Biological scientists

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Total Workforce

82.9k

Average Age

40.1

Average Salary

$71,803

Average Male Salary

$78,070

Average Female Salary

$65,735

About

Biological scientists are most often employed by the Scientific research & development services industry. The average yearly wage for Biological scientists was $71,803 in 2016. The top 3 most similar occupations to Biological scientists by wage are Facilities managers, Miscellaneous social scientists, including survey researchers & sociologists, and Physical therapists.

Biological scientists are part of the Life, physical, & social science occupations, along with Agricultural & food scientists, Biological scientists, Conservation scientists & foresters, Medical scientists, & life scientists, all other, Astronomers & physicists, and 17 more.

The top 3 locations that employ the most Biological scientists are Humboldt County PUMA, CA, Rockville, Gaithersburg Cities & North Potomac PUMA, MD, and Umatilla, Union, Baker & Wallowa Counties PUMA, OR. The top 3 locations with a relatively high concentration of Biological scientists are Umatilla, Union, Baker & Wallowa Counties PUMA, OR, Humboldt County PUMA, CA, and Cambridge City PUMA, MA.

Photo by vince42

Management, business, science, & arts occupations Computer, engineering, & science occupations Life, physical, & social science occupations

Information on the businesses and industries that employ Biological scientists and on wages and locations for those in the field. Scientific research & development services is the industry that employs the most Biological scientists, both by share and by number, though the highest paid industry for Biological scientists, by average wage, is Pharmaceutical & medicine manufacturing. Biological scientists are paid most in Berkeley & Albany Cities PUMA, CA but are relatively concentrated in Umatilla, Union, Baker & Wallowa Counties PUMA, OR.

Wages

Yearly Wage

$71,803

AVERAGE SALARY

± $4,864

In 2018, Biological scientists earned an average of $71,803, $17,915 more than than the average national salary of $53,888.

Physical therapists make somewhat more than Biological scientists while Facilities managers make somewhat less. This chart shows the various occupations closest to Biological scientists as measured by average annual salary in the US.

Wage Distribution

0.337

WAGE GINI

In 2018, Biological scientists had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.337, which is lower than than the national average of 0.479. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly for Biological scientists (shown in red) than for the overall labor force (shown in gray).

Wage by Location

HIGHEST PAYING PUMAS

This map shows the Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States shaded by average annual wage for Biological scientists.

Spatial Concentration

PUMAs with a Relatively High Concentration of Biological scientists

This map displays which Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States have a relatively high population of Biological scientists.

Industries

Most Common

The most common industries employing Biological scientists, by number of employees, are Scientific research & development services, Administration of environmental quality & housing programs, and Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges.

Highest Paying

The highest paying industries for Biological scientists, by average wage, are Pharmaceutical & medicine manufacturing, Pharmaceutical & medicine manufacturing, Medical equipment & supplies manufacturing, Soap, cleaning compound, & cosmetics manufacturing , Electric power generation, transmission & distribution, and National security & international affairs.

Industries by Share

82.9k

2018 Workforce

± 7,067

1.44%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 11.9%

The number of people employed as Biological scientists has been growing at a rate of 1.44%, from 81,736 people in 2017 to 82,911 people in 2018.

This graphic shows the share of Biological scientists employed by various industries. Scientific research & development services employs the largest share of Biological scientists at 16.7%, followed by Administration of environmental quality & housing programs with 15.7% and Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges with 9.29%.

Diversity

Demographic information on Biological scientists in the US. The average age of male Biological scientists in the workforce is 41.3 and of female Biological scientists is 38.9, and the most common race/ethnicity for Biological scientists is White (Non-Hispanic).

Gender Composition

40.8k

MALE WORKFORCE

± 4,958

42.1k

FEMALE WORKFORCE

± 5,038

50.8% of Biological scientists are Female, making them the more common gender in the occupation. This chart shows the gender breakdown of Biological scientists.

Race & Ethnicity

Most Common Race or Ethnicity of Biological scientists

White (Non-Hispanic)
Asian (Non-Hispanic)
White (Hispanic)

74.4% of Biological scientists are White (Non-Hispanic), making that the most common race or ethnicity in the occupation. Representing 13.9% of Biological scientists, Asian (Non-Hispanic) is the second most common race or ethnicity in this occupation. This chart shows the racial and ethnic breakdown of Biological scientists.

Age by Gender

41.3

AVERAGE MALE AGE

± 1.48

38.9

AVERAGE FEMALE AGE

± 1.44

The median age of Biological scientists is 40.1, and Male employees are generally 2.43 years older than than their Female counterparts.

Education

Data on higher education choices for Biological scientists from The Department of Education and Census Bureau. The most common major for Biological scientists is Biology but a relatively high number of Biological scientists hold a major in Natural Resources & Conservation.

Majors

ACS PUMS data only shows the major for bachelor's degree-majorss. However, we can filter the data based on highest degree-majors obtained.

MOST COMMON MAJORS

MOST SPECIALIZED MAJORS

Skills

Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for Biological scientists from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Biological scientists need many skills, but most especially Science, Reading Comprehension, and Writing. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Biological scientists need more than the average amount of Science, Programming, and Mathematics.