Microbiologists salary

SOC 19-1022 · BLS OEWS May 2025

Median

$87,990

per year, nationally

Middle half

$67,100–$122,350

25th to 75th percentile

Employed

18,940

in the U.S.

Growth 2024–34

+4.1%

1,700 openings/yr

What the range looks like

A single median hides most of what a job pays. The bar below is the full national range: the wash spans the 10th to 90th percentile, the solid bar is the middle half, and the tick is the median.

$54,670$150,000

10th: $54,670
25th: $67,100
Median: $87,990
75th: $122,350
90th: $150,000

Getting in

Typical education to enter: Bachelor's degree
Related work experience: None
On-the-job training: None

Entry requirements describe what is typical, not mandatory. Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34.

Where microbiologists earn the most

Nominal pay and pay adjusted for local prices rank states differently — a high-wage state with high costs can be worse off in real terms than a middling one. Switch between the two below.

The median wage as published, before local prices are taken into account.

#	State	Median	Cost of living	Employed	Concentrationvs. national
1	Massachusetts	$122,350	105.8	1,960	4.42×
2	California	$108,530	110.7	2,600	1.17×
3	Maryland	$108,470	105.0	1,590	4.72×
4	Georgia	$103,070	96.3	880	1.48×
5	New Jersey	$96,020	108.8	790	1.51×
6	Illinois	$92,050	100.0	1,470	1.98×
7	Oregon	$89,220	103.4	170	0.72×
8	Montana	$87,750	94.6	80	1.35×
9	Connecticut	$86,360	103.6	180	0.88×
10	North Carolina	$85,860	94.3	1,050	1.75×
11	Pennsylvania	$84,650	97.6	670	0.91×
12	Minnesota	$83,400	98.6	290	0.80×
13	Delaware	$82,770	99.8	190	3.17×
14	Colorado	$81,640	103.1	370	1.07×
15	New York	$81,090	107.9	1,050	0.89×
16	Florida	$80,930	103.4	270	0.22×
17	Iowa	$79,830	87.8	180	0.95×
18	New Hampshire	$79,430	104.2	170	2.06×
19	Michigan	$78,680	96.2	370	0.68×
20	Missouri	$78,590	90.8	140	0.38×
21	Indiana	$77,900	93.3	150	0.38×
22	Virginia	$77,820	101.1	280	0.56×
23	Washington	$77,690	107.0	340	0.79×
24	Tennessee	$77,630	91.9	210	0.52×
25	Alaska	$76,320	102.4	30	0.85×
26	Utah	$72,600	98.9	120	0.55×
27	Ohio	$72,500	92.8	530	0.78×
28	Nebraska	$72,470	90.1	90	0.70×
29	Hawaii	$70,970	110.0	60	0.81×
30	South Dakota	$70,530	88.6	80	1.52×
31	Kansas	$70,500	90.1	120	0.70×
32	Arizona	$69,880	100.7	80	0.20×
33	West Virginia	$68,550	89.5	40	0.43×
34	Wisconsin	$67,100	94.1	420	1.18×
35	Kentucky	$66,500	90.2	80	0.32×
36	Texas	$66,450	97.1	920	0.53×
37	Idaho	$65,940	95.5	70	0.66×
38	Alabama	$65,690	88.8	110	0.44×
39	South Carolina	$64,740	93.7	100	0.34×
40	Nevada	$64,490	100.0	110	0.58×
41	Mississippi	$61,690	87.0	—	—
42	Arkansas	$59,750	86.9	140	0.88×

Cost of living is the BEA regional price parity for all items, where 100 is the national average. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: how much more of the local workforce does this job than the national average, so 2.00× means twice the national share. It is often the reason wages differ — a place that concentrates an occupation has the employers and the competition for it. States where microbiologists wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.

Best paying metro areas for microbiologists

The 40 highest-paying metros with a published estimate. BLS suppresses roughly half of all occupation-by-metro cells, so a metro absent here has no local figure rather than a low one.

The median wage as published, before local prices are taken into account.

#	Metro area	Median	Cost of living	Employed	Concentrationvs. national
1	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$130,070	115.6	700	2.42×
2	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	$123,910	110.4	190	1.35×
3	Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA	$123,590	107.8	30	1.32×
4	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	$122,350	108.3	1,810	5.49×
5	Vallejo, CA	$115,980	108.5	30	1.91×
6	Worcester, MA	$115,660	102.5	90	2.19×
7	Memphis, TN-MS-AR	$114,840	92.2	70	0.92×
8	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	$114,800	108.9	1,370	3.58×
9	Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA	$112,470	106.7	150	1.16×
10	Athens-Clarke County, GA	$112,440	93.3	80	7.08×
11	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	$109,320	100.1	630	1.80×
12	San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA	$108,900	111.9	270	1.42×
13	Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA	$102,590	106.4	70	0.33×
14	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	$101,990	102.6	570	1.63×
15	Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN	$100,620	103.6	1,240	2.26×
16	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	$100,420	113.6	780	1.02×
17	Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO	$95,980	105.8	130	0.69×
18	Peoria, IL	$93,240	91.2	30	1.49×
19	Fresno, CA	$91,890	102.2	30	0.54×
20	Richmond, VA	$90,930	97.9	50	0.58×
21	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA	$90,460	105.4	140	0.95×
22	St. Louis, MO-IL	$89,630	95.1	120	0.76×
23	Kalamazoo-Portage, MI	$89,240	94.8	60	4.11×
24	Trenton-Princeton, NJ	$86,120	103.2	70	2.36×
25	Durham-Chapel Hill, NC	$85,860	97.6	400	9.58×
26	New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	$85,710	112.6	1,330	1.15×
27	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC	$85,470	97.3	80	0.51×
28	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	$85,340	104.8	260	1.09×
29	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD	$85,120	104.5	290	1.78×
30	Raleigh-Cary, NC	$85,010	98.2	330	3.66×
31	Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT	$84,880	102.7	110	1.46×
32	Manhattan, KS	$81,330	90.2	40	6.26×
33	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX	$80,870	94.7	90	0.64×
34	Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA	$80,540	110.5	30	0.86×
35	Wilmington, NC	$80,470	96.4	—	—
36	Salt Lake City-Murray, UT	$80,270	100.9	60	0.63×
37	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL	$79,990	100.9	40	0.22×
38	Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY	$79,910	95.8	70	1.02×
39	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	$78,120	103.1	160	0.32×
40	Columbus, OH	$78,030	95.5	170	1.23×

Cost of living is the BEA regional price parity for all items, where 100 is the national average. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: how much more of the local workforce does this job than the national average, so 2.00× means twice the national share. It is often the reason wages differ — a place that concentrates an occupation has the employers and the competition for it. Metro areas where microbiologists wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.

Similar occupations

Other jobs in the same field, with what each pays nationally.

Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists$103,410
Biological Scientists, All Other$98,920
Biochemists and Biophysicists$127,410
Conservation Scientists$73,010
Zoologists and Wildlife Biologists$76,780
Soil and Plant Scientists$78,850
Food Scientists and Technologists$88,720
Epidemiologists$87,220