Materials Scientists
Median $117,790
Occupation · SOC 19-2031
Chemists: pay and where the jobs are
What chemists earn in the U.S., how pay varies across workers and states, and tools to plan around it.
National pay, May 2025
$91,240 median annual wage
- Mean (average) annual wage
- $100,450
- Median hourly wage
- $43.87
- Mean hourly wage
- $48.29
- Employment
- 82,770
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 (released 2026-05-15), SOC 19-2031.
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See where your pay falls among chemists nationally and in your state. Nothing you type leaves your browser.
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Use these numbers
How much do chemists make?
The median annual wage for chemists was $91,240 in May 2025, so half of workers earned more and half earned less. The lowest-paid 10% earned less than $58,460 and the highest-paid 10% more than $160,830. As an hourly rate, the median is $43.87. About 82,770 people work in this occupation nationwide. The highest state medians are in District of Columbia ($149,860), Maryland ($140,670) and Delaware ($129,860). After taxes and local prices, though, a median paycheck goes furthest in New Mexico.
Pay ladder
What each step of the pay range for chemists looks like per month. Take-home here includes federal tax, Social Security and Medicare for a single filer; add your state in the paycheck calculator.
| Step | Annual | Hourly | Monthly gross | Monthly after federal tax & FICA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $58,460 | $28.11 | $4,872 | $4,096 |
| 25th percentile | $69,460 | $33.39 | $5,788 | $4,808 |
| Median | $91,240 | $43.87 | $7,603 | $6,085 |
| 75th percentile | $125,550 | $60.36 | $10,463 | $8,090 |
| 90th percentile | $160,830 | $77.32 | $13,403 | $10,099 |
Chemists: pay by state
52 states and territories have a published median, sorted from highest to lowest. The last two columns are our estimates: the median after 2026 federal and state taxes, and that take-home restated in national-average prices.
1
$101,020 take-home in national prices
2
$96,099 take-home in national prices
3
$94,563 take-home in national prices
Where a median chemist paycheck goes furthest after 2026 taxes and BEA price levels.
| State | Employment | Median | 10th pct. | 90th pct. | Median after tax* | In national prices† |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| District of Columbia | 280 | $149,860 | $101,400 | $195,190 | $103,926 | $94,563 |
| Maryland | 2,480 | $140,670 | $75,430 | $195,190 | $100,864 | $96,099 |
| Delaware | 1,200 | $129,860 | $80,500 | $170,290 | $92,276 | $92,454 |
| New Mexico | 280 | $126,960 | $59,490 | $212,940 | $93,153 | $101,020 |
| Massachusetts | 3,430 | $125,000 | $71,120 | $212,210 | $90,099 | $85,194 |
| Alaska | 60 | $106,010 | $61,840 | $140,800 | $83,137 | $81,221 |
| Oregon | 730 | $104,590 | $70,320 | $157,700 | $73,969 | $71,564 |
| Louisiana | 740 | $103,890 | $58,310 | $168,460 | $79,186 | $89,773 |
| Wyoming | 80 | $102,000 | $52,150 | $127,120 | $80,587 | $86,942 |
| Colorado | 1,790 | $101,980 | $61,260 | $162,680 | $76,345 | $74,084 |
| Rhode Island | 150 | $101,660 | $70,210 | $146,830 | $76,021 | $74,326 |
| New Hampshire | 300 | $100,050 | $58,260 | $133,960 | $79,215 | $76,048 |
| Texas | 5,130 | $99,640 | $58,850 | $170,250 | $78,927 | $81,320 |
| Minnesota | 1,680 | $99,280 | $60,010 | $158,540 | $73,009 | $74,030 |
| Connecticut | 1,170 | $98,140 | $65,230 | $144,740 | $72,733 | $70,199 |
| California | 9,820 | $97,860 | $60,930 | $164,150 | $71,546 | $64,619 |
| Alabama | 700 | $97,830 | $61,050 | $150,410 | $73,637 | $82,903 |
| Michigan | 3,490 | $97,440 | $56,260 | $164,200 | $73,489 | $76,378 |
| Washington | 2,280 | $97,420 | $62,690 | $165,090 | $76,014 | $71,032 |
| North Dakota | 160 | $97,330 | $52,050 | $132,330 | $76,663 | $86,178 |
| Virginia | 1,640 | $96,650 | $52,870 | $166,230 | $72,080 | $71,293 |
| Georgia | 1,260 | $92,750 | $56,760 | $144,870 | $70,200 | $72,902 |
| New York | 4,230 | $90,600 | $61,100 | $155,190 | $67,839 | $62,860 |
| Tennessee | 960 | $87,930 | $48,530 | $132,630 | $70,689 | $76,944 |
| Vermont | 80 | $86,120 | $68,640 | $128,420 | $66,236 | $67,616 |
| Iowa | 570 | $86,100 | $65,270 | $137,560 | $66,781 | $76,094 |
| West Virginia | 180 | $85,560 | $59,600 | $132,380 | $65,992 | $73,736 |
| Ohio | 4,010 | $85,270 | $59,010 | $134,820 | $66,909 | $72,121 |
| Illinois | 3,040 | $85,230 | $60,740 | $141,310 | $64,715 | $64,742 |
| New Jersey | 5,280 | $84,450 | $60,910 | $144,030 | $64,506 | $59,286 |
| Hawaii | 140 | $84,150 | $63,080 | $126,070 | $63,048 | $57,342 |
| Kentucky | 530 | $84,090 | $54,950 | $126,060 | $65,162 | $72,274 |
| Kansas | 690 | $82,820 | $53,360 | $132,460 | $63,272 | $70,249 |
| Missouri | 1,640 | $82,800 | $48,240 | $134,940 | $64,126 | $70,610 |
| Florida | 1,490 | $82,740 | $50,200 | $150,840 | $67,038 | $64,824 |
| North Carolina | 4,530 | $82,620 | $58,170 | $132,020 | $64,165 | $68,025 |
| Arizona | 870 | $81,730 | $53,520 | $135,940 | $64,678 | $64,243 |
| Nevada | 280 | $81,170 | $49,220 | $130,800 | $65,933 | $65,947 |
| Utah | 910 | $80,770 | $54,350 | $129,990 | $62,210 | $62,925 |
| Mississippi | 200 | $80,060 | $52,060 | $130,560 | $62,682 | $72,087 |
| South Carolina | 770 | $79,670 | $54,420 | $139,570 | $61,911 | $66,039 |
| Indiana | 2,480 | $78,770 | $56,960 | $133,140 | $61,950 | $66,379 |
| Wisconsin | 1,920 | $78,730 | $52,020 | $109,450 | $61,052 | $64,883 |
| Idaho | 320 | $78,000 | $37,230 | $134,850 | $60,677 | $63,540 |
| Pennsylvania | 6,800 | $77,090 | $49,800 | $144,860 | $60,642 | $62,151 |
| Puerto Rico | 810 | $76,450 | $40,160 | $135,530 | — | — |
| Arkansas | 380 | $75,570 | $46,600 | $131,620 | $59,685 | $68,653 |
| Oklahoma | 630 | $74,960 | $48,520 | $112,920 | $58,737 | $66,865 |
| Nebraska | 350 | $74,890 | $62,280 | $128,510 | $58,987 | $65,466 |
| South Dakota | 170 | $67,440 | $51,270 | $101,030 | $56,274 | $63,525 |
| Maine | 140 | $64,440 | $50,640 | $100,360 | $50,963 | $52,513 |
| Montana | 300 | $61,890 | $44,260 | $115,390 | $49,756 | $52,572 |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 (released 2026-05-15), SOC 19-2031. *Our estimate for a single filer paid biweekly with no pre-tax deductions or local tax, 2026 federal and state rules. †Take-home ÷ BEA Regional Price Parity × 100 (2024 price levels).
Sources
- OEWS May 2025 (oesm25nat.zip) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Accessed 2026-10-09.
- OEWS May 2025 (oesm25st.zip) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Accessed 2026-10-09.