The average salary for a scientific writer in the United States is $99,550. Scientific writer salaries typically range between $66,000 and $150,000 a year. The average hourly rate for scientific writers is $47.86 per hour.
Location, education, and experience impacts how much a scientific writer can expect to make. Scientific writers make the most in Virginia, Arizona, California, New Jersey, and Massachusetts.
Rank | State | Avg. Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Count |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | District of Columbia | $137,045 | $65.89 | 194 |
2 | Virginia | $117,340 | $56.41 | 345 |
3 | Massachusetts | $104,656 | $50.32 | 373 |
4 | New Jersey | $109,419 | $52.61 | 222 |
5 | California | $110,398 | $53.08 | 987 |
6 | Arizona | $115,911 | $55.73 | 110 |
7 | Vermont | $97,329 | $46.79 | 26 |
8 | Connecticut | $99,795 | $47.98 | 76 |
9 | Pennsylvania | $98,980 | $47.59 | 215 |
10 | New Hampshire | $97,650 | $46.95 | 36 |
11 | North Carolina | $94,627 | $45.49 | 218 |
12 | Michigan | $97,501 | $46.88 | 137 |
13 | New York | $95,473 | $45.90 | 572 |
14 | Nevada | $91,628 | $44.05 | 52 |
15 | Maryland | $93,448 | $44.93 | 317 |
16 | Wyoming | $84,714 | $40.73 | 29 |
17 | Rhode Island | $88,842 | $42.71 | 28 |
18 | Oregon | $89,459 | $43.01 | 165 |
19 | Alaska | $89,312 | $42.94 | 27 |
20 | Washington | $90,519 | $43.52 | 225 |
21 | Illinois | $87,955 | $42.29 | 323 |
22 | Delaware | $88,222 | $42.41 | 34 |
23 | Minnesota | $88,537 | $42.57 | 142 |
24 | North Dakota | $88,714 | $42.65 | 14 |
25 | Florida | $89,587 | $43.07 | 311 |
26 | Texas | $87,339 | $41.99 | 322 |
27 | Ohio | $86,544 | $41.61 | 129 |
28 | Louisiana | $86,411 | $41.54 | 26 |
29 | Wisconsin | $81,410 | $39.14 | 95 |
30 | Indiana | $81,301 | $39.09 | 88 |
31 | New Mexico | $81,558 | $39.21 | 39 |
32 | Georgia | $83,086 | $39.95 | 177 |
33 | Hawaii | $81,150 | $39.01 | 23 |
34 | Colorado | $81,321 | $39.10 | 133 |
35 | Utah | $76,688 | $36.87 | 98 |
36 | Tennessee | $79,157 | $38.06 | 65 |
37 | Missouri | $79,433 | $38.19 | 106 |
38 | West Virginia | $76,053 | $36.56 | 20 |
39 | Alabama | $78,564 | $37.77 | 46 |
40 | Montana | $76,290 | $36.68 | 24 |
41 | South Carolina | $77,816 | $37.41 | 54 |
42 | Arkansas | $74,783 | $35.95 | 40 |
43 | Kansas | $75,525 | $36.31 | 45 |
44 | Maine | $76,672 | $36.86 | 19 |
45 | Nebraska | $70,454 | $33.87 | 48 |
46 | Idaho | $69,122 | $33.23 | 32 |
47 | Mississippi | $74,258 | $35.70 | 18 |
48 | Kentucky | $73,453 | $35.31 | 38 |
49 | Oklahoma | $72,164 | $34.69 | 39 |
50 | South Dakota | $68,957 | $33.15 | 14 |
51 | Iowa | $69,622 | $33.47 | 40 |
Rank | City | Avg. Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Count |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Richmond, VA | $117,342 | $56.41 | 1 |
2 | Menlo Park, CA | $113,479 | $54.56 | |
3 | Hackensack, NJ | $109,479 | $52.63 | |
4 | Worcester, MA | $104,764 | $50.37 | |
5 | New York, NY | $95,777 | $46.05 | |
6 | Bethesda, MD | $93,362 | $44.89 | 1 |
7 | Reno, NV | $93,339 | $44.87 | |
8 | Seattle, WA | $91,442 | $43.96 | |
9 | Miami, FL | $89,192 | $42.88 | 1 |
10 | Chicago, IL | $88,414 | $42.51 | |
11 | Houston, TX | $87,686 | $42.16 | |
12 | Saint Louis, MO | $80,391 | $38.65 | 1 |
13 | Memphis, TN | $77,968 | $37.48 | 1 |
14 | Birmingham, AL | $77,890 | $37.45 |
Experience Level | Avg. Salary | Hourly Rate |
---|---|---|
Entry Level | $67,500 | $32.47 |
Mid Level | $108,000 | $51.75 |
Senior Level | $148,000 | $71.04 |
Percentile | Annual Salary | Monthly Salary | Hourly Rate |
---|---|---|---|
90th Percentile | $150,000 | $12,500 | $72 |
75th Percentile | $123,000 | $10,250 | $59 |
Average | $99,550 | $8,296 | $48 |
25th Percentile | $80,000 | $6,667 | $38 |
10th Percentile | $66,000 | $5,500 | $32 |
Job Title | Annual Salary | Monthly Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Openings |
---|---|---|---|---|
Journalist | $60,828 | $5,069 | $29.24 | 11,488 |
Publisher | $71,539 | $5,962 | $34.39 | 10,303 |
Editor | $52,107 | $4,342 | $25.05 | 15,115 |
News Editor | $53,822 | $4,485 | $25.88 | 12,484 |
Managing Editor | $89,060 | $7,422 | $42.82 | 16,781 |
Proposal Writer | $68,706 | $5,725 | $33.03 | 18,125 |
Here are the five companies hiring the most now:
Rank | Company | Average Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Openings |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center | $143,093 | $68.79 | |
2 | Methodist Hospital Of Henderson, Kentucky | $117,973 | $56.72 | |
3 | Bristol-Myers Squibb | $117,166 | $56.33 | 9 |
4 | Fred Hutch | $105,659 | $50.80 | |
5 | FleishmanHillard | $105,550 | $50.75 | |
6 | Parexel International | $103,994 | $50.00 | 1 |
7 | Medimmune | $101,417 | $48.76 | |
8 | Charles River Labs | $96,234 | $46.27 | |
9 | UMiami Health System | $95,759 | $46.04 | |
10 | Houston Methodist | $94,585 | $45.47 | 3 |
11 | Pharmaceutical Product Development | $93,661 | $45.03 | |
12 | UC Santa Barbara | $93,479 | $44.94 | |
13 | St. Jude Children's Research Hospital | $91,610 | $44.04 | 4 |
14 | Champions Oncology | $90,868 | $43.69 | |
15 | City of Hope | $90,860 | $43.68 | |
16 | Henry M. Jackson Foundation | $89,193 | $42.88 | |
17 | Charles River Center | $83,246 | $40.02 | |
18 | University of Massachusetts Medical School | $82,524 | $39.67 | 2 |
19 | Globus Medical | $80,503 | $38.70 | |
20 | University of Washington | $78,411 | $37.70 | 9 |
Compare salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.
Year | Avg. Salary | Hourly Rate | % Change |
---|---|---|---|
2023 | $99,500 | $47.86 | +2.4% |
2022 | $97,100 | $46.71 | +1.4% |
2021 | $95,800 | $46.07 | +1.3% |
2020 | $94,600 | $45.48 | +1.5% |
2019 | $93,100 | $44.78 | -0.6% |
Company | Job | Location | Date Added | Salary |
---|---|---|---|---|
The University of Oklahoma Human Resources | Scientific Writer/Editor | Oklahoma City, OK | 05/04/2023 | $60,400 |
Washington University In St. Louis | Scientific Writer-Psychiatry | Saint Louis, MO | 05/01/2023 | $50,500 |
Inotiv | Scientific Writer | Westminster, CO | 04/28/2023 | $69,700 |
Stanford University | Lifestyle Medicine Scientific Writer & Program Manager (Hybrid) | Redwood City, CA | 04/26/2023 | $75,000 |
The University of Oklahoma Human Resources | Scientific Writer/Editor | Oklahoma City, OK | 04/10/2023 | $60,400 |
Inotiv | Scientific Writer II | Westminster, CO | 04/05/2023 | $69,700 |
Envigo RMS, LLC | Scientific Writer II | Westminster, CO | 04/04/2023 | $69,700 |
Envigo RMS, LLC | Scientific Writer | Westminster, CO | 04/04/2023 | $69,700 |
Virginia Commonwealth University | Protocol/Scientific Writer-Massey Cancer Center | Richmond, VA | 03/30/2023 | $65,000 |
Washington University In St. Louis | Scientific Writer-Psychiatry | Saint Louis, MO | 03/30/2023 | $50,500 |
Virginia pays Scientific Writers the most in the United States, with an average salary of $137,045 per year, or $65.89 per hour.
You know if you are being paid fairly as a Scientific Writer if your pay is close to the average pay for the state you live in. For example, if you live in Virginia you should be paid close to $117,340 per year.
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