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Laboratory manager salary
Average laboratory manager salary
$74,314
Average Laboratory Manager Salary
As of October 2025, the average salary for a Laboratory Manager is approximately $74,314 per year or $36 per hour. Factors influencing this salary include geographical location, years of experience, and the specific industry in which the manager works. For instance, those in urban areas may see higher wages compared to their rural counterparts.
Salary by State
Laboratory Managers in states such as California and Massachusetts typically earn higher than those in other regions. Understanding these geographical salary variances can help job seekers target their applications more effectively.
Industry Impact
The industry also plays a significant role in salary determination. For example, managers in pharmaceutical or biotechnology companies often receive higher compensation compared to those in educational or clinical settings. This highlights the importance of aligning career aspirations with industry trends.
Opportunities for Advancement
With experience, Laboratory Managers can pursue advanced roles such as Laboratory Directors or Chief Scientific Officers, further increasing their earning potential. Continuous education and specialization in emerging technologies can also enhance job prospects and salary expectations.
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Where can a Laboratory Manager earn more?
Laboratory manager salary estimates from across the web
Average laboratory manager salary by state
The highest-paying states for laboratory managers are Hawaii, California, and Washington. The lowest average laboratory manager salary states are Wyoming, Oklahoma, and Kansas.
- State view
- County view
Highest paying states for laboratory managers
| Rank | State | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | $99,018 | $47.60 |
| 2 | Washington | $96,780 | $46.53 |
| 3 | Alaska | $91,186 | $43.84 |
| 4 | New Hampshire | $78,690 | $37.83 |
| 5 | Nevada | $95,568 | $45.95 |
| 6 | South Dakota | $73,653 | $35.41 |
| 7 | Michigan | $81,171 | $39.02 |
| 8 | Vermont | $75,807 | $36.45 |
| 9 | Oregon | $88,983 | $42.78 |
| 10 | New York | $80,302 | $38.61 |
| 11 | New Jersey | $85,667 | $41.19 |
| 12 | Hawaii | $113,688 | $54.66 |
| 13 | Massachusetts | $76,177 | $36.62 |
| 14 | Connecticut | $78,568 | $37.77 |
| 15 | Idaho | $76,472 | $36.77 |
| 16 | Arkansas | $70,219 | $33.76 |
| 17 | Arizona | $70,323 | $33.81 |
| 18 | Indiana | $76,848 | $36.95 |
| 19 | Minnesota | $72,725 | $34.96 |
| 20 | West Virginia | $68,374 | $32.87 |
| 21 | Utah | $71,965 | $34.60 |
| 22 | Kentucky | $73,464 | $35.32 |
| 23 | Ohio | $67,895 | $32.64 |
| 24 | Pennsylvania | $66,004 | $31.73 |
| 25 | Maryland | $69,534 | $33.43 |
| 26 | Colorado | $70,671 | $33.98 |
| 27 | New Mexico | $66,909 | $32.17 |
| 28 | Illinois | $67,090 | $32.25 |
| 29 | North Dakota | $60,114 | $28.90 |
| 30 | Rhode Island | $69,775 | $33.55 |
| 31 | North Carolina | $65,752 | $31.61 |
| 32 | Iowa | $59,076 | $28.40 |
| 33 | Delaware | $65,825 | $31.65 |
| 34 | Nebraska | $64,542 | $31.03 |
| 35 | Maine | $61,229 | $29.44 |
| 36 | Montana | $61,487 | $29.56 |
| 37 | Wisconsin | $58,135 | $27.95 |
| 38 | Texas | $62,034 | $29.82 |
| 39 | District of Columbia | $69,656 | $33.49 |
| 40 | Wyoming | $57,969 | $27.87 |
| 41 | Florida | $59,215 | $28.47 |
| 42 | Virginia | $64,597 | $31.06 |
| 43 | Tennessee | $56,052 | $26.95 |
| 44 | Louisiana | $59,914 | $28.80 |
| 45 | Kansas | $57,274 | $27.54 |
| 46 | Georgia | $60,806 | $29.23 |
| 47 | Mississippi | $59,051 | $28.39 |
| 48 | Alabama | $56,313 | $27.07 |
| 49 | Missouri | $59,872 | $28.78 |
| 50 | Oklahoma | $57,526 | $27.66 |
| 51 | South Carolina | $52,889 | $25.43 |
Highest paying cities for laboratory managers
The highest-paying cities for laboratory managers are San Francisco, CA, Seattle, WA, and Las Vegas, NV.
| Rank | City | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $109,409 | $52.60 |
| 2 | Seattle, WA | $97,693 | $46.97 |
| 3 | Las Vegas, NV | $94,687 | $45.52 |
| 4 | Portland, OR | $88,477 | $42.54 |
| 5 | New York, NY | $80,512 | $38.71 |
| 6 | Richmond, IN | $77,394 | $37.21 |
| 7 | Boston, MA | $76,182 | $36.63 |
| 8 | Salt Lake City, UT | $71,671 | $34.46 |
| 9 | Denver, CO | $70,695 | $33.99 |
| 10 | Phoenix, AZ | $70,592 | $33.94 |
| 11 | Baltimore, MD | $69,739 | $33.53 |
| 12 | Washington, DC | $69,679 | $33.50 |
| 13 | El Paso, TX | $67,984 | $32.68 |
| 14 | Columbus, OH | $67,457 | $32.43 |
| 15 | Chicago, IL | $67,453 | $32.43 |
| 16 | Durham, NC | $67,027 | $32.22 |
| 17 | Philadelphia, PA | $66,336 | $31.89 |
| 18 | Arlington, VA | $65,956 | $31.71 |
| 19 | Omaha, NE | $64,427 | $30.97 |
| 20 | Portland, ME | $61,896 | $29.76 |
Laboratory manager salary details
A laboratory manager's salary ranges from $49,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $111,000 at the 90th percentile.
What is a laboratory manager's salary?
| Percentile | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90th Percentile | $111,000 | $9,250 | $53 |
| 75th Percentile | $92,000 | $7,667 | $44 |
| Average | $74,314 | $6,193 | $36 |
| 25th Percentile | $59,000 | $4,917 | $28 |
| 10th Percentile | $49,000 | $4,083 | $24 |
Highest paying laboratory manager jobs
The highest paying types of laboratory managers are quality assurance director, director of quality, and vice-president of quality.
| Job title | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vice-President Of Quality | $128,198 | $10,683 | $61.63 | 89,115 |
| Quality Supervisor | $60,486 | $5,041 | $29.08 | 61,400 |
| Director Of Quality | $134,435 | $11,203 | $64.63 | 65,443 |
| Quality Assurance Director | $140,937 | $11,745 | $67.76 | 66,888 |
| Lead Quality Control | $85,375 | $7,115 | $41.05 | 83,633 |
| Director Of Quality Management | $114,201 | $9,517 | $54.90 | 128,076 |
Top companies hiring laboratory managers now:
Which companies pay laboratory managers the most?
Laboratory manager salaries at Meta and Microsoft are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average laboratory manager salary at companies like Google and Apple are highly competitive.
| Rank | Company | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Meta | $162,612 | $78.18 |
| 2 | Microsoft | $158,156 | $76.04 |
| 3 | $154,821 | $74.43 | |
| 4 | Apple | $144,673 | $69.55 |
| 5 | Ropes & Gray | $139,134 | $66.89 |
| 6 | GoDaddy | $137,249 | $65.99 |
| 7 | Amazon | $135,663 | $65.22 |
| 8 | BP America Inc | $131,482 | $63.21 |
| 9 | Cisco | $126,097 | $60.62 |
| 10 | Neuralink IT Solutions | $123,173 | $59.22 |
| 11 | Skyworks Solutions | $118,703 | $57.07 |
| 12 | Chemonics | $118,328 | $56.89 |
| 13 | DataDirect Networks (DDN) | $116,670 | $56.09 |
| 14 | Bio-Rad Laboratories | $115,208 | $55.39 |
| 15 | Extreme Networks | $112,441 | $54.06 |
| 16 | Fusion Technology | $111,503 | $53.61 |
| 17 | Infineon Technologies | $108,875 | $52.34 |
| 18 | Dassault Systèmes | $105,598 | $50.77 |
| 19 | VF | $105,021 | $50.49 |
| 20 | Vicor | $104,061 | $50.03 |
Wage gap by gender, race and education
Laboratory Manager salary by industry
The average laboratory manager salary varies across industries:
- The average laboratory manager salary in the pharmaceutical industry is $90,911, the highest of any industry.
- The average laboratory manager salary in the finance industry is $86,116.
- Laboratory managers in the education industry earn an average salary of $63,575, the lowest of any industry.
Highest paying industries for laboratory managers
| Rank | Industry | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pharmaceutical | $90,911 | $43.71 |
| 2 | Technology | $86,116 | $41.40 |
| 3 | Manufacturing | $79,857 | $38.39 |
| 4 | Health Care | $79,013 | $37.99 |
| 5 | Retail | $78,235 | $37.61 |
| 6 | Internet | $76,332 | $36.70 |
| 7 | Education | $63,575 | $30.56 |
High paying laboratory manager jobs
Laboratory manager salary trends
The average laboratory manager salary has risen by $14,072 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average laboratory manager earned $60,242 annually, but today, they earn $74,314 a year. That works out to a 12% change in pay for laboratory managers over the last decade.
Compare laboratory manager salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.
Average laboratory manager salary over time
Compare laboratory manager salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.
Laboratory manager salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $74,300 | $35.73 | +3.0% |
| 2024 | $72,100 | $34.64 | +2.0% |
| 2023 | $70,600 | $33.95 | +2.7% |
| 2022 | $68,700 | $33.03 | +3.4% |
| 2021 | $66,400 | $31.90 | +3.3% |
Recently added laboratory manager salaries
| Company | Job | Location | Date added | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exact Sciences | Manager, Pre-Analytical Laboratory | Madison, WI | 06/30/2025 | $93,000 |
| Jeppesen | Metrology & Test Equipment Services Lab Manager | El Segundo, CA | 06/30/2025 | $138,550 |
| Oregon State University | Academic Wage-Hourly: Laboratory Manager (Internal Employment Opportunity) | Corvallis, OR | 06/30/2025 | $49,107 |
| Contact Government Services | Electronic Discovery Lab Manager | Houston, TX | 06/30/2025 | $102,891 |
| Anduril Industries | EE Lab Manager | Costa Mesa, CA | 06/29/2025 | $100,000 |
| Contact Government Services, LLC | ALS Lab Manager | Albany, NY | 06/29/2025 | $102,891 |
| Contact Government Services | Automated Litigation Support Lab Manager | Cheyenne, WY | 06/29/2025 | $102,891 |
| Contact Government Services, LLC | ALS Lab Manager | Birmingham, AL | 06/29/2025 | $102,891 |
| Contact Government Services, LLC | ALS Lab Manager | Boone, NC | 06/29/2025 | $102,891 |
| Contact Government Services | ALS Lab Manager | Pierre, SD | 06/29/2025 | $102,891 |
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