Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages Wide pay band SOC 19-1012

Food Scientists and Technologists

The published band from $52,920 to $145,280 is the distinctive signal for this role, not a twin of Industrial-Organizational Psychologists.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Food Scientists and Technologists: Industrial-Organizational Psychologists ($194K) , Geographers ($102K) , Materials Scientists ($118K) , Political Scientists ($142K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Food Scientists and Technologists publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 19-1012 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Inspect food processing areas to ensure compliance with government regulations and standards for sanitation, safety, quality, and waste m…
  2. 2. Check raw ingredients for maturity or stability for processing, and finished products for safety, quality, and nutritional value
  3. 3. Study methods to improve aspects of foods, such as chemical composition, flavor, color, texture, nutritional value, and convenience
  4. 4. Develop food standards and production specifications, safety and sanitary regulations, and waste management and water supply specifications
  5. 5. Stay up to date on new regulations and current events regarding food science by reviewing scientific literature
  6. 6. Study the structure and composition of food or the changes foods undergo in storage and processing
  7. 7. Confer with process engineers, plant operators, flavor experts, and packaging and marketing specialists to resolve problems in product de…
  8. 8. Test new products for flavor, texture, color, nutritional content, and adherence to government and industry standards
  9. 9. Develop new food items for production, based on consumer feedback
  10. 10. Develop new or improved ways of preserving, processing, packaging, storing, and delivering foods, using knowledge of chemistry, microbiol…
  11. 11. Evaluate food processing and storage operations and assist in the development of quality assurance programs for such operations
  12. 12. Demonstrate products to clients

O*NET skills and knowledge for Food Scientists and Technologists

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 19-1012 - entity-keyed; sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

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

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Production and Processing 4.4
  2. 2. Food Production 4.1
  3. 3. Chemistry 4.0
  4. 4. English Language 4.0
  5. 5. Mathematics 3.7
  6. 6. Engineering and Technology 3.7
Published pay band (10th to 90th)
$52,920 to $145,280
median $88,720 · ~2.7× spread
$89K
National median
↑ +7%
Growth 2024-2034
1,200
Annual openings
13,060
Estimated US jobs
Industrial-Organizational Psychologists
Highest-pay peer · $194K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education Bachelor's degree

Top Paying States for Food Scientists and Technologists

1. Washington $94,990
2. South Carolina $108,660
3. Kentucky $98,710
4. Missouri $105,930
5. Florida $101,160
6. New Jersey $104,340
7. Colorado $99,580
8. Alabama $97,480
9. Massachusetts $103,580
10. Minnesota $99,280

Other Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations titles

  1. 1. Materials Scientists $117,790
  2. 2. Industrial-Organizational Psychologists $193,950
  3. 3. Political Scientists $142,080
  4. 4. Sociologists $106,030
  5. 5. Geographers $102,040
  6. 6. Physicists $172,250

The OEWS band for Food Scientists and Technologists runs from $52,920 (10th) to $145,280 (90th), about 2.7× wide, with median $88,720. That spread, not the midpoint alone, is the distinctive published fact.

Employment Projections expect +7% change between 2024 and 2034 (faster than average vs baseline 3.1%). About 1,200 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: Washington at $94,990. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Industrial-Organizational Psychologists at $193,950. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Where Food Scientists and Technologists sits in Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations

Food Scientists and Technologists sits at pay-rank #25 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.

Dive into Food Scientists and Technologists in more depth or explore nearby career data.

Full Salary Details

State, metro, and percentile breakdown

Jobs in Washington

Top-paying state for this role

Jobs in South Carolina

Second-highest state pay

Industrial-Organizational Psychologists

Highest-pay peer · $194K

Geographers

Lower-pay peer · $102K

Compare Side-by-Side

Head-to-head with another role
Compare Food Scientists and Technologists 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 Food Scientists and Technologists mid-table among Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations? ▼
Yes: pay-rank #25 of 48 detailed Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations, the middle third. Mid-table neighbors: Urban and Regional Planners ($89K), Microbiologists ($88K), Occupational Health and Safety Specialists ($90K), Epidemiologists ($87K). ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.
What do food scientists and technologists do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Food Scientists and Technologists. Leading ones include: Inspect food processing areas to ensure compliance with government regulations and standards for sanitation, safety, quality, and waste m…; Check raw ingredients for maturity or stability for processing, and finished products for safety, quality, and nutritional value; Study methods to improve aspects of foods, such as chemical composition, flavor, color, texture, nutritional value, and convenience; Develop food standards and production specifications, safety and sanitary regulations, and waste management and water supply specifications. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for food scientists and technologists? ▼
For SOC 19-1012, O*NET importance scores lead with Reading Comprehension (4.0), Critical Thinking (4.0), Active Learning (4.0), Active Listening (3.9). Knowledge areas emphasize Production and Processing, Food Production, Chemistry. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
How wide is the published pay band for Food Scientists and Technologists? ▼
OEWS places the 10th percentile at $52,920 and the 90th at $145,280 for Food Scientists and Technologists (2.7× spread). The national median is $88,720. OEWS does not isolate experience, employer, or geography as the cause of that spread.
What employment change does BLS publish for Food Scientists and Technologists? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Food Scientists and Technologists is +7%. Projected annual openings: about 1,200. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: faster than average.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Food Scientists and Technologists? ▼
BLS assigns Bachelor's degree as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Food Scientists and Technologists. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Food Scientists and Technologists? ▼
Washington ($94,990), South Carolina ($108,660), Kentucky ($98,710) 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 Food Scientists and Technologists card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 19-1012. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Food Scientists and Technologists. 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