Epidemiologists salary

SOC 19-1041 · BLS OEWS May 2025

Median

$87,220

per year, nationally

Middle half

$71,090–$112,640

25th to 75th percentile

Employed

12,090

in the U.S.

Growth 2024–34

+16.2%

800 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.

$61,270$138,800

10th: $61,270
25th: $71,090
Median: $87,220
75th: $112,640
90th: $138,800

Getting in

Typical education to enter: Master'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 epidemiologists 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	$115,890	105.8	660	2.34×
2	District of Columbia	$112,370	109.9	90	1.57×
3	California	$110,760	110.7	1,480	1.05×
4	New Jersey	$109,760	108.8	290	0.88×
5	Washington	$108,240	107.0	1,010	3.67×
6	Minnesota	$104,460	98.6	310	1.33×
7	Illinois	$102,720	100.0	240	0.50×
8	Maryland	$101,830	105.0	600	2.79×
9	Nevada	$99,880	100.0	80	0.63×
10	Tennessee	$97,310	91.9	220	0.87×
11	Oregon	$93,620	103.4	140	0.91×
12	Wisconsin	$88,770	94.1	90	0.41×
13	Pennsylvania	$87,860	97.6	360	0.75×
14	Michigan	$84,990	96.2	280	0.82×
15	Virginia	$84,930	101.1	220	0.68×
16	North Carolina	$84,770	94.3	220	0.56×
17	South Carolina	$84,660	93.7	50	0.27×
18	Connecticut	$83,670	103.6	160	1.24×
19	Nebraska	$83,240	90.1	80	1.04×
20	New York	$80,220	107.9	670	0.88×
21	New Mexico	$79,980	92.2	80	1.20×
22	Iowa	$79,880	87.8	90	0.75×
23	Kansas	$79,620	90.1	70	0.67×
24	Montana	$79,500	94.6	100	2.44×
25	Florida	$79,460	103.4	300	0.39×
26	Kentucky	$78,810	90.2	120	0.79×
27	Indiana	$77,250	93.3	170	0.66×
28	Texas	$77,170	97.1	1,160	1.06×
29	Utah	$76,960	98.9	190	1.37×
30	Hawaii	$76,780	110.0	70	1.41×
31	Ohio	$76,480	92.8	300	0.70×
32	Alabama	$74,740	88.8	70	0.44×
33	Louisiana	$73,850	88.2	120	0.79×
34	Colorado	$73,750	103.1	430	1.93×
35	Oklahoma	$72,590	87.8	120	0.88×
36	Georgia	$70,880	96.3	510	1.34×
37	West Virginia	$70,540	89.5	100	1.83×
38	Maine	$68,850	97.0	60	1.25×
39	Arizona	$67,260	100.7	340	1.35×
40	Missouri	$66,890	90.8	120	0.50×
41	Idaho	$66,280	95.5	40	0.67×
42	Mississippi	$56,930	87.0	40	0.43×

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 epidemiologists wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.

Best paying metro areas for epidemiologists

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	$130,400	115.6	320	1.71×
2	San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA	$125,320	111.9	160	1.32×
3	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	$123,970	111.1	580	3.58×
4	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	$115,890	108.3	620	2.95×
5	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	$112,780	108.9	380	1.55×
6	Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA	$111,960	106.7	260	3.14×
7	Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA	$108,240	103.7	330	32.57×
8	Trenton-Princeton, NJ	$105,930	103.2	110	5.79×
9	Providence-Warwick, RI-MA	$105,850	101.8	—	—
10	Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV	$105,670	100.2	50	0.55×
11	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	$105,400	113.6	380	0.77×
12	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	$104,460	104.8	290	1.90×
13	Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY	$104,310	99.6	70	1.91×
14	Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN	$103,780	103.6	210	0.59×
15	New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	$98,340	112.6	400	0.55×
16	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA	$98,110	105.4	100	1.10×
17	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI	$97,290	100.3	40	0.24×
18	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL	$97,250	100.9	60	0.57×
19	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD	$94,690	104.5	290	2.79×
20	Pittsburgh, PA	$91,800	94.7	60	0.65×
21	Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT	$90,320	102.7	140	2.98×
22	Madison, WI	$88,770	97.3	40	1.29×
23	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	$85,170	114.2	80	0.35×
24	Raleigh-Cary, NC	$84,770	98.2	70	1.22×
25	Helena, MT	$84,290	95.7	30	8.97×
26	Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA	$83,650	91.7	30	1.05×
27	Durham-Chapel Hill, NC	$82,990	97.6	70	2.55×
28	Richmond, VA	$82,460	97.9	100	1.87×
29	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	$81,570	102.6	190	0.86×
30	New Orleans-Metairie, LA	$81,240	92.6	50	1.57×
31	Columbus, OH	$80,980	95.5	100	1.14×
32	Albuquerque, NM	$79,980	95.5	40	1.15×
33	Kansas City, MO-KS	$79,620	92.5	50	0.54×
34	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	$79,450	103.1	260	0.83×
35	Lexington-Fayette, KY	$78,700	92.9	40	1.66×
36	Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA	$78,350	106.4	90	0.68×
37	Salt Lake City-Murray, UT	$78,000	100.9	—	—
38	Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX	$77,170	98.6	290	1.15×
39	Urban Honolulu, HI	$76,780	111.0	60	1.70×
40	Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN	$74,330	95.7	100	1.16×

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 epidemiologists 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
Microbiologists$87,990
Zoologists and Wildlife Biologists$76,780
Soil and Plant Scientists$78,850
Food Scientists and Technologists$88,720