Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages Wide pay band SOC 19-2041

Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health

The published band from $52,520 to $140,010 is the distinctive signal for this role, not a twin of Economists.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health: Economists ($125K) , Clinical and Counseling Psychologists ($101K) , Social Scientists and Related Workers, All Other ($101K) , Physical Scientists, All Other ($123K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 19-2041 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Communicate scientific or technical information to the public, organizations, or internal audiences through oral briefings, written docum…
  2. 2. Monitor effects of pollution or land degradation and recommend means of prevention or control
  3. 3. Collect, synthesize, analyze, manage, and report environmental data, such as pollution emission measurements, atmospheric monitoring meas…
  4. 4. Review and implement environmental technical standards, guidelines, policies, and formal regulations that meet all appropriate requirements
  5. 5. Provide scientific or technical guidance, support, coordination, or oversight to governmental agencies, environmental programs, industry…
  6. 6. Evaluate violations or problems discovered during inspections to determine appropriate regulatory actions or to provide advice on the dev…
  7. 7. Process and review environmental permits, licenses, or related materials
  8. 8. Conduct environmental audits or inspections or investigations of violations
  9. 9. Analyze data to determine validity, quality, and scientific significance and to interpret correlations between human activities and envir…
  10. 10. Provide advice on proper standards and regulations or the development of policies, strategies, or codes of practice for environmental man…
  11. 11. Investigate and report on accidents affecting the environment
  12. 12. Develop the technical portions of legal documents, administrative orders, or consent decrees

Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health: O*NET ranks Reading Comprehension first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 19-2041 - lead skill Reading Comprehension at 4.0 ; lead knowledge English Language. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Reading Comprehension 4.0
  2. 2. Active Listening 4.0
  3. 3. Writing 4.0
  4. 4. Speaking 4.0
  5. 5. Science 4.0
  6. 6. Complex Problem Solving 4.0
  7. 7. Critical Thinking 3.9
  8. 8. Active Learning 3.8

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. English Language 4.5
  2. 2. Biology 3.9
  3. 3. Customer and Personal Service 3.7
  4. 4. Law and Government 3.5
  5. 5. Computers and Electronics 3.4
  6. 6. Public Safety and Security 3.3
Published pay band (10th to 90th)
$52,520 to $140,010
median $82,220 · ~2.7× spread
$82K
National median
↑ +4%
Growth 2024-2034
8,500
Annual openings
89,250
Estimated US jobs
Economists
Highest-pay peer · $125K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education Bachelor's degree

Top Paying States for Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health

1. District of Columbia $132,620
2. Rhode Island $100,730
3. Washington $98,300
4. California $106,510
5. Alaska $91,960
6. Massachusetts $100,640
7. Texas $92,000
8. Utah $90,710
9. Minnesota $88,000
10. Oregon $97,440

Other Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations titles

  1. 1. Social Scientists and Related Workers, All Other $101,110
  2. 2. Physical Scientists, All Other $122,570
  3. 3. Clinical and Counseling Psychologists $100,580
  4. 4. Geographers $102,040
  5. 5. Economists $124,720
  6. 6. Nuclear Technicians $110,240

The OEWS band for Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health runs from $52,520 (10th) to $140,010 (90th), about 2.7× wide, with median $82,220. That spread, not the midpoint alone, is the distinctive published fact.

Employment Projections expect +4% change between 2024 and 2034 (about as fast as average vs baseline 3.1%). About 8,500 annual openings are projected. BLS assigns Bachelor's degree as typical education needed for entry. These are occupation-level assignments, not universal requirements. BLS does not publish a separate occupation-specific safety rate for this role; its broad SOC-group rate is excluded from this career card's grade.

Highest published state median in this ranking: District of Columbia at $132,620. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Economists at $124,720. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health pay-rank #28 in Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations

Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health sits at pay-rank #28 of 48 detailed Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations, the middle third of the major-group median table. ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.

Other mid-table titles · closest medians

Full Salary Details Compare this role

Data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Projections from BLS Employment Projections program, 2024-2034.

The 10th-to-90th percentile spread for Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health is unusually wide, so the state map and peer comparison carry more signal than the median alone.

Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 19-2041

District of Columbia · top state for Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health

$133K published median

Rhode Island · #2 state pay

$101K · behind District of Columbia

Economists

Highest-pay peer vs Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health · $125K

Clinical and Counseling Psychologists

Lower-pay peer beside Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health · $101K

Compare Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health with another occupation →

Pay-band next reads

Entry-Level vs Experienced Pay

What percentile bands reveal

Using Salary Data for Negotiation

Leverage BLS percentiles

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health mid-table among Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations? ▼
Yes: pay-rank #28 of 48 detailed Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations, the middle third. Mid-table neighbors: Soil and Plant Scientists ($79K), Epidemiologists ($87K), Zoologists and Wildlife Biologists ($77K), Historians ($77K). ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.
What do environmental scientists and specialists, including health do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health. Leading ones include: Communicate scientific or technical information to the public, organizations, or internal audiences through oral briefings, written docum…; Monitor effects of pollution or land degradation and recommend means of prevention or control; Collect, synthesize, analyze, manage, and report environmental data, such as pollution emission measurements, atmospheric monitoring meas…; Review and implement environmental technical standards, guidelines, policies, and formal regulations that meet all appropriate requirements. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for environmental scientists and specialists, including health? ▼
For SOC 19-2041, O*NET importance scores lead with Reading Comprehension (4.0), Active Listening (4.0), Writing (4.0), Speaking (4.0). Knowledge areas emphasize English Language, Biology, Customer and Personal Service. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
How wide is the published pay band for Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health? ▼
OEWS places the 10th percentile at $52,520 and the 90th at $140,010 for Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health (2.7× spread). The national median is $82,220. OEWS does not isolate experience, employer, or geography as the cause of that spread.
What employment change does BLS publish for Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health is +4%. Projected annual openings: about 8,500. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: about as fast as average.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health? ▼
BLS assigns Bachelor's degree as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health? ▼
District of Columbia ($132,620), Rhode Island ($100,730), Washington ($98,300) lead this ranking. The table does not identify why those state estimates differ.

Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. Wage and state figures use BLS OEWS May 2025; growth and education use BLS Employment Projections for 2024-2034; safety fields cite BLS CFOI/SOII; task statements cite O*NET where shown. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

Disclaimer: Wage and outlook figures on this page are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute career, financial, or salary-negotiation advice. Actual pay varies by employer, experience, and local conditions; consult a career counselor or the hiring employer for guidance specific to your situation.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OES Occupational wage estimates by area and industry · 2025

Federal sources on this Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 19-2041. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health. onetcenter.org
  • BLS Employment Projections - 2024-2034 change and openings for this occupation. bls.gov/emp
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - demographic and labor-force context for state and metro geography. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) - payroll-tax aggregate context for wage comparisons. irs.gov/statistics