High paying science jobs in Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA

Every science occupation below is ranked by its median annual wage in Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA. 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 Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA run 9.9% above the national average (2024), so a Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA salary is worth about 0.91× 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 Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA

OccupationMedian, Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA · Employed

1Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and Geographers$136,120
Bachelor's degree
$98,590 – $195,19050
2Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists$134,060
Doctoral or professional degree
$79,320 – $200,290150
3Zoologists and Wildlife Biologists$122,170
Bachelor's degree
$75,500 – $189,82030
4Clinical and Counseling Psychologists$112,860
Doctoral or professional degree
$63,120 – $178,61060
5Urban and Regional Planners$112,270
Master's degree
$85,180 – $163,710100
6Occupational Health and Safety Specialists$106,430
Bachelor's degree
$66,110 – $148,56070
7Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health$103,610
Bachelor's degree
$67,930 – $161,91090
8Biological Scientists, All Other$98,400
Bachelor's degree
$59,380 – $159,07060
9Chemists$95,840
Bachelor's degree
$61,560 – $135,81070
10Conservation Scientists$72,860
Bachelor's degree
$52,950 – $182,25050
11Life, Physical, and Social Science Technicians, All Other$66,290
Associate's degree
$55,530 – $109,41050
12Biological Technicians$66,240
Bachelor's degree
$48,660 – $91,56050
13Anthropologists and Archeologists$66,040
Master's degree
$53,770 – $95,27040
14Environmental Science and Protection Technicians, Including Health$66,000
Associate's degree
$48,410 – $125,39050
15Chemical Technicians$57,390
Associate's degree
$46,710 – $82,33040
16Forest and Conservation Technicians$46,010
Associate's degree
$43,750 – $68,26050

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

#	Occupation	MedianSanta Cruz-Watsonville, CA	10th–90th percentilemiddle half shaded darker	Employed
1	Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and GeographersBachelor's degree	$136,120	$98,590 – $195,190	50
2	Medical Scientists, Except EpidemiologistsDoctoral or professional degree	$134,060	$79,320 – $200,290	150
3	Zoologists and Wildlife BiologistsBachelor's degree	$122,170	$75,500 – $189,820	30
4	Clinical and Counseling PsychologistsDoctoral or professional degree	$112,860	$63,120 – $178,610	60
5	Urban and Regional PlannersMaster's degree	$112,270	$85,180 – $163,710	100
6	Occupational Health and Safety SpecialistsBachelor's degree	$106,430	$66,110 – $148,560	70
7	Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including HealthBachelor's degree	$103,610	$67,930 – $161,910	90
8	Biological Scientists, All OtherBachelor's degree	$98,400	$59,380 – $159,070	60
9	ChemistsBachelor's degree	$95,840	$61,560 – $135,810	70
10	Conservation ScientistsBachelor's degree	$72,860	$52,950 – $182,250	50
11	Life, Physical, and Social Science Technicians, All OtherAssociate's degree	$66,290	$55,530 – $109,410	50
12	Biological TechniciansBachelor's degree	$66,240	$48,660 – $91,560	50
13	Anthropologists and ArcheologistsMaster's degree	$66,040	$53,770 – $95,270	40
14	Environmental Science and Protection Technicians, Including HealthAssociate's degree	$66,000	$48,410 – $125,390	50
15	Chemical TechniciansAssociate's degree	$57,390	$46,710 – $82,330	40
16	Forest and Conservation TechniciansAssociate's degree	$46,010	$43,750 – $68,260	50

Ranked among the occupations common enough to employ roughly one in every three thousand workers in Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA. 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 Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA to rank honestly.

High paying science jobs in Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA

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