High paying science jobs in Salem, OR

Every science occupation below is ranked by its median annual wage in Salem, OR. Read the percentile range, not just the median: the gap between the 10th and 90th inside a single science job is usually wider than the gap between two different ones, so where you land in a field matters more than which field you pick.

Cost of living: prices in Salem, OR run 3.6% above the national average (2024), so a Salem, OR salary is worth about 0.96× its face value in national terms. That scales every wage here by the same factor — it changes what the numbers mean, not their order.

Local wage estimates are suppressed more often than state ones — BLS withholds any figure too few local employers report — so an occupation missing here simply has no published local estimate.

Wages: BLS OEWS, May 2025 · Cost of living: BEA regional price parities, 2024

Find science jobs in Salem, OR

OccupationMedian, Salem, OR · Employed

1Clinical and Counseling Psychologists$143,980
Doctoral or professional degree
$113,350 – $163,340130
2Economists$124,190
Master's degree
$85,150 – $136,99060
3Urban and Regional Planners$107,960
Master's degree
$73,700 – $127,360130
4School Psychologists$99,290
Master's degree
$71,670 – $149,70080
5Zoologists and Wildlife Biologists$98,110
Bachelor's degree
$57,640 – $113,35080
6Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health$98,050
Bachelor's degree
$64,070 – $128,67080
7Occupational Health and Safety Specialists$95,680
Bachelor's degree
$56,560 – $121,670190
8Conservation Scientists$95,470
Bachelor's degree
$70,300 – $115,48090
9Soil and Plant Scientists$93,620
Bachelor's degree
$59,780 – $113,350110
10Foresters$89,220
Bachelor's degree
$58,200 – $113,350110
11Forest and Conservation Technicians$56,490
Associate's degree
$44,500 – $88,05080
12Life, Physical, and Social Science Technicians, All Other$48,840
Associate's degree
$45,460 – $81,100100
13Food Science Technicians$45,200
Associate's degree
$40,730 – $59,900130

Bars run from the 10th to the 90th percentile; the middle half is shaded darker, and the tick is the median.

#	Occupation	MedianSalem, OR	10th–90th percentilemiddle half shaded darker	Employed
1	Clinical and Counseling PsychologistsDoctoral or professional degree	$143,980	$113,350 – $163,340	130
2	EconomistsMaster's degree	$124,190	$85,150 – $136,990	60
3	Urban and Regional PlannersMaster's degree	$107,960	$73,700 – $127,360	130
4	School PsychologistsMaster's degree	$99,290	$71,670 – $149,700	80
5	Zoologists and Wildlife BiologistsBachelor's degree	$98,110	$57,640 – $113,350	80
6	Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including HealthBachelor's degree	$98,050	$64,070 – $128,670	80
7	Occupational Health and Safety SpecialistsBachelor's degree	$95,680	$56,560 – $121,670	190
8	Conservation ScientistsBachelor's degree	$95,470	$70,300 – $115,480	90
9	Soil and Plant ScientistsBachelor's degree	$93,620	$59,780 – $113,350	110
10	ForestersBachelor's degree	$89,220	$58,200 – $113,350	110
11	Forest and Conservation TechniciansAssociate's degree	$56,490	$44,500 – $88,050	80
12	Life, Physical, and Social Science Technicians, All OtherAssociate's degree	$48,840	$45,460 – $81,100	100
13	Food Science TechniciansAssociate's degree	$45,200	$40,730 – $59,900	130

Ranked among the occupations common enough to employ roughly one in every three thousand workers in Salem, OR. The rarer ones are real jobs — but a 1,190-person occupation at the top of a list answers a different question than the one most readers are asking.

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The same fields, narrowed to what you can enter without one. Fields missing here have too few such occupations in Salem, OR to rank honestly.

High paying science jobs in Salem, OR

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Without a degree

High paying science jobs in each state