High paying science jobs in Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC

Every science occupation below is ranked by its median annual wage in Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC. 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 Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC run 2.1% below the national average (2024), so a Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC salary is worth about 1.02× 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 Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC

OccupationMedian, Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC · Employed

1Physical Scientists, All Other$117,640
Bachelor's degree
$65,670 – $193,250310
2Physicists$110,930
Doctoral or professional degree
$92,930 – $191,360240
3Social Scientists and Related Workers, All Other$107,910
Bachelor's degree
$75,030 – $139,030440
4Clinical and Counseling Psychologists$91,010
Doctoral or professional degree
$54,250 – $176,290420
5Biological Scientists, All Other$90,020
Bachelor's degree
$55,300 – $116,920300
6Occupational Health and Safety Specialists$89,920
Bachelor's degree
$56,050 – $123,470940
7Urban and Regional Planners$82,760
Master's degree
$59,960 – $121,830340
8Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health$78,600
Bachelor's degree
$53,130 – $117,640420
9Life, Physical, and Social Science Technicians, All Other$78,540
Associate's degree
$43,640 – $107,340570
10Environmental Science and Protection Technicians, Including Health$49,050
Associate's degree
$35,310 – $77,300340

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

#	Occupation	MedianVirginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC	10th–90th percentilemiddle half shaded darker	Employed
1	Physical Scientists, All OtherBachelor's degree	$117,640	$65,670 – $193,250	310
2	PhysicistsDoctoral or professional degree	$110,930	$92,930 – $191,360	240
3	Social Scientists and Related Workers, All OtherBachelor's degree	$107,910	$75,030 – $139,030	440
4	Clinical and Counseling PsychologistsDoctoral or professional degree	$91,010	$54,250 – $176,290	420
5	Biological Scientists, All OtherBachelor's degree	$90,020	$55,300 – $116,920	300
6	Occupational Health and Safety SpecialistsBachelor's degree	$89,920	$56,050 – $123,470	940
7	Urban and Regional PlannersMaster's degree	$82,760	$59,960 – $121,830	340
8	Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including HealthBachelor's degree	$78,600	$53,130 – $117,640	420
9	Life, Physical, and Social Science Technicians, All OtherAssociate's degree	$78,540	$43,640 – $107,340	570
10	Environmental Science and Protection Technicians, Including HealthAssociate's degree	$49,050	$35,310 – $77,300	340

Ranked among the occupations common enough to employ roughly one in every three thousand workers in Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC. 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 Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC to rank honestly.

High paying science jobs in Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC

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