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Principal research scientist salary
Average principal research scientist salary
$127,191
Understanding the Principal Research Scientist Salary
As of October 2025, the average salary for a Principal Research Scientist stands at $127,191 per year, which translates to about $61 per hour. This figure varies significantly across different states and industries. For instance, states like California and Massachusetts offer some of the highest salaries, reflecting the demand for skilled scientists in these regions.
Factors influencing salary include years of experience, educational background, and industry specialization. Research scientists in the pharmaceutical and biotech sectors often earn top dollar due to the high level of expertise required. Entry-level positions typically start lower, but with experience, salaries can increase substantially.
Additionally, many Principal Research Scientists engage in collaborative projects, which can lead to bonuses and other incentives. Understanding these dynamics of compensation is essential for professionals aiming to maximize their earning potential in this rewarding field.
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Where can a Principal Research Scientist earn more?
Principal research scientist salary estimates from across the web
Average principal research scientist salary by state
The average principal research scientist salary in California, Alaska, and Nevada are the highest in the U.S. The lowest average principal research scientist salary states are Kentucky, Mississippi, and Missouri.
- State view
- County view
Highest paying states for principal research scientists
| Rank | State | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Montana | $129,825 | $62.42 |
| 2 | Oregon | $122,664 | $58.97 |
| 3 | Arizona | $123,215 | $59.24 |
| 4 | Washington | $124,066 | $59.65 |
| 5 | New Jersey | $119,084 | $57.25 |
| 6 | California | $157,984 | $75.95 |
| 7 | Connecticut | $117,856 | $56.66 |
| 8 | Nevada | $134,286 | $64.56 |
| 9 | Maine | $125,563 | $60.37 |
| 10 | Alaska | $151,514 | $72.84 |
| 11 | Pennsylvania | $111,592 | $53.65 |
| 12 | Massachusetts | $111,322 | $53.52 |
| 13 | Delaware | $111,557 | $53.63 |
| 14 | Minnesota | $112,803 | $54.23 |
| 15 | Wisconsin | $111,348 | $53.53 |
| 16 | Tennessee | $112,638 | $54.15 |
| 17 | Vermont | $103,418 | $49.72 |
| 18 | Rhode Island | $102,275 | $49.17 |
| 19 | Florida | $106,509 | $51.21 |
| 20 | Hawaii | $117,397 | $56.44 |
| 21 | Indiana | $112,690 | $54.18 |
| 22 | North Carolina | $101,390 | $48.75 |
| 23 | Wyoming | $97,687 | $46.96 |
| 24 | Virginia | $103,004 | $49.52 |
| 25 | Illinois | $101,864 | $48.97 |
| 26 | New Mexico | $96,543 | $46.41 |
| 27 | Maryland | $99,340 | $47.76 |
| 28 | Colorado | $95,994 | $46.15 |
| 29 | New Hampshire | $96,312 | $46.30 |
| 30 | New York | $97,924 | $47.08 |
| 31 | District of Columbia | $110,991 | $53.36 |
| 32 | South Dakota | $91,475 | $43.98 |
| 33 | West Virginia | $94,230 | $45.30 |
| 34 | Texas | $95,041 | $45.69 |
| 35 | Utah | $95,019 | $45.68 |
| 36 | Michigan | $91,674 | $44.07 |
| 37 | Idaho | $89,923 | $43.23 |
| 38 | Louisiana | $95,357 | $45.84 |
| 39 | Oklahoma | $93,683 | $45.04 |
| 40 | Arkansas | $91,365 | $43.93 |
| 41 | Ohio | $86,821 | $41.74 |
| 42 | North Dakota | $84,347 | $40.55 |
| 43 | Alabama | $87,968 | $42.29 |
| 44 | Kansas | $83,451 | $40.12 |
| 45 | Missouri | $80,734 | $38.81 |
| 46 | South Carolina | $84,720 | $40.73 |
| 47 | Kentucky | $82,956 | $39.88 |
| 48 | Nebraska | $75,776 | $36.43 |
| 49 | Mississippi | $82,249 | $39.54 |
| 50 | Georgia | $75,011 | $36.06 |
| 51 | Iowa | $67,317 | $32.36 |
Highest paying cities for principal research scientists
The highest-paying cities for principal research scientists are San Francisco, CA, Seattle, WA, and Beaverton, OR.
| Rank | City | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $166,488 | $80.04 |
| 2 | Seattle, WA | $125,938 | $60.55 |
| 3 | Beaverton, OR | $122,901 | $59.09 |
| 4 | Minneapolis, MN | $112,853 | $54.26 |
| 5 | Philadelphia, PA | $112,054 | $53.87 |
| 6 | Indianapolis, IN | $111,908 | $53.80 |
| 7 | Boston, MA | $111,607 | $53.66 |
| 8 | Dania Beach, FL | $107,930 | $51.89 |
| 9 | McLean, VA | $104,100 | $50.05 |
| 10 | Burlington, VT | $103,457 | $49.74 |
| 11 | North Chicago, IL | $102,927 | $49.48 |
| 12 | College Park, MD | $99,021 | $47.61 |
| 13 | New York, NY | $97,847 | $47.04 |
| 14 | Colorado Springs, CO | $96,285 | $46.29 |
| 15 | Houston, TX | $95,686 | $46.00 |
| 16 | Ann Arbor, MI | $91,417 | $43.95 |
| 17 | Columbus, OH | $86,121 | $41.40 |
| 18 | Atlanta, GA | $74,555 | $35.84 |
| 19 | Ames, IA | $67,486 | $32.45 |
Principal Research Scientists are the most in-demand in these five cities:
Principal research scientist salary details
A principal research scientist's salary ranges from $87,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $184,000 at the 90th percentile.
What is a principal research scientist's salary?
| Percentile | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90th Percentile | $184,000 | $15,333 | $88 |
| 75th Percentile | $154,000 | $12,833 | $74 |
| Average | $127,191 | $10,599 | $61 |
| 25th Percentile | $104,000 | $8,667 | $50 |
| 10th Percentile | $87,000 | $7,250 | $42 |
Highest paying principal research scientist jobs
The highest paying types of principal research scientists are medical science liaison, senior scientist, and scientist.
| Job title | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chemist | $64,961 | $5,413 | $31.23 | 20,221 |
| Laboratory Analyst | $44,024 | $3,669 | $21.17 | 44,074 |
| Research Fellow | $53,823 | $4,485 | $25.88 | 59,746 |
| Medical Science Liaison | $145,718 | $12,143 | $70.06 | 57,208 |
| Scientist | $97,344 | $8,112 | $46.80 | 62,467 |
| Research And Development Chemist | $77,233 | $6,436 | $37.13 | 100,225 |
How would you rate the starting salaries for principal research scientists, as well as the prospects for salary advancement?
Dr. Howard Whiteman
Professor of Biological Sciences, Director of the Watershed Studies Institute, Murray State University
Top companies hiring principal research scientists now:
Which companies pay principal research scientists the most?
Principal research scientist salaries at Google and ByteDance are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average principal research scientist salary at companies like Houzz and NVIDIA are highly competitive.
| Rank | Company | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $196,546 | $94.49 | |
| 2 | ByteDance | $188,233 | $90.50 |
| 3 | Houzz | $179,562 | $86.33 |
| 4 | NVIDIA | $178,218 | $85.68 |
| 5 | Palo Alto Networks | $174,295 | $83.80 |
| 6 | Microsoft | $169,621 | $81.55 |
| 7 | Adobe | $164,622 | $79.15 |
| 8 | Yahoo | $160,507 | $77.17 |
| 9 | Riot Games | $158,245 | $76.08 |
| 10 | HowStuffWorks | $151,926 | $73.04 |
| 11 | Crunchyroll | $151,608 | $72.89 |
| 12 | Tencent | $151,425 | $72.80 |
| 13 | Allergan plc | $149,265 | $71.76 |
| 14 | Nike | $147,022 | $70.68 |
| 15 | Amazon | $147,020 | $70.68 |
| 16 | Vertex Pharmaceuticals | $146,314 | $70.34 |
| 17 | Nokia | $145,837 | $70.11 |
| 18 | Chewy | $144,158 | $69.31 |
| 19 | FireEye | $144,056 | $69.26 |
| 20 | Hitachi U.S.A. | $142,169 | $68.35 |
Wage gap by gender, race and education
Principal Research Scientist salary by industry
The average principal research scientist salary varies across industries:
- The average principal research scientist salary in the start-up industry is $173,352, the highest of any industry.
- The average principal research scientist salary in the finance industry is $148,842.
- Principal research scientists in the pharmaceutical industry earn an average salary of $115,722, the lowest of any industry.
Highest paying industries for principal research scientists
| Rank | Industry | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Start-up | $173,352 | $83.34 |
| 2 | Finance | $148,842 | $71.56 |
| 3 | Technology | $130,071 | $62.53 |
| 4 | Manufacturing | $116,203 | $55.87 |
| 5 | Pharmaceutical | $115,722 | $55.64 |
High paying principal research scientist jobs
Principal research scientist salary trends
The average principal research scientist salary has risen by $21,377 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average principal research scientist earned $105,814 annually, but today, they earn $127,191 a year. That works out to a 14% change in pay for principal research scientists over the last decade.
Compare principal research scientist salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.
Average principal research scientist salary over time
Compare principal research scientist salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.
Principal research scientist salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $127,000 | $61.15 | +3.0% |
| 2024 | $123,000 | $59.33 | +4.5% |
| 2023 | $118,000 | $56.67 | +3.2% |
| 2022 | $114,000 | $54.85 | +1.9% |
| 2021 | $112,000 | $53.81 | -2.1% |
Recently added principal research scientist salaries
| Company | Job | Location | Date added | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Corporation | Principal Research Scientist | Redmond, WA | 06/27/2025 | $188,000 |
| Parsons Corporation | Principal Vulnerability Researcher | West Melbourne, FL | 06/27/2025 | $120,800 |
| Mongodb | Principal Research Scientist, Database Systems | Palo Alto, CA | 06/25/2025 | $168,000 |
| Merck | Principal Scientist, Upstream Process R&D | Rahway, NJ | 06/22/2025 | $169,700 |
| Kraft Heinz | Principal Scientist, R&D-Product DEV (Ingredient Technology) | Glenview, IL | 06/21/2025 | $102,100 |
| Genentech | Principal Scientist-Biomarker Development and Translational Research | South San Francisco, CA | 06/20/2025 | $141,500 |
| Abbvie | Principal Research Scientist I, Immuno-Pharmacology | Worcester, MA | 06/19/2025 | $121,000 |
| Schwan's Company | Principal Research Scientist (Bakery Science) | Marshall, MN | 06/19/2025 | $104,625 |
| Amazon.com, Inc. | Principal Research Scientist, AWS Industry Products | Seattle, WA | 06/16/2025 | $170,500 |
| Oracle | Principal Offensive Security Researcher | Columbia, MD | 06/14/2025 | $109,200 |
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