Forensic Science Technicians salary

SOC 19-4092 · BLS OEWS May 2025

Median

$72,060

per year, nationally

Middle half

$57,830–$94,520

25th to 75th percentile

Employed

19,120

in the U.S.

Growth 2024–34

+12.8%

2,900 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.

$48,250$117,250

10th: $48,250
25th: $57,830
Median: $72,060
75th: $94,520
90th: $117,250

Getting in

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

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

Where forensic science technicians 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	Illinois	$124,790	100.0	370	0.49×
2	California	$102,100	110.7	2,800	1.25×
3	Connecticut	$85,910	103.6	120	0.59×
4	Colorado	$84,010	103.1	510	1.46×
5	Montana	$82,200	94.6	60	0.95×
6	Maryland	$82,140	105.0	460	1.36×
7	New York	$81,670	107.9	1,140	0.96×
8	Washington	$81,310	107.0	390	0.89×
9	Nevada	$81,090	100.0	360	1.91×
10	Oregon	$80,950	103.4	110	0.44×
11	Massachusetts	$79,320	105.8	290	0.65×
12	Minnesota	$76,960	98.6	140	0.37×
13	Vermont	$74,110	98.0	30	0.87×
14	Wisconsin	$72,280	94.1	310	0.85×
15	Idaho	$71,160	95.5	160	1.51×
16	North Dakota	$71,090	89.0	40	0.67×
17	Maine	$70,870	97.0	40	0.46×
18	Tennessee	$70,500	91.9	300	0.73×
19	Virginia	$68,900	101.1	770	1.52×
20	Iowa	$67,060	87.8	130	0.66×
21	Utah	$66,780	98.9	220	1.03×
22	Indiana	$66,520	93.3	320	0.81×
23	Oklahoma	$65,940	87.8	110	0.50×
24	Nebraska	$65,920	90.1	150	1.16×
25	New Mexico	$65,570	92.2	200	1.84×
26	Florida	$64,140	103.4	1,920	1.57×
27	Georgia	$63,600	96.3	550	0.92×
28	West Virginia	$63,330	89.5	110	1.23×
29	Arizona	$63,250	100.7	900	2.25×
30	New Jersey	$63,220	108.8	60	0.11×
31	Missouri	$62,750	90.8	350	0.96×
32	Pennsylvania	$61,580	97.6	360	0.49×
33	Kentucky	$61,470	90.2	60	0.25×
34	Texas	$59,870	97.1	1,900	1.10×
35	Alabama	$59,560	88.8	160	0.61×
36	North Carolina	$59,240	94.3	520	0.86×
37	Mississippi	$52,850	87.0	140	0.99×
38	Wyoming	$52,100	92.7	90	2.51×
39	South Carolina	$51,830	93.7	160	0.56×
40	South Dakota	$51,690	88.6	30	0.58×
41	Arkansas	$44,670	86.9	100	0.65×

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 forensic science technicians wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.

Best paying metro areas for forensic science technicians

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 Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	$137,280	110.4	140	1.01×
2	Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN	$112,790	103.6	260	0.46×
3	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$109,930	115.6	330	1.15×
4	Akron, OH	$106,330	93.4	80	1.95×
5	San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA	$105,320	111.9	220	1.14×
6	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	$104,410	113.6	1,170	1.52×
7	Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA	$102,810	110.5	80	2.06×
8	Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA	$101,780	106.7	160	1.18×
9	New Haven, CT	$98,250	104.6	70	1.92×
10	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	$95,460	111.1	230	0.90×
11	Toledo, OH	$95,330	91.5	40	0.98×
12	Lansing-East Lansing, MI	$88,670	95.0	110	3.94×
13	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA	$87,460	105.4	80	0.52×
14	Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI	$87,280	95.5	70	0.99×
15	Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO	$87,170	105.8	340	1.73×
16	Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY	$87,020	99.6	170	3.13×
17	Topeka, KS	$86,670	88.8	60	4.29×
18	Fresno, CA	$85,200	102.2	70	1.22×
19	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	$85,070	108.9	660	1.71×
20	Colorado Springs, CO	$84,010	100.7	30	0.85×
21	Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA	$82,320	106.4	280	1.31×
22	Missoula, MT	$82,200	96.4	40	4.86×
23	Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY	$82,040	95.8	40	0.58×
24	Stockton-Lodi, CA	$81,930	105.1	60	1.69×
25	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD	$81,780	104.5	300	1.81×
26	New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	$81,670	112.6	800	0.69×
27	Bakersfield-Delano, CA	$79,970	100.9	70	1.68×
28	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	$79,320	108.3	250	0.76×
29	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN	$78,480	96.3	150	1.08×
30	Columbus, OH	$78,170	95.5	160	1.15×
31	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	$77,820	114.2	490	1.41×
32	Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN	$77,630	95.7	170	1.23×
33	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	$76,960	104.8	120	0.52×
34	Naples-Marco Island, FL	$76,230	103.2	30	1.40×
35	Boise City, ID	$75,460	98.4	110	2.31×
36	Jackson, TN	$74,020	85.5	40	3.45×
37	Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI	$73,740	96.9	140	1.36×
38	Fort Wayne, IN	$72,510	92.6	30	1.16×
39	Salt Lake City-Murray, UT	$71,780	100.9	140	1.39×
40	Madison, WI	$71,470	97.3	70	1.30×

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 forensic science technicians wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.

Similar occupations

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

Life, Physical, and Social Science Technicians, All Other$62,280
Biological Technicians$57,510
Chemical Technicians$60,390
Environmental Science and Protection Technicians, Including Health$55,090
Social Science Research Assistants$61,990
Forest and Conservation Technicians$54,560
Agricultural Technicians$49,630
Food Science Technicians$52,130