Highest-paying Cities for Atmospheric and Space Scientists

The top 100 highest paying cities for atmospheric and space scientists (ranked by average annual salary) are listed in Table 1. The entry level salary (as measured by the salary of the lowest 10% paid earners) and the number of employment of atmospheric and space scientists in those cities are also shown in the table. As shown in the table, with a annual salary of $128,560, San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, California is the highest paying city for atmospheric and space scientists. It is followed by Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, District of Columbia (average annual salary $117,500). The salary and employment information is computed from data published by U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in April 2023 [1]. For more salary information of atmospheric and space scientists in a specific city, use the links in the table.

Table 1. 100 Highest-paying cities/areas for Atmospheric and Space Scientists

Rank	City/Area	Average Salary i	Entry Level Salary i	# of Empl. i
1	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, California	$128,560	$71,870	150
2	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, District of Columbia	$117,500	$66,440	550
3	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma	$116,380	$81,990	110
4	Boise City-Nampa, Idaho	$115,230	$79,350	30
5	New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, New York	$113,760	$56,570	180
6	Chicago-Joliet-Naperville (IL Metropolitan Division), Illinois	$113,530	$86,500	40
7	Richmond, Virginia	$113,270	$57,490	30
8	Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Massachusetts	$112,150	$49,170	70
9	Nassau-Suffolk, New York	$110,940	$66,950	50
10	Urban Honolulu, Hawaii	$110,800	$75,600	60
11	Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville, California	$107,220	$87,650	40
12	Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, California	$105,720	$47,670	30
13	Fort Collins-Loveland, Colorado	$104,000	$62,940	200
14	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, West Virginia	$103,640	$63,010	630
15	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, California	$103,510	$53,410	360
16	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	$102,990	$56,330	60
17	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, Washington	$101,800	$61,130	80
18	Camden, New Jersey	$101,630	$66,990	30
19	Tucson, Arizona	$101,430	$64,700	50
20	Bethesda-Rockville-Frederick, Maryland	$101,290	$66,570	290
21	San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, California	$101,210	$64,060	50
22	Las Cruces, New Mexico	$100,730	$43,680	30
23	Tulsa, Oklahoma	$100,530	$45,340	40
24	Boulder, Colorado	$99,320	$64,210	680
25	Raleigh-Cary, North Carolina	$99,300	$64,290	30
26	Baltimore-Towson, Maryland	$98,870	$78,300	330
27	Indianapolis-Carmel, Indiana	$98,760	$65,010	40
28	Omaha-Council Bluffs, Nebraska	$98,490	$53,190	60
29	Honolulu, Hawaii	$98,400	$64,490	50
30	Green Bay, Wisconsin	$98,280	$49,560	30
31	Trenton-Ewing, New Jersey	$98,180	$36,500	40
32	New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, Louisiana	$98,020	$44,720	30
33	Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Massachusetts	$98,000	$76,220	190
34	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Washington	$97,750	$50,500	340
35	Salt Lake City, Utah	$97,510	$54,720	70
36	Northcentral Colorado nonmetropolitan area, Colorado	$97,250	$37,260	30
37	Rapid City, South Dakota	$97,190	$58,600	30
38	Dallas-Plano-Irving, Texas	$96,990	$54,420	n/a
39	South Nebraska nonmetropolitan area, Nebraska	$96,920	$43,680	30
40	Jacksonville, Florida	$96,340	$82,620	50
41	Idaho Falls, Idaho	$96,140	$71,190	n/a
42	Denver-Aurora-Broomfield, Colorado	$96,130	$70,430	90
43	Reno-Sparks, Nevada	$95,890	$52,000	50
44	Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, Virginia	$95,660	$67,830	40
45	Albany-Schenectady-Troy, New York	$94,790	$49,700	50
46	Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, Florida	$94,490	$34,280	150
47	Las Vegas-Paradise, Nevada	$93,950	$47,080	40
48	Kansas City, Missouri	$93,750	$40,000	150
49	Tuscaloosa, Alabama	$93,240	$66,220	60
50	East Idaho nonmetropolitan area, Idaho	$93,100	$69,950	n/a
51	Bismarck, North Dakota	$92,620	$49,700	n/a
52	Asheville, North Carolina	$92,320	$54,740	60
53	New York-White Plains-Wayne, New York	$91,600	$50,890	100
54	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, California	$91,470	$41,550	210
55	Des Moines-West Des Moines, Iowa	$90,490	$50,600	30
56	Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, Florida	$90,440	$66,660	70
57	St Louis, Missouri	$90,230	$40,240	30
58	Fairbanks, Alaska	$89,070	$40,520	30
59	Oakland-Fremont-Hayward, California	$87,470	$55,900	100
60	Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Michigan	$87,320	$60,220	30
61	Anchorage, Alaska	$84,690	$61,420	150
62	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, Tennessee	$84,270	$47,130	50
63	Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Florida	$83,840	$56,800	40
64	Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas	$83,250	$52,680	100
65	Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, Washington	$83,080	$47,760	190
66	Ann Arbor, Michigan	$82,480	$57,280	40
67	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, Georgia	$81,790	$37,690	170
68	Louisville-Jefferson County, Kentucky	$81,170	$37,680	40
69	Birmingham-Hoover, Alabama	$81,050	$59,230	50
70	Knoxville, Tennessee	$81,010	$50,520	40
71	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Pennsylvania	$80,980	$77,650	280
72	Albuquerque, New Mexico	$80,560	$62,110	40
73	Huntsville, Alabama	$80,050	$49,470	170
74	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, Florida	$79,590	$62,600	200
75	Columbia, South Carolina	$79,350	$47,990	30
76	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas	$78,670	$63,100	160
77	Alaska nonmetropolitan area, Alaska	$78,280	$48,480	80
78	Chicago-Joliet-Naperville (IL-IN-WI Area), Illinois	$77,960	$41,870	60
79	San Juan-Caguas-Guaynabo, Puerto Rico	$76,450	$50,890	30
80	Tallahassee, Florida	$75,310	$44,720	30
81	Memphis, Tennessee	$74,950	$60,420	50
82	Grand Rapids-Wyoming, Michigan	$74,710	$45,300	30
83	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	$74,400	$48,170	n/a
84	San Antonio-New Braunfels, Texas	$74,130	$54,980	40
85	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California	$73,510	$63,680	70
86	Minneapolis-St Paul-Bloomington, Wisconsin	$73,210	$43,660	100
87	Kansas nonmetropolitan area, Kansas	$72,800	$34,810	50
88	Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale, Arizona	$72,760	$56,910	50
89	Madison, Wisconsin	$72,130	$52,290	100
90	Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, Arkansas	$71,850	$68,190	100
91	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, California	$71,750	$52,390	130
92	Corpus Christi, Texas	$71,670	$55,020	30
93	Portland-South Portland-Biddeford, Maine	$71,260	$52,920	40
94	Southeast Alaska nonmetropolitan area, Alaska	$70,820	$54,780	40
95	Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, Texas	$68,820	$57,080	180
96	Gulfport-Biloxi, Mississippi	$68,240	$51,230	70
97	Tampa-St Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida	$67,990	$67,990	30
98	Charleston, West Virginia	$66,360	$54,720	50
99	Lubbock, Texas	$66,210	$43,750	30
100	Columbus, Ohio	$66,140	$66,110	40

See also: 💰 Highest paying industries for atmospheric and space scientists.