Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
Senior staff scientist salary
Average senior staff scientist salary
$123,740
Average Senior Staff Scientist Salary
The average salary for a Senior Staff Scientist is $123,740 per year, translating to approximately $59 per hour. This salary can vary significantly based on factors such as location, years of experience, and the specific industry. For instance, those in top-paying states, such as California and Massachusetts, often earn more due to the higher cost of living and demand for skilled scientists.
Highest Paying States
Senior Staff Scientists earn the highest salaries in states like:
- California
- Massachusetts
- New York
These states offer a vibrant job market and opportunities in leading research institutions and biotechnology companies. Additionally, professionals can enhance their earning potential by gaining specialized skills or transitioning into management roles.
Job Opportunities
As the demand for innovative solutions in various fields grows, Senior Staff Scientists are increasingly sought after in sectors like pharmaceuticals, environmental science, and technology. Exploring these opportunities can lead to rewarding careers with competitive salaries.
Let Zippia find your next senior staff scientist job
Let Zippia find your next senior staff scientist job
Where can a Senior Staff Scientist earn more?
Senior staff scientist salary estimates from across the web
Average senior staff scientist salary by state
The average senior staff scientist salary in California, Alaska, and Montana are the highest in the U.S. The lowest average senior staff scientist salary states are Missouri, Utah, and Nebraska.
- State view
- County view
Highest paying states for senior staff scientists
| Rank | State | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | $146,212 | $70.29 |
| 2 | Maine | $124,818 | $60.01 |
| 3 | Montana | $128,397 | $61.73 |
| 4 | Connecticut | $125,550 | $60.36 |
| 5 | New Jersey | $120,644 | $58.00 |
| 6 | Washington | $119,654 | $57.53 |
| 7 | Nevada | $120,005 | $57.69 |
| 8 | Alaska | $139,019 | $66.84 |
| 9 | Oregon | $117,458 | $56.47 |
| 10 | Pennsylvania | $109,760 | $52.77 |
| 11 | Massachusetts | $109,314 | $52.55 |
| 12 | Delaware | $113,371 | $54.51 |
| 13 | Indiana | $122,878 | $59.08 |
| 14 | New York | $111,090 | $53.41 |
| 15 | Maryland | $112,456 | $54.07 |
| 16 | Rhode Island | $102,312 | $49.19 |
| 17 | Vermont | $103,583 | $49.80 |
| 18 | Tennessee | $111,051 | $53.39 |
| 19 | Arizona | $110,743 | $53.24 |
| 20 | Minnesota | $106,512 | $51.21 |
| 21 | Illinois | $103,720 | $49.87 |
| 22 | Michigan | $107,762 | $51.81 |
| 23 | Wyoming | $97,458 | $46.85 |
| 24 | Hawaii | $104,723 | $50.35 |
| 25 | Virginia | $99,043 | $47.62 |
| 26 | New Mexico | $94,233 | $45.30 |
| 27 | District of Columbia | $102,166 | $49.12 |
| 28 | New Hampshire | $96,210 | $46.25 |
| 29 | Colorado | $98,525 | $47.37 |
| 30 | Idaho | $93,978 | $45.18 |
| 31 | South Dakota | $90,675 | $43.59 |
| 32 | North Carolina | $88,720 | $42.65 |
| 33 | Arkansas | $93,113 | $44.77 |
| 34 | Oklahoma | $94,579 | $45.47 |
| 35 | Wisconsin | $89,168 | $42.87 |
| 36 | Iowa | $90,545 | $43.53 |
| 37 | Alabama | $89,359 | $42.96 |
| 38 | Florida | $88,856 | $42.72 |
| 39 | Ohio | $83,341 | $40.07 |
| 40 | Kansas | $84,378 | $40.57 |
| 41 | West Virginia | $84,820 | $40.78 |
| 42 | Utah | $76,682 | $36.87 |
| 43 | Louisiana | $80,391 | $38.65 |
| 44 | North Dakota | $83,964 | $40.37 |
| 45 | Missouri | $77,289 | $37.16 |
| 46 | Kentucky | $83,677 | $40.23 |
| 47 | Georgia | $80,969 | $38.93 |
| 48 | Texas | $70,830 | $34.05 |
| 49 | Nebraska | $75,931 | $36.51 |
| 50 | South Carolina | $72,377 | $34.80 |
| 51 | Mississippi | $75,321 | $36.21 |
Highest paying cities for senior staff scientists
The highest-paying cities for senior staff scientists are San Francisco, CA, Fishers, IN, and Seattle, WA.
| Rank | City | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $154,266 | $74.17 |
| 2 | Fishers, IN | $122,734 | $59.01 |
| 3 | Seattle, WA | $120,808 | $58.08 |
| 4 | Bridgewater, NJ | $120,328 | $57.85 |
| 5 | Portland, OR | $116,866 | $56.19 |
| 6 | Wilmington, DE | $113,682 | $54.65 |
| 7 | Bethesda, MD | $111,981 | $53.84 |
| 8 | Phoenix, AZ | $111,448 | $53.58 |
| 9 | New York, NY | $111,177 | $53.45 |
| 10 | Oak Ridge, TN | $110,860 | $53.30 |
| 11 | Boston, MA | $109,420 | $52.61 |
| 12 | Pittsburgh, PA | $107,049 | $51.47 |
| 13 | Eden Prairie, MN | $106,404 | $51.16 |
| 14 | Denver, CO | $98,309 | $47.26 |
| 15 | Carlsbad, NM | $92,296 | $44.37 |
| 16 | Tampa, FL | $89,673 | $43.11 |
| 17 | Winston-Salem, NC | $88,743 | $42.66 |
| 18 | Madison, WI | $88,633 | $42.61 |
| 19 | Shaker Heights, OH | $85,174 | $40.95 |
| 20 | Atlanta, GA | $80,578 | $38.74 |
Senior staff scientist salary details
A senior staff scientist's salary ranges from $86,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $177,000 at the 90th percentile.
What is a senior staff scientist's salary?
| Percentile | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90th Percentile | $177,000 | $14,750 | $85 |
| 75th Percentile | $149,000 | $12,417 | $72 |
| Average | $123,740 | $10,312 | $59 |
| 25th Percentile | $102,000 | $8,500 | $49 |
| 10th Percentile | $86,000 | $7,167 | $41 |
Highest paying senior staff scientist jobs
The highest paying types of senior staff scientists are medical science liaison, senior scientist, and scientist.
| Job title | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Research Fellow | $53,823 | $4,485 | $25.88 | 59,746 |
| Fellow | $66,364 | $5,530 | $31.91 | 7,459 |
| Quality Control | $32,824 | $2,735 | $15.78 | 83,496 |
| Doctoral Fellow | $53,366 | $4,447 | $25.66 | 22,661 |
| PHD Researcher | $51,634 | $4,303 | $24.82 | 19,736 |
| Researcher | $67,145 | $5,595 | $32.28 | 30,498 |
Top companies hiring senior staff scientists now:
Which companies pay senior staff scientists the most?
Senior staff scientist salaries at Airbnb and Twitter are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average senior staff scientist salary at companies like Palo Alto Networks and Chevron are highly competitive.
| Rank | Company | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Airbnb | $193,598 | $93.08 |
| 2 | $180,149 | $86.61 | |
| 3 | Palo Alto Networks | $159,564 | $76.71 |
| 4 | Chevron | $156,148 | $75.07 |
| 5 | Broadcom | $153,862 | $73.97 |
| 6 | Über | $152,029 | $73.09 |
| 7 | Genentech | $150,854 | $72.53 |
| 8 | Integrated DNA Technologies | $146,880 | $70.62 |
| 9 | Slack | $142,815 | $68.66 |
| 10 | Regeneron | $140,399 | $67.50 |
| 11 | The NAV | $138,969 | $66.81 |
| 12 | Twist Bioscience | $138,538 | $66.60 |
| 13 | SolarWinds | $138,035 | $66.36 |
| 14 | Stanford Health Care | $136,858 | $65.80 |
| 15 | Sony Electronics | $136,471 | $65.61 |
| 16 | Solenis | $135,286 | $65.04 |
| 17 | Incyte | $132,772 | $63.83 |
| 18 | OmniVision Technologies | $131,094 | $63.03 |
| 19 | Oak Ridge National Laboratory | $130,860 | $62.91 |
| 20 | SAS Institute | $129,063 | $62.05 |
Wage gap by gender, race and education
Senior Staff Scientist salary by industry
The average senior staff scientist salary varies across industries:
- The average senior staff scientist salary in the technology industry is $126,394, the highest of any industry.
- The average senior staff scientist salary in the finance industry is $121,396.
- Senior staff scientists in the professional industry earn an average salary of $104,585, the lowest of any industry.
Highest paying industries for senior staff scientists
| Rank | Industry | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Technology | $126,394 | $60.77 |
| 2 | Internet | $121,396 | $58.36 |
| 3 | Manufacturing | $120,892 | $58.12 |
| 4 | Health Care | $117,301 | $56.39 |
| 5 | Professional | $104,585 | $50.28 |
High paying senior staff scientist jobs
Senior staff scientist salary trends
The average senior staff scientist salary has risen by $20,797 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average senior staff scientist earned $102,943 annually, but today, they earn $123,740 a year. That works out to a 14% change in pay for senior staff scientists over the last decade.
Compare senior staff scientist salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.
Average senior staff scientist salary over time
Compare senior staff scientist salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.
Senior staff scientist salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | $124,000 | $59.49 | +3.0% |
| 2025 | $120,000 | $57.72 | +4.5% |
| 2024 | $115,000 | $55.13 | +3.2% |
| 2023 | $111,000 | $53.37 | +1.9% |
| 2022 | $109,000 | $52.35 | -2.1% |
Recently added senior staff scientist salaries
| Company | Job | Location | Date added | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The University of Chicago | Senior Staff Scientist-Bioinformatics | Chicago, IL | 06/30/2025 | $80,000 |
| The Trade Desk | Senior/Staff Data Scientist, Search and Recommender Systems-Ventura OS | New York, NY | 06/29/2025 | $137,300 |
| Loyola University of Chicago Inc. | SR Staff Scientist | Chicago, IL | 06/28/2025 | $60,000 |
| Roche | SR. Staff Scientist | Carlsbad, CA | 06/26/2025 | $127,300 |
| Guardant Health | Senior Staff Bioinformatics Scientist | San Diego, CA | 06/26/2025 | $192,000 |
| Uber | Senior Staff Scientist, Ubereats, Consumer | New York, NY | 06/25/2025 | $241,000 |
| Uber | Senior Staff Scientist, Ubereats, Consumer | Seattle, WA | 06/25/2025 | $241,000 |
| Uber | Senior Staff Scientist, Ubereats, Consumer | San Francisco, CA | 06/25/2025 | $241,000 |
| Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. | SR. Staff Scientist | Los Angeles, CA | 06/24/2025 | $109,100 |
| Terracon | Senior Staff Scientist | Fort Collins, CO | 06/19/2025 | $70,000 |
Senior staff scientist salary FAQs
Search for senior staff scientist jobs