19 Series · SOC 19-1012
Food Scientists and Technologists Salary
National pay, percentile range, growth outlook, and state-by-state detail from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS survey (May 2025).
- $88,720
- Median / year
- $145,280
- Top 10% earn
- +6.5%
- Growth '23–'33
- 13,060
- US workers
Food Scientists and Technologists earn a median of $88,720 per year.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS survey, the median annual wage is $88,720, based on the most recent survey of employers. Reported pay ranges from $52,920 (10th percentile) to $145,280 (90th percentile) nationally, across roughly 13,060 US workers. South Carolina pays the most ($108,660), since pay varies by state and metro area.
The pay verdict
Food Scientists and Technologists earn a median of $88,720, putting them among the better-paid US occupations and higher than 77% of the 825 occupations with a published BLS median. Within Life, Physical, and Social Science, it ranks #25 of 48 by median pay. Employment is projected to grow 6.5% by 2033.
- $88,720
- Median annual wage
- Top 23%
- of 825 US occupations with published wages
- #25 of 48
- in Life, Physical, and Social Science
- 2.7×
- 90th-to-10th pay spread
Highest-paying state: South Carolina at $108,660. Typical entry-level education: Bachelor's degree.
Food Scientists and Technologists (SOC 19-1012) pays a national median of $88,720 per year according to the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey released in May 2025. Full-range compensation stretches from $52,920 at the 10th percentile to $145,280 at the 90th, with a mean of $95,360 indicating a right-skew where top earners pull the average above the midpoint. An estimated 13,060 Americans work in this occupation across 39 reporting states and 72 metro areas.
BLS Employment Projections forecast a +6.5% change in employment from 2024 to 2034, which the agency classifies as faster than average relative to the 5% all-occupations baseline. About 1,200 openings are projected per year, combining new positions with replacement needs from retirements and occupation-switchers. Typical entry-level preparation is Bachelor's 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. South Carolina pays the highest state median at $108,660, which is +22% above the national figure. The top metro is Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV at $113,350 - 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
$88,720
per year
Median Hourly
$42.65/hr
per hour
Mean Salary
$95,360
average
Employment
13,060
jobs nationwide
How does this pay compare nationally?
Where Food Scientists and Technologists pay sits nationally
Median annual wage vs. 825 detailed BLS occupations with a published median
$88,720 Top 23% higher than 77% 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 Food Scientists and Technologists; the upper-right quadrant is the sweet spot (high pay + fast growth).
Among 25 19-series occupations with growth data, Food Scientists and Technologists sits on the faster-growing side at +6.5% growth and $88,720 median pay.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS (wages, May 2025) and Employment Projections (2024–2034).
Job Outlook (2024–2034)
Projected Growth
+6.5%
Faster than average
Annual Openings
1,200
per year (projected)
Typical Education
Bachelor's 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 Food Scientists and Technologists roles, ranked by importance. Source: O*NET.
Top Skills
Knowledge Areas
Key Tasks
- ▸ Inspect food processing areas to ensure compliance with government regulations and standards for sanitation, safety, quality, and waste management.
- ▸ 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.
- ▸ Stay up to date on new regulations and current events regarding food science by reviewing scientific literature.
- ▸ Study the structure and composition of food or the changes foods undergo in storage and processing.
- ▸ Confer with process engineers, plant operators, flavor experts, and packaging and marketing specialists to resolve problems in product development.
- ▸ Test new products for flavor, texture, color, nutritional content, and adherence to government and industry standards.
- ▸ Develop new food items for production, based on consumer feedback.
- ▸ Develop new or improved ways of preserving, processing, packaging, storing, and delivering foods, using knowledge of chemistry, microbiology, and other sciences.
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
$52,920
25th Percentile
$68,810
Median
$88,720
75th Percentile
$116,650
90th Percentile
$145,280
Salary by State
Highest Paying States
Lowest Paying States
View all 39 states →
| # | State | Median Salary | vs National |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Carolina | $108,660 | +22% above national |
| 2 | Missouri | $105,930 | +19% above national |
| 3 | New Jersey | $104,340 | +18% above national |
| 4 | Massachusetts | $103,580 | +17% above national |
| 5 | Florida | $101,160 | +14% above national |
| 6 | Colorado | $99,580 | +12% above national |
| 7 | Minnesota | $99,280 | +12% above national |
| 8 | Kentucky | $98,710 | +11% above national |
| 9 | Alabama | $97,480 | +10% above national |
| 10 | Washington | $94,990 | +7% above national |
| 11 | Illinois | $94,340 | +6% above national |
| 12 | New York | $94,070 | +6% above national |
| 13 | California | $93,950 | +6% above national |
| 14 | Virginia | $93,590 | +5% above national |
| 15 | Maryland | $93,330 | +5% above national |
| 16 | Texas | $90,610 | +2% above national |
| 17 | Arizona | $90,450 | +2% above national |
| 18 | Maine | $89,480 | +1% above national |
| 19 | Rhode Island | $87,970 | 1% below national |
| 20 | Georgia | $86,050 | 3% below national |
| 21 | Kansas | $85,130 | 4% below national |
| 22 | Oklahoma | $84,750 | 4% below national |
| 23 | Arkansas | $84,330 | 5% below national |
| 24 | Pennsylvania | $83,380 | 6% below national |
| 25 | Wisconsin | $83,020 | 6% below national |
| 26 | Iowa | $82,010 | 8% below national |
| 27 | Tennessee | $81,760 | 8% below national |
| 28 | Oregon | $81,660 | 8% below national |
| 29 | Nevada | $80,580 | 9% below national |
| 30 | North Carolina | $79,840 | 10% below national |
| 31 | New Mexico | $79,130 | 11% below national |
| 32 | Idaho | $77,440 | 13% below national |
| 33 | Michigan | $76,940 | 13% below national |
| 34 | Ohio | $76,780 | 13% below national |
| 35 | Utah | $73,280 | 17% below national |
| 36 | Nebraska | $72,230 | 19% below national |
| 37 | South Dakota | $71,330 | 20% below national |
| 38 | Indiana | $69,350 | 22% below national |
| 39 | Montana | $52,230 | 41% below national |
Salary by Metro Area
Highest Paying Metros
View all 72 metro areas →
| # | Metro Area | Median Salary | vs National |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | $113,350 | +28% above national |
| 2 | San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | $110,810 | +25% above national |
| 3 | St. Louis, MO-IL | $108,200 | +22% above national |
| 4 | Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA | $107,970 | +22% above national |
| 5 | Ann Arbor, MI | $105,420 | +19% above national |
| 6 | Kansas City, MO-KS | $105,350 | +19% above national |
| 7 | New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $104,200 | +17% above national |
| 8 | Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | $103,580 | +17% above national |
| 9 | Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR | $103,300 | +16% above national |
| 10 | Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | $101,760 | +15% above national |
| 11 | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN | $100,390 | +13% above national |
| 12 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $100,000 | +13% above national |
| 13 | Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO | $99,900 | +13% above national |
| 14 | Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY | $99,530 | +12% above national |
| 15 | San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $98,930 | +12% above national |
| 16 | San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX | $98,220 | +11% above national |
| 17 | South Central Wisconsin nonmetropolitan area | $97,790 | +10% above national |
| 18 | Merced, CA | $96,430 | +9% above national |
| 19 | Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | $96,210 | +8% above national |
| 20 | Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX | $95,030 | +7% above national |
| 21 | Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR | $94,770 | +7% above national |
| 22 | Kansas nonmetropolitan area | $94,360 | +6% above national |
| 23 | Fresno, CA | $93,750 | +6% above national |
| 24 | Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | $93,670 | +6% above national |
| 25 | Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD | $93,330 | +5% above national |
| 26 | Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA | $92,690 | +4% above national |
| 27 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $91,060 | +3% above national |
| 28 | Omaha, NE-IA | $90,770 | +2% above national |
| 29 | Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN | $90,210 | +2% above national |
| 30 | Salinas, CA | $90,080 | +2% above national |
| 31 | Rochester, NY | $90,040 | +1% above national |
| 32 | Stockton-Lodi, CA | $90,040 | +1% above national |
| 33 | Visalia, CA | $89,050 | same as national |
| 34 | Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX | $88,210 | 1% below national |
| 35 | Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | $88,010 | 1% below national |
| 36 | Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | $87,270 | 2% below national |
| 37 | Lancaster, PA | $86,320 | 3% below national |
| 38 | Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI | $86,230 | 3% below national |
| 39 | Providence-Warwick, RI-MA | $86,150 | 3% below national |
| 40 | Salem, OR | $85,960 | 3% below national |
| 41 | San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | $85,930 | 3% below national |
| 42 | Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA | $85,610 | 4% below national |
| 43 | Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | $85,360 | 4% below national |
| 44 | Southeast Iowa nonmetropolitan area | $83,880 | 5% below national |
| 45 | Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA | $83,140 | 6% below national |
| 46 | Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY | $82,640 | 7% below national |
| 47 | Southeast Minnesota nonmetropolitan area | $81,520 | 8% below national |
| 48 | Modesto, CA | $80,960 | 9% below national |
| 49 | Napa, CA | $80,320 | 9% below national |
| 50 | Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | $80,050 | 10% below national |
| 51 | Bakersfield-Delano, CA | $79,900 | 10% below national |
| 52 | Wichita, KS | $79,630 | 10% below national |
| 53 | Columbus, OH | $79,560 | 10% below national |
| 54 | Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI | $78,610 | 11% below national |
| 55 | Sioux City, IA-NE-SD | $78,260 | 12% below national |
| 56 | Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA | $76,580 | 14% below national |
| 57 | Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ | $75,980 | 14% below national |
| 58 | Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN | $74,150 | 16% below national |
| 59 | Boise City, ID | $73,420 | 17% below national |
| 60 | Salt Lake City-Murray, UT | $73,280 | 17% below national |
| 61 | Southwest New York nonmetropolitan area | $70,630 | 20% below national |
| 62 | East South Dakota nonmetropolitan area | $70,020 | 21% below national |
| 63 | Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN | $69,970 | 21% below national |
| 64 | Northwest Iowa nonmetropolitan area | $68,960 | 22% below national |
| 65 | Raleigh-Cary, NC | $68,590 | 23% below national |
| 66 | Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI | $67,790 | 24% below national |
| 67 | Hanford-Corcoran, CA | $66,120 | 25% below national |
| 68 | Madison, WI | $66,080 | 26% below national |
| 69 | Lawrence, KS | $64,210 | 28% below national |
| 70 | Lansing-East Lansing, MI | $63,030 | 29% below national |
| 71 | South Nebraska nonmetropolitan area | $58,440 | 34% below national |
| 72 | Lincoln, NE | $56,250 | 37% 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
How much does a Food Scientists and Technologists make? ▼
What state pays Food Scientists and Technologists the most? ▼
What education do you need to become a Food Scientists and Technologists? ▼
How dangerous is being a Food Scientists and Technologists? ▼
Is Food Scientists and Technologists a good career? ▼
How does Food Scientists and Technologists pay vary by state? ▼
Which metro areas pay the most for Food Scientists and Technologists? ▼
What to do with this data
How to use Food Scientists and Technologists pay figures in a real decision
- For an experienced offer, anchor on the 75th percentile (about $116,650/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: South Carolina leads at $108,660/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.