19 Series · SOC 19-2042
Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and Geographers
National salary data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (May 2024)
Median Salary
$99,240
per year
Median Hourly
$47.71/hr
per hour
Mean Salary
$111,310
average
Employment
22,510
jobs nationwide
Salary Range
Annual Salary Distribution
Hourly Rate Distribution
10th Percentile
$58,790
25th Percentile
$72,440
Median
$99,240
75th Percentile
$134,350
90th Percentile
$178,880
Salary by State
Highest Paying States
View all 51 states →
| # | State | Median Salary | vs National |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Texas | $155,330 | +57% above national |
| 2 | Rhode Island | $128,870 | +30% above national |
| 3 | Oklahoma | $128,240 | +29% above national |
| 4 | Mississippi | $113,730 | +15% above national |
| 5 | California | $111,400 | +12% above national |
| 6 | Alaska | $105,910 | +7% above national |
| 7 | Utah | $104,000 | +5% above national |
| 8 | Vermont | $102,190 | +3% above national |
| 9 | Hawaii | $100,690 | +1% above national |
| 10 | Colorado | $99,900 | +1% above national |
| 11 | Washington | $99,780 | +1% above national |
| 12 | Maryland | $99,200 | same as national |
| 13 | Massachusetts | $98,720 | 1% below national |
| 14 | West Virginia | $95,640 | 4% below national |
| 15 | Missouri | $95,210 | 4% below national |
| 16 | Oregon | $95,120 | 4% below national |
| 17 | Florida | $95,110 | 4% below national |
| 18 | Nevada | $95,090 | 4% below national |
| 19 | Virginia | $94,160 | 5% below national |
| 20 | New Mexico | $93,720 | 6% below national |
| 21 | North Dakota | $90,770 | 9% below national |
| 22 | Idaho | $89,860 | 9% below national |
| 23 | Nebraska | $85,500 | 14% below national |
| 24 | Illinois | $85,420 | 14% below national |
| 25 | New York | $84,910 | 14% below national |
| 26 | Montana | $84,630 | 15% below national |
| 27 | Arizona | $83,630 | 16% below national |
| 28 | Delaware | $82,970 | 16% below national |
| 29 | Michigan | $81,800 | 18% below national |
| 30 | Wisconsin | $80,610 | 19% below national |
| 31 | Alabama | $80,310 | 19% below national |
| 32 | North Carolina | $79,710 | 20% below national |
| 33 | Indiana | $79,290 | 20% below national |
| 34 | Pennsylvania | $78,890 | 21% below national |
| 35 | New Jersey | $78,840 | 21% below national |
| 36 | Connecticut | $78,460 | 21% below national |
| 37 | New Hampshire | $78,050 | 21% below national |
| 38 | Maine | $77,210 | 22% below national |
| 39 | Kansas | $76,980 | 22% below national |
| 40 | Tennessee | $76,610 | 23% below national |
| 41 | South Carolina | $76,600 | 23% below national |
| 42 | Ohio | $73,120 | 26% below national |
| 43 | Iowa | $73,070 | 26% below national |
| 44 | Wyoming | $72,590 | 27% below national |
| 45 | Minnesota | $72,490 | 27% below national |
| 46 | Louisiana | $72,340 | 27% below national |
| 47 | South Dakota | $72,280 | 27% below national |
| 48 | Kentucky | $68,990 | 30% below national |
| 49 | Puerto Rico | $68,830 | 31% below national |
| 50 | Arkansas | $65,250 | 34% below national |
| 51 | Georgia | $62,850 | 37% below national |
Salary by Metro Area
Highest Paying Metros
View all 120 metro areas →
| # | Metro Area | Median Salary | vs National |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX | $168,280 | +70% above national |
| 2 | Midland, TX | $165,830 | +67% above national |
| 3 | Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL | $142,150 | +43% above national |
| 4 | Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | $136,250 | +37% above national |
| 5 | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | $130,580 | +32% above national |
| 6 | Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA | $129,880 | +31% above national |
| 7 | Providence-Warwick, RI-MA | $129,730 | +31% above national |
| 8 | San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | $128,710 | +30% above national |
| 9 | Oklahoma City, OK | $128,240 | +29% above national |
| 10 | Alaska nonmetropolitan area | $126,620 | +28% above national |
| 11 | Tulsa, OK | $126,270 | +27% above national |
| 12 | San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $124,270 | +25% above national |
| 13 | Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA | $122,450 | +23% above national |
| 14 | Kansas nonmetropolitan area | $121,970 | +23% above national |
| 15 | Gulfport-Biloxi, MS | $120,600 | +22% above national |
| 16 | New Orleans-Metairie, LA | $120,580 | +22% above national |
| 17 | Bakersfield-Delano, CA | $120,550 | +21% above national |
| 18 | Boulder, CO | $115,740 | +17% above national |
| 19 | San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA | $115,240 | +16% above national |
| 20 | Fresno, CA | $115,120 | +16% above national |
| 21 | Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | $115,120 | +16% above national |
| 22 | Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO | $114,960 | +16% above national |
| 23 | Charleston, WV | $112,590 | +13% above national |
| 24 | North Coast Region of California nonmetropolitan area | $112,070 | +13% above national |
| 25 | Kennewick-Richland, WA | $110,880 | +12% above national |
| 26 | Lubbock, TX | $108,420 | +9% above national |
| 27 | Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA | $108,050 | +9% above national |
| 28 | Duluth, MN-WI | $105,210 | +6% above national |
| 29 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $104,890 | +6% above national |
| 30 | Anchorage, AK | $104,770 | +6% above national |
| 31 | Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA | $104,770 | +6% above national |
| 32 | Jacksonville, FL | $104,330 | +5% above national |
| 33 | High Desert Utah nonmetropolitan area | $104,000 | +5% above national |
| 34 | Balance of Nevada nonmetropolitan area | $101,860 | +3% above national |
| 35 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $100,870 | +2% above national |
| 36 | Eastern New Mexico nonmetropolitan area | $100,790 | +2% above national |
| 37 | Urban Honolulu, HI | $100,690 | +1% above national |
| 38 | St. Louis, MO-IL | $99,950 | +1% above national |
| 39 | San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX | $99,810 | +1% above national |
| 40 | San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | $98,930 | same as national |
| 41 | Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | $98,850 | same as national |
| 42 | Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL | $98,600 | 1% below national |
| 43 | Springfield, IL | $98,390 | 1% below national |
| 44 | Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | $98,240 | 1% below national |
| 45 | Salt Lake City-Murray, UT | $98,130 | 1% below national |
| 46 | Billings, MT | $98,090 | 1% below national |
| 47 | Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY | $97,110 | 2% below national |
| 48 | Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC | $96,990 | 2% below national |
| 49 | Bend, OR | $96,030 | 3% below national |
| 50 | Arizona nonmetropolitan area | $95,670 | 4% below national |
| 51 | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN | $95,360 | 4% below national |
| 52 | Boise City, ID | $94,670 | 5% below national |
| 53 | Fairbanks-College, AK | $94,630 | 5% below national |
| 54 | Albuquerque, NM | $93,720 | 6% below national |
| 55 | Reno, NV | $93,180 | 6% below national |
| 56 | Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | $92,970 | 6% below national |
| 57 | Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL | $92,750 | 7% below national |
| 58 | Wilmington, NC | $92,750 | 7% below national |
| 59 | Huntsville, AL | $92,020 | 7% below national |
| 60 | Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY | $91,430 | 8% below national |
| 61 | Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL | $90,910 | 8% below national |
| 62 | Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI | $90,020 | 9% below national |
| 63 | Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX | $88,500 | 11% below national |
| 64 | Lansing-East Lansing, MI | $88,190 | 11% below national |
| 65 | Charleston-North Charleston, SC | $87,990 | 11% below national |
| 66 | Kansas City, MO-KS | $87,940 | 11% below national |
| 67 | College Station-Bryan, TX | $87,600 | 12% below national |
| 68 | Trenton-Princeton, NJ | $86,820 | 13% below national |
| 69 | Northwestern Pennsylvania nonmetropolitan area | $86,130 | 13% below national |
| 70 | Omaha, NE-IA | $86,040 | 13% below national |
| 71 | Tucson, AZ | $85,750 | 14% below national |
| 72 | Southwest Montana nonmetropolitan area | $84,850 | 15% below national |
| 73 | New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $84,260 | 15% below national |
| 74 | Casper, WY | $84,100 | 15% below national |
| 75 | Madison, WI | $83,500 | 16% below national |
| 76 | Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN | $82,810 | 17% below national |
| 77 | Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | $82,720 | 17% below national |
| 78 | Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN | $81,910 | 17% below national |
| 79 | Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI | $81,230 | 18% below national |
| 80 | Northwestern Idaho nonmetropolitan area | $81,020 | 18% below national |
| 81 | Fort Collins-Loveland, CO | $80,750 | 19% below national |
| 82 | Richmond, VA | $80,710 | 19% below national |
| 83 | Corvallis, OR | $80,580 | 19% below national |
| 84 | Columbus, OH | $80,570 | 19% below national |
| 85 | Durham-Chapel Hill, NC | $79,870 | 20% below national |
| 86 | Manchester-Nashua, NH | $79,060 | 20% below national |
| 87 | Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT | $78,920 | 20% below national |
| 88 | Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA | $78,890 | 21% below national |
| 89 | Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA | $78,790 | 21% below national |
| 90 | Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ | $78,200 | 21% below national |
| 91 | Raleigh-Cary, NC | $77,950 | 21% below national |
| 92 | Columbia, SC | $76,600 | 23% below national |
| 93 | Asheville, NC | $76,080 | 23% below national |
| 94 | Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | $76,010 | 23% below national |
| 95 | San Juan-Bayamon-Caguas, PR | $75,910 | 24% below national |
| 96 | Wichita, KS | $74,910 | 25% below national |
| 97 | Eastern Wyoming nonmetropolitan area | $74,390 | 25% below national |
| 98 | Syracuse, NY | $74,270 | 25% below national |
| 99 | Knoxville, TN | $74,100 | 25% below national |
| 100 | Cheyenne, WY | $73,760 | 26% below national |
| 101 | Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN | $73,390 | 26% below national |
| 102 | Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD | $73,350 | 26% below national |
| 103 | Cleveland, OH | $73,120 | 26% below national |
| 104 | Colorado Springs, CO | $73,100 | 26% below national |
| 105 | Pittsburgh, PA | $72,240 | 27% below national |
| 106 | Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | $71,980 | 27% below national |
| 107 | Akron, OH | $71,370 | 28% below national |
| 108 | Montgomery, AL | $69,320 | 30% below national |
| 109 | Central Kentucky nonmetropolitan area | $68,990 | 30% below national |
| 110 | Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR | $68,190 | 31% below national |
| 111 | Lexington-Fayette, KY | $66,820 | 33% below national |
| 112 | Baton Rouge, LA | $66,620 | 33% below national |
| 113 | Topeka, KS | $66,560 | 33% below national |
| 114 | Tallahassee, FL | $66,100 | 33% below national |
| 115 | Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV | $65,660 | 34% below national |
| 116 | Lafayette, LA | $65,090 | 34% below national |
| 117 | Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA | $62,000 | 38% below national |
| 118 | Western Wyoming nonmetropolitan area | $60,770 | 39% below national |
| 119 | Chattanooga, TN-GA | $58,310 | 41% below national |
| 120 | Shreveport-Bossier City, LA | $57,580 | 42% below national |
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