22.30517
12Texas$49,418$23.762,250
13Oregon$43,501$20.91862
14New Hampshire$43,143$20.74333
15Pennsylvania$42,207$20.291,969
16Illinois$45,715$21.981,572
17West Virginia$42,709$20.53226
18Virginia$47,031$22.611,132
19District of Columbia$45,668$21.96242
20Minnesota$40,208$19.33952
21Wisconsin$40,843$19.64634
22Arizona$40,984$19.70702
23Michigan$36,996$17.791,198
24Hawaii$39,360$18.92157
25Colorado$40,296$19.37821
26Idaho$35,316$16.98321
27North Carolina$38,192$18.361,178
28Maryland$41,626$20.01899
29Iowa$36,447$17.52451
30South Dakota$33,087$15.91224
31Ohio$36,975$17.781,083
32Arkansas$34,997$16.83313
33Nevada$37,150$17.86219
34Missouri$35,563$17.10703
35Oklahoma$34,261$16.47350
36Utah$33,440$16.08484
37Tennessee$33,362$16.04761
38Florida$35,747$17.191,721
39Kentucky$34,354$16.52403
40Georgia$35,440$17.041,075
41New Mexico$31,953$15.36324
42Wyoming$24,108$11.59165
43Nebraska$29,727$14.29385
44Montana$29,118$14.00222
45North Dakota$28,981$13.93167
46Indiana$32,560$15.65695
47Kansas$31,388$15.09353
48Alabama$32,630$15.69339
49Mississippi$29,203$14.04276
50South Carolina$31,582$15.18340
51Louisiana$30,711$14.76304

Highest Paying Cities For Research Interns

RankCityAvg. SalaryHourly RateJob Count
1Newark, NJ$58,588$28.17
2San Francisco, CA$57,016$27.417
3Seattle, WA$56,366$27.101
4New York, NY$50,627$24.3419
5Boston, MA$50,349$24.214
6Austin, TX$50,332$24.204
7Arlington, VA$48,826$23.47
8Newark, DE$48,707$23.42
9Chicago, IL$45,990$22.114
10Washington, DC$45,632$21.9413
11Portland, OR$43,237$20.791
12Philadelphia, PA$42,634$20.501
13Phoenix, AZ$41,001$19.713
14Denver, CO$40,300$19.383
15Saint Paul, MN$40,292$19.373

Here Are The Five Most In Demand Cities Right Now:

  1. Newark, NJ
  2. San Francisco, CA
  3. Seattle, WA
  4. New York, NY
  5. Boston, MA

Research Internships Salary Details

Average Research Internship Salary Graph
Average Research Internship Salary Graph, Trends, and Summary

What is a Research Internship's Salary?

PercentileAnnual SalaryMonthly SalaryHourly Rate
90th Percentile$59,000$4,917$28
75th Percentile$49,000$4,083$24
Average$39,573$3,298$19
25th Percentile$31,000$2,583$15
10th Percentile$26,000$2,167$13

Highest Paying Types of Research Internships

Job TitleAnnual SalaryMonthly SalaryHourly RateJob Openings
Marketing Department Internship$31,989$2,666$15.38143,703
Data Analyst Internship$38,752$3,229$18.63135,614
Product Engineering Internship$43,381$3,615$20.86152,860
Research Technician$43,034$3,586$20.6964,786
Research Consultant$83,492$6,958$40.1461,865
Research Fellow$53,823$4,485$25.8859,746

Here are the five companies hiring the most now:

  1. Microsoft Jobs (92)
  2. IBM Jobs (91)
  3. Columbia University in the City of New York Jobs (75)
  4. Rutgers University Jobs (56)
  5. Intel Jobs (51)

Which Companies Pay Research Interns The Most?

The highest paying companies for research interns are Meta and Microsoft according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, companies like MSCI and HP report highly competitive wages for research interns.
RankCompanyAverage SalaryHourly RateJob Openings
1Meta$87,094$41.87223
2Microsoft$83,136$39.9787
3MSCI$77,485$37.25
4HP$75,858$36.4753
5Google$72,131$34.68217
6IBM$71,851$34.544
7Siemens$67,611$32.51117
8Genentech$66,329$31.8911
9Los Alamos National Laboratory$64,764$31.14140
10Susquehanna International Group$63,531$30.542
11APCO Worldwide$63,307$30.44
12Weber Shandwick$62,770$30.186
13Point72$62,259$29.934
14NEC Laboratories America$59,000$28.371
15Kabam$57,558$27.67
16Palo Alto Networks$57,367$27.584
17Health Alliance$55,923$26.895
18Hoffmann-LA Roche Inc$55,217$26.5510
19Rutgers University$55,101$26.49160
20KLA$54,235$26.0722

How Much Do Research Interns Make In Different Industries?

Research internship salaries can vary depending on the industry. In fact, our data shows that the technology, professional, and finance industries tend to offer much higher salaries for research interns. For example, research interns make a whopping average salary of $52,879 while working in the technology industry. Meanwhile, other people in this field are making $45,857 in the professional industry and $45,574 in the finance industry.

Research interns may want to avoid working in the manufacturing industry as it offers the lowest average salary of $40,967.

Highest Paying Industries For Research Interns

RankIndustryAverage SalaryHourly Rate
1Technology$52,879$25.42
2Professional$45,857$22.05
3Finance$45,574$21.91
4Energy$42,969$20.66
5Government$42,419$20.39
6Education$42,250$20.31
7Health Care$41,351$19.88
8Manufacturing$40,967$19.70

High Paying Research Internship Jobs

Research Internship Pay Trends

Average Research Internship Salary Over Time

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

    Research Internship Salary By Year

    YearAvg. SalaryHourly Rate% Change
    2023$39,600$19.03+3.1%
    2022$38,400$18.44+1.1%
    2021$38,000$18.25-0.2%
    2020$38,000$18.28+1.1%
    2019$37,600$18.09+0.7%

    Recently Added Research Internship Salaries

    CompanyJobLocationDate AddedSalary
    SouthfaceFall 2023 Internship Building Science ResearchAtlanta, GA05/02/2023$41,740
    Flawless AiResearch Scientist Internship (Speech Synthesis)Santa Monica, CA05/01/2023$62,610
    New Level ResourcesFall Research Intern-Impact InvestmentNew York, NY05/01/2023$52,175
    Autodesk Inc.AI Research Intern-Large Language ModelsSan Francisco, CA04/30/2023$41,000
    NYU Langone Medical CenterSummer Research Intern (1109995_Rr00075542)New York, NY04/30/2023$31,305
    Fors MarshResearch Intern, Organizational Research and ConsultingEnon, VA04/30/2023$62,610
    Girl ScoutsIntern-Collection ResearchSavannah, GA04/29/2023$27,131
    FM GlobalResearch Campus Engineering InternGlocester, RI04/28/2023$45,914
    Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish CommissionResearch InternHagerman, ID04/28/2023$37,566
    SLAC National Accelerator LaboratoryIntern-Edge Data Processing Research SupportMenlo Park, CA04/28/2023$43,994

    Research Internship Salaries FAQs

    What State Pays Research Interns The Most?

    New Jersey pays Research Interns the most in the United States, with an average salary of $58,529 per year, or $28.14 per hour.

    How Do I Know If I'm Being Paid Fairly As A Research Internship?

    You know if you are being paid fairly as a Research Internship if your pay is close to the average pay for the state you live in. For example, if you live in Washington you should be paid close to $55,734 per year.

    What Is A Good Starting Salary For A Research Internship?

    A good starting salary for a research internship is $18,000 in the United States. That puts you in the 10th percentile of annual income for a research internship in the U.S., which is about what you would expect if you were new to the field. The average salary for research interns is $34,445, but that normally requires some level of experience to achieve. Furthermore, a good starting salary for a research internship can vary by state.

    How Much Does A Research Analyst Intern Make?

    In paid research analyst positions, interns typically make $15 an hour. The amount an intern can expect to make depends largely on industry and company.

    Research analyst interns in the nonprofit sector typically make $15 or less. Unpaid internships are far more common in nonprofit sectors because it is more common for them to provide university credit for the intern's work. However, this is beginning to change as people recognize the unfair practice of unpaid work.

    What Is A Reasonable Salary For An Internship?

    A reasonable salary for an internship is typically around $15 an hour. However, this depends largely on industry and company. Fortunately, it is becoming less common for employers to have unpaid internships, so a person should find a paid internship regardless of their field.

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