Researcher Salary
Researcher Salary Estimate
$67,145
How much does a Researcher make?
The average salary for a researcher in the United States is $67,145. Researcher salaries typically range between $37,000 and $119,000 a year. The average hourly rate for researchers is $32.28 per hour.
Location, education, and experience impacts how much a researcher can expect to make. Researchers make the most in Connecticut, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts.
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The average salary for a researcher is $67,145 in the US. -
The average researcher salary ranges between $37,000 and $119,000 in the US. -
Hourly rates for researchers in the US typically range between $17 and $57 an hour. -
The average researcher salary is $101,894 in Connecticut, $98,688 in New Jersey, and $93,502 in New Hampshire. These are the three highest-paying states for researchers in the US. -
Renaissance Learning has the highest average salary for researchers.
Highest Paying States For Researchers
- State View
- County View
Researcher average salary by State
| Rank | State | Avg. Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Count |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Jersey | $98,688 | $47.45 | 727 |
| 2 | Massachusetts | $84,820 | $40.78 | 2,052 |
| 3 | Connecticut | $101,894 | $48.99 | 168 |
| 4 | Rhode Island | $86,267 | $41.47 | 63 |
| 5 | California | $84,744 | $40.74 | 2,765 |
| 6 | New York | $76,045 | $36.56 | 1,615 |
| 7 | Oregon | $71,913 | $34.57 | 414 |
| 8 | New Hampshire | $93,502 | $44.95 | 53 |
| 9 | Delaware | $74,962 | $36.04 | 63 |
| 10 | Maine | $74,868 | $35.99 | 54 |
| 11 | Maryland | $71,886 | $34.56 | 574 |
| 12 | Vermont | $69,680 | $33.50 | 43 |
| 13 | Washington | $67,105 | $32.26 | 1,147 |
| 14 | Pennsylvania | $65,976 | $31.72 | 777 |
| 15 | Indiana | $82,021 | $39.43 | 146 |
| 16 | Michigan | $65,970 | $31.72 | 420 |
| 17 | Idaho | $69,784 | $33.55 | 64 |
| 18 | Arizona | $72,481 | $34.85 | 135 |
| 19 | District of Columbia | $63,373 | $30.47 | 203 |
| 20 | Virginia | $58,920 | $28.33 | 516 |
| 21 | Nevada | $68,697 | $33.03 | 39 |
| 22 | Illinois | $60,055 | $28.87 | 487 |
| 23 | Ohio | $57,287 | $27.54 | 378 |
| 24 | Hawaii | $75,092 | $36.10 | 19 |
| 25 | Tennessee | $56,328 | $27.08 | 220 |
| 26 | Alaska | $51,746 | $24.88 | 43 |
| 27 | Montana | $49,577 | $23.84 | 60 |
| 28 | Arkansas | $57,518 | $27.65 | 50 |
| 29 | New Mexico | $49,537 | $23.82 | 88 |
| 30 | North Carolina | $48,939 | $23.53 | 436 |
| 31 | Colorado | $48,581 | $23.36 | 385 |
| 32 | Minnesota | $49,662 | $23.88 | 340 |
| 33 | Oklahoma | $55,691 | $26.77 | 64 |
| 34 | Wisconsin | $49,460 | $23.78 | 185 |
| 35 | West Virginia | $45,075 | $21.67 | 71 |
| 36 | Georgia | $48,643 | $23.39 | 361 |
| 37 | Wyoming | $45,681 | $21.96 | 21 |
| 38 | Texas | $45,518 | $21.88 | 732 |
| 39 | Missouri | $40,424 | $19.43 | 300 |
| 40 | Florida | $45,782 | $22.01 | 426 |
| 41 | Kansas | $44,113 | $21.21 | 85 |
| 42 | Utah | $37,744 | $18.15 | 134 |
| 43 | Nebraska | $35,913 | $17.27 | 111 |
| 44 | Kentucky | $42,091 | $20.24 | 75 |
| 45 | Louisiana | $37,933 | $18.24 | 117 |
| 46 | South Dakota | $38,981 | $18.74 | 28 |
| 47 | Iowa | $33,977 | $16.34 | 135 |
| 48 | Alabama | $38,724 | $18.62 | 67 |
| 49 | North Dakota | $33,004 | $15.87 | 23 |
| 50 | Mississippi | $35,166 | $16.91 | 53 |
| 51 | South Carolina | $36,723 | $17.66 | 75 |
Highest Paying Cities For Researchers
| Rank | City | Avg. Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Count |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Newark, NJ | $100,676 | $48.40 | |
| 2 | San Francisco, CA | $92,322 | $44.39 | 5 |
| 3 | Boston, MA | $85,095 | $40.91 | 14 |
| 4 | New York, NY | $76,074 | $36.57 | 21 |
| 5 | Newark, DE | $75,158 | $36.13 | |
| 6 | Urban Honolulu, HI | $75,140 | $36.13 | |
| 7 | Baltimore, MD | $72,502 | $34.86 | 5 |
| 8 | Seattle, WA | $68,689 | $33.02 | 5 |
| 9 | Philadelphia, PA | $66,934 | $32.18 | 2 |
| 10 | Warren, MI | $66,850 | $32.14 | |
| 11 | Washington, DC | $63,274 | $30.42 | 14 |
| 12 | Arlington, VA | $62,589 | $30.09 | 5 |
| 13 | Chicago, IL | $60,556 | $29.11 | 6 |
| 14 | Columbus, OH | $55,652 | $26.76 | 34 |
| 15 | Saint Paul, MN | $49,855 | $23.97 | 2 |
Here Are The Five Most In Demand Cities Right Now:
Researchers Salary Details
What is a Researcher's Salary?
| Percentile | Annual Salary | Monthly Salary | Hourly Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90th Percentile | $119,000 | $9,917 | $57 |
| 75th Percentile | $90,000 | $7,500 | $43 |
| Average | $67,145 | $5,595 | $32 |
| 25th Percentile | $49,000 | $4,083 | $24 |
| 10th Percentile | $37,000 | $3,083 | $18 |
Highest Paying Types of Researchers
| Job Title | Annual Salary | Monthly Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Doctoral Fellow | $53,366 | $4,447 | $25.66 | 22,661 |
| Fellow | $66,364 | $5,530 | $31.91 | 7,459 |
| Postdoctoral Scholar | $57,587 | $4,799 | $27.69 | 18,983 |
| Laboratory Internship | $35,305 | $2,942 | $16.97 | 90,970 |
| Research Laboratory Technician | $38,308 | $3,192 | $18.42 | 86,476 |
| Graduate Research Student | $34,658 | $2,888 | $16.66 | 58,921 |
Here are the five companies hiring the most now:
Which Companies Pay Researchers The Most?
| Rank | Company | Average Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Renaissance Learning | $160,117 | $76.98 | |
| 2 | The Citadel | $159,193 | $76.54 | 3 |
| 3 | Meta | $156,474 | $75.23 | 647 |
| 4 | $156,214 | $75.10 | 63 | |
| 5 | Airbnb | $155,324 | $74.67 | |
| 6 | Vicarious | $151,348 | $72.76 | |
| 7 | Microsoft | $150,120 | $72.17 | 123 |
| 8 | Apple | $145,014 | $69.72 | 18 |
| 9 | Palantir | $144,789 | $69.61 | 4 |
| 10 | Netflix | $144,667 | $69.55 | 1 |
| 11 | Two Sigma | $144,357 | $69.40 | |
| 12 | KLA | $143,823 | $69.15 | 5 |
| 13 | eBay | $143,646 | $69.06 | 5 |
| 14 | Boston Consulting Group | $142,948 | $68.72 | |
| 15 | Aramco Services Company | $141,496 | $68.03 | 8 |
| 16 | Urban Institute | $141,189 | $67.88 | 3 |
| 17 | Chevron | $141,121 | $67.85 | 2 |
| 18 | Genentech | $140,816 | $67.70 | 91 |
| 19 | Riskmetrics Group Holdings LLC | $140,157 | $67.38 | |
| 20 | Rosetta Stone | $139,717 | $67.17 |
Researcher Pay Trends
Average Researcher Salary Over Time
Compare salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.
Researcher Salary By Year
| Year | Avg. Salary | Hourly Rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | $67,100 | $32.28 | +3.0% |
| 2022 | $65,100 | $31.32 | +4.5% |
| 2021 | $62,200 | $29.92 | +3.2% |
| 2020 | $60,200 | $28.96 | +1.9% |
| 2019 | $59,100 | $28.41 | -2.1% |
Recently Added Researcher Salaries
| Company | Job | Location | Date Added | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oscar Health | Design Researcher | New York, NY | 05/01/2023 | $136,000 |
| R&D Partners | Scientific Researcher | San Francisco, CA | 04/30/2023 | $58,436 |
| ICF International, Inc. | Clean Transportation Researcher | Arlington, TX | 04/28/2023 | $53,200 |
| Maximus, Inc. | Cybersecurity Researcher | McLean, VA | 04/28/2023 | $90,000 |
| Pyramid Consulting | Research Specialistse | Atlanta, GA | 04/28/2023 | $41,740 |
| University of Colorado | Temporary Researcher | Boulder, CO | 04/28/2023 | $64,697 |
| ICF | Clean Transportation Researcher | Cambridge, MA | 04/27/2023 | $53,200 |
| Jpmorgan Chase | AI Research | New York, NY | 04/27/2023 | $170,000 |
| Qualcomm | Machine Learning Researcher | San Diego, CA | 04/27/2023 | $97,000 |
| Palantir Technologies | Machine Learning Researcher-Natural Language Processing (NLP) | Seattle, WA | 04/27/2023 | $125,000 |
Researcher Salaries FAQs
What State Pays Researchers The Most?
Connecticut pays Researchers the most in the United States, with an average salary of $101,894 per year, or $48.99 per hour.
How Do I Know If I'm Being Paid Fairly As A Researcher?
You know if you are being paid fairly as a Researcher if your pay is close to the average pay for the state you live in. For example, if you live in New Jersey you should be paid close to $98,688 per year.
What Is A Good Starting Salary For A Researcher?
A good starting salary for a researcher is $34,000 in the United States. That puts you in the 10th percentile of annual income for a researcher in the U.S., which is about what you would expect if you were new to the field. The average salary for researchers is $64,563, but that normally requires some level of experience to achieve. Furthermore, a good starting salary for a researcher can vary by state.
Do Researchers Make Good Money?
Yes, researchers make good money. The average researcher makes around $70,000 a year. However, this amount can range from $44,000 to $240,000 a year. Factors such as the type of researcher, the company, and location, impact how much a researcher can earn.
How Much Does A Ph.d. Researcher Make?
A Ph.D. researcher makes around $54,000 a year. However, this amount can vary from $34,000 to $120,000 a year. The significant variation and how much a Ph.D. researcher can make reflect whether or not they remain in academia or decide to get an industry job.
How Much Money Does A Researcher Make?
A researcher makes an average of $64,000 a year. However, this amount can vary from $34,000 to $200,000 a year. A significant factor determining how much a researcher can make has to do with the type of researcher they are and the company for which they work.
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