19 Series · SOC 19-1021
Biochemists and Biophysicists Salary
National pay, percentile range, growth outlook, and state-by-state detail from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS survey (May 2025).
- $127,410
- Median / year
- $201,110
- Top 10% earn
- +5.8%
- Growth '23–'33
- 33,830
- US workers
Biochemists and Biophysicists earn a median of $127,410 per year.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS survey, the median annual wage is $127,410, based on the most recent survey of employers. Reported pay ranges from $74,290 (10th percentile) to $201,110 (90th percentile) nationally, across roughly 33,830 US workers. Florida pays the most ($157,390), since pay varies by state and metro area.
The pay verdict
Biochemists and Biophysicists earn a median of $127,410, putting them among the better-paid US occupations and higher than 92% of the 825 occupations with a published BLS median. Within Life, Physical, and Social Science, it ranks #5 of 48 by median pay. Employment is projected to grow 5.8% by 2033.
- $127,410
- Median annual wage
- Top 8%
- of 825 US occupations with published wages
- #5 of 48
- in Life, Physical, and Social Science
- 2.7×
- 90th-to-10th pay spread
Highest-paying state: Florida at $157,390. Typical entry-level education: Doctoral or professional degree.
Biochemists and Biophysicists (SOC 19-1021) pays a national median of $127,410 per year according to the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey released in May 2025. Full-range compensation stretches from $74,290 at the 10th percentile to $201,110 at the 90th, with a mean of $129,840 indicating a right-skew where top earners pull the average above the midpoint. An estimated 33,830 Americans work in this occupation across 36 reporting states and 48 metro areas.
BLS Employment Projections forecast a +5.8% change in employment from 2024 to 2034, which the agency classifies as about average relative to the 5% all-occupations baseline. About 2,900 openings are projected per year, combining new positions with replacement needs from retirements and occupation-switchers. Typical entry-level preparation is Doctoral or professional degree. The BLS Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) and Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII) produce a workplace-safety grade of A for this role, with a fatality rate of 1.5 per 100,000 and injury rate of 0.7 per 100.
Geographic variation matters as much as the headline median. Florida pays the highest state median at $157,390, which is +24% above the national figure. The top metro is Jacksonville, FL at $174,880 - metro premiums typically reflect higher cost of living, industry concentration, or specialized employer demand. When using this page for negotiation or career planning, pair the national median with the state and metro rows below, remember that BLS wages exclude benefits, bonuses, and overtime, and revisit after each May OEWS release since percentiles shift with cost-of-living cycles and industry demand. See our methodology for exactly how these figures are sourced, computed, and verified.
Median Salary
$127,410
per year
Median Hourly
$61.26/hr
per hour
Mean Salary
$129,840
average
Employment
33,830
jobs nationwide
How does this pay compare nationally?
Where Biochemists and Biophysicists pay sits nationally
Median annual wage vs. 825 detailed BLS occupations with a published median
$127,410 Top 8% higher than 92% of 825 US occupations
Each bar is a $20K-wide band; taller bars hold more US occupations. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS · May 2025
Does this job pay well and grow?
Each dot is a 19-series occupation, placed by projected 2024–2034 growth and median pay. The highlighted dot is Biochemists and Biophysicists; the upper-right quadrant is the sweet spot (high pay + fast growth).
Among 24 19-series occupations with growth data, Biochemists and Biophysicists sits on the faster-growing side at +5.8% growth and $127,410 median pay.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS (wages, May 2025) and Employment Projections (2024–2034).
Job Outlook (2024–2034)
Projected Growth
+5.8%
About average
Annual Openings
2,900
per year (projected)
Typical Education
Doctoral or professional degree
Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2024–2034
Workplace Safety
All safety ratings →Very Safe
Safety Grade (BLS 2023)
Fatality Rate
1.5/100K
Injury Rate
0.7/100
Danger Index
3.6/100
Source: BLS Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) & Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII), 2023
Career Intelligence
Skills, knowledge, and tasks most important for Biochemists and Biophysicists roles, ranked by importance. Source: O*NET.
Top Skills
Knowledge Areas
Key Tasks
- ▸ Share research findings by writing scientific articles or by making presentations at scientific conferences.
- ▸ Teach or advise undergraduate or graduate students or supervise their research.
- ▸ Study physical principles of living cells or organisms and their electrical or mechanical energy, applying methods and knowledge of mathematics, physics, chemistry, or biology.
- ▸ Manage laboratory teams or monitor the quality of a team's work.
- ▸ Develop new methods to study the mechanisms of biological processes.
- ▸ Write grant proposals to obtain funding for research.
- ▸ Design or perform experiments with equipment, such as lasers, accelerators, or mass spectrometers.
- ▸ Determine the three-dimensional structure of biological macromolecules.
- ▸ Design or build laboratory equipment needed for special research projects.
- ▸ Prepare reports or recommendations, based upon research outcomes.
Source: O*NET Online, National Center for O*NET Development. Data represents typical importance ratings for this occupation.
Salary Range
Annual Salary Distribution
Hourly Rate Distribution
10th Percentile
$74,290
25th Percentile
$95,000
Median
$127,410
75th Percentile
$163,460
90th Percentile
$201,110
Salary by State
Highest Paying States
Lowest Paying States
View all 36 states →
| # | State | Median Salary | vs National |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Florida | $157,390 | +24% above national |
| 2 | California | $139,580 | +10% above national |
| 3 | Tennessee | $134,560 | +6% above national |
| 4 | Pennsylvania | $134,090 | +5% above national |
| 5 | Connecticut | $132,670 | +4% above national |
| 6 | Massachusetts | $131,600 | +3% above national |
| 7 | New Jersey | $122,620 | 4% below national |
| 8 | District of Columbia | $120,090 | 6% below national |
| 9 | New Hampshire | $109,770 | 14% below national |
| 10 | Michigan | $109,340 | 14% below national |
| 11 | South Carolina | $109,080 | 14% below national |
| 12 | Wisconsin | $106,480 | 16% below national |
| 13 | Virginia | $105,780 | 17% below national |
| 14 | Delaware | $101,880 | 20% below national |
| 15 | Iowa | $101,090 | 21% below national |
| 16 | New York | $101,080 | 21% below national |
| 17 | Maryland | $100,650 | 21% below national |
| 18 | Washington | $98,840 | 22% below national |
| 19 | Kansas | $97,850 | 23% below national |
| 20 | Texas | $97,510 | 23% below national |
| 21 | Ohio | $90,000 | 29% below national |
| 22 | Illinois | $87,010 | 32% below national |
| 23 | Georgia | $85,680 | 33% below national |
| 24 | Maine | $84,560 | 34% below national |
| 25 | Arkansas | $82,390 | 35% below national |
| 26 | North Carolina | $82,220 | 35% below national |
| 27 | Utah | $81,990 | 36% below national |
| 28 | Minnesota | $81,280 | 36% below national |
| 29 | Missouri | $79,550 | 38% below national |
| 30 | Rhode Island | $76,710 | 40% below national |
| 31 | Kentucky | $74,710 | 41% below national |
| 32 | Nevada | $69,220 | 46% below national |
| 33 | Oklahoma | $69,130 | 46% below national |
| 34 | Nebraska | $66,910 | 47% below national |
| 35 | Puerto Rico | $64,140 | 50% below national |
| 36 | Alabama | $48,510 | 62% below national |
Salary by Metro Area
Highest Paying Metros
View all 48 metro areas →
| # | Metro Area | Median Salary | vs National |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jacksonville, FL | $174,880 | +37% above national |
| 2 | San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $165,050 | +30% above national |
| 3 | Knoxville, TN | $149,140 | +17% above national |
| 4 | Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL | $145,550 | +14% above national |
| 5 | Boulder, CO | $140,710 | +10% above national |
| 6 | Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT | $139,740 | +10% above national |
| 7 | Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT | $135,320 | +6% above national |
| 8 | Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | $134,090 | +5% above national |
| 9 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $131,700 | +3% above national |
| 10 | Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | $131,550 | +3% above national |
| 11 | Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | $130,670 | +3% above national |
| 12 | Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | $129,490 | +2% above national |
| 13 | Worcester, MA | $125,420 | 2% below national |
| 14 | Pittsburgh, PA | $125,020 | 2% below national |
| 15 | Trenton-Princeton, NJ | $124,300 | 2% below national |
| 16 | San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | $124,050 | 3% below national |
| 17 | San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | $121,740 | 4% below national |
| 18 | San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX | $111,320 | 13% below national |
| 19 | New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $109,620 | 14% below national |
| 20 | Ann Arbor, MI | $109,070 | 14% below national |
| 21 | Madison, WI | $106,480 | 16% below national |
| 22 | Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI | $104,160 | 18% below national |
| 23 | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | $103,660 | 19% below national |
| 24 | Northern New Hampshire nonmetropolitan area | $102,170 | 20% below national |
| 25 | Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | $98,820 | 22% below national |
| 26 | Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD | $98,650 | 23% below national |
| 27 | Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN | $98,550 | 23% below national |
| 28 | Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL | $98,320 | 23% below national |
| 29 | Kansas City, MO-KS | $95,990 | 25% below national |
| 30 | Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY | $94,510 | 26% below national |
| 31 | Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX | $94,320 | 26% below national |
| 32 | Durham-Chapel Hill, NC | $87,650 | 31% below national |
| 33 | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN | $85,780 | 33% below national |
| 34 | Fort Collins-Loveland, CO | $84,490 | 34% below national |
| 35 | Portland-South Portland, ME | $84,490 | 34% below national |
| 36 | Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA | $83,790 | 34% below national |
| 37 | Salt Lake City-Murray, UT | $81,990 | 36% below national |
| 38 | Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY | $81,480 | 36% below national |
| 39 | Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | $81,380 | 36% below national |
| 40 | Raleigh-Cary, NC | $79,990 | 37% below national |
| 41 | St. Louis, MO-IL | $79,550 | 38% below national |
| 42 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $79,550 | 38% below national |
| 43 | Providence-Warwick, RI-MA | $77,710 | 39% below national |
| 44 | Oklahoma City, OK | $69,130 | 46% below national |
| 45 | Lansing-East Lansing, MI | $67,870 | 47% below national |
| 46 | San Juan-Bayamon-Caguas, PR | $64,070 | 50% below national |
| 47 | Kalamazoo-Portage, MI | $63,630 | 50% below national |
| 48 | Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX | $61,820 | 51% below national |
Similar Occupations in the Same Category
Other roles in SOC major group 19 (life physical and social science) with comparable pay and career paths.
Frequently Asked Questions
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What to do with this data
How to use Biochemists and Biophysicists pay figures in a real decision
- For an experienced offer, anchor on the 75th percentile (about $163,460/year), not the median. The median marks the middle worker; the upper quartile is the realistic target with strong experience. Salary calculator
- Location moves pay significantly: Florida leads at $157,390/year for this role. Weigh state pay against local cost of living before relocating or negotiating remote. Pay by state
- Compare this occupation against similar roles before you decide, so you are reading the pay band in context rather than in isolation. Compare jobs
These are BLS survey estimates for the occupation, not a salary offer or a prediction for any individual. Your pay depends on experience, employer, exact role, and location.
Every figure on WageDex is rendered directly from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics wage data, no number is typed in by an editor. This occupation's figures are computed directly from the BLS OEWS and Employment Projections datasets, nothing is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 2025.
This page is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or career advice. Actual pay for a specific role, employer, or offer may differ from these national/state figures, consult a qualified career counselor, recruiter, or financial advisor before making decisions based on this data.