Highest-paying Cities for Social Science Research Assistants

The top 100 highest paying cities for social science research assistants (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 social science research assistants in those cities are also shown in the table. As shown in the table, with a annual salary of $82,180, Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, Georgia is the highest paying city for social science research assistants. It is followed by Worcester, Massachusetts (average annual salary $74,450). 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 social science research assistants in a specific city, use the links in the table.

Table 1. 100 Highest-paying cities/areas for Social Science Research Assistants

Rank	City/Area	Average Salary i	Entry Level Salary i	# of Empl. i
1	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, Georgia	$82,180	$40,210	580
2	Worcester, Massachusetts	$74,450	$45,670	60
3	Chattanooga, Tennessee	$73,870	$45,840	60
4	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, California	$73,280	$53,880	1,040
5	Lake County-Kenosha County, Wisconsin	$72,080	$25,410	40
6	Balance of Lower Peninsula of Michigan nonmetropolitan area, Michigan	$66,810	$51,210	n/a
7	Athens-Clarke County, Georgia	$64,100	$49,260	520
8	San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, California	$63,830	$47,930	1,610
9	Springfield, Massachusetts	$63,610	$39,460	210
10	Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Beaufort, South Carolina	$63,100	$39,160	130
11	Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale, Arizona	$62,520	$40,780	530
12	Charleston-North Charleston-Summerville, South Carolina	$62,050	$39,030	120
13	Madison, Wisconsin	$61,720	$29,800	40
14	Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Massachusetts	$61,370	$41,600	1,260
15	Chicago-Joliet-Naperville (IL-IN-WI Area), Illinois	$60,860	$31,730	330
16	Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, Texas	$60,200	$39,120	120
17	Denver-Aurora-Broomfield, Colorado	$59,880	$30,130	190
18	Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Michigan	$59,390	$20,300	40
19	Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, Virginia	$59,370	$45,350	n/a
20	Columbia, South Carolina	$59,300	$42,970	30
21	Albuquerque, New Mexico	$59,110	$35,120	160
22	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, Washington	$58,050	$47,320	100
23	Oakland-Fremont-Hayward, California	$57,710	$33,390	180
24	Newark-Union, Pennsylvania	$56,280	$35,930	50
25	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Pennsylvania	$55,040	$17,860	290
26	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, District of Columbia	$54,350	$40,040	2,680
27	Lancaster, Pennsylvania	$54,190	$37,540	n/a
28	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, California	$54,040	$43,060	1,550
29	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, West Virginia	$53,730	$34,460	3,550
30	Boulder, Colorado	$53,360	$31,810	n/a
31	Raleigh-Cary, North Carolina	$53,340	$38,840	200
32	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, California	$53,250	$28,540	930
33	Morgantown, West Virginia	$52,960	$36,050	80
34	San Antonio-New Braunfels, Texas	$52,710	$38,380	40
35	Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, Arkansas	$52,700	$39,360	50
36	Lansing-East Lansing, Michigan	$52,620	$34,320	30
37	Champaign-Urbana, Illinois	$52,310	$36,680	130
38	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California	$52,070	$40,860	330
39	Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Massachusetts	$51,810	$33,260	1,660
40	Providence-Fall River-Warwick, Rhode Island	$51,170	$28,920	30
41	Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, Pennsylvania	$51,090	$24,960	30
42	Baltimore-Towson, Maryland	$50,680	$39,650	250
43	Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, California	$50,600	$22,950	450
44	Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, Texas	$50,550	$32,190	430
45	San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, California	$50,540	$31,430	460
46	New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, New York	$50,500	$31,420	2,310
47	Tucson, Arizona	$50,470	$39,890	740
48	Bethesda-Rockville-Frederick, Maryland	$50,290	$39,110	330
49	Harrisburg-Carlisle, Pennsylvania	$50,060	$37,600	30
50	Indianapolis-Carmel, Indiana	$49,910	$37,710	820
51	Southwest Maine nonmetropolitan area, Maine	$49,860	$37,130	50
52	New Bedford, Massachusetts	$49,790	$38,520	30
53	Greenville-Mauldin-Easley, South Carolina	$49,650	$39,050	130
54	Eugene-Springfield, Oregon	$49,610	$39,080	40
55	Kansas nonmetropolitan area, Kansas	$49,580	$17,360	30
56	Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Goleta, California	$49,520	$32,510	60
57	Cincinnati-Middletown, Ohio	$49,510	$24,910	170
58	Asheville, North Carolina	$49,490	$33,880	40
59	Portland-South Portland-Biddeford, Maine	$49,290	$39,150	50
60	Columbus, Ohio	$49,240	$29,900	100
61	Greensboro-High Point, North Carolina	$49,210	$37,350	150
62	Augusta-Richmond County, South Carolina	$49,130	$42,400	30
63	Charleston, West Virginia	$49,120	$41,050	40
64	Kansas City, Missouri	$49,050	$22,240	110
65	Barnstable Town, Massachusetts	$49,050	$40,230	n/a
66	Santa Rosa-Petaluma, California	$48,880	$40,150	30
67	Lincoln, Nebraska	$48,860	$40,770	90
68	Santa Cruz-Watsonville, California	$48,860	$48,450	160
69	Lubbock, Texas	$48,770	$27,080	80
70	Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, California	$48,740	$45,360	200
71	Columbia, Missouri	$48,570	$38,390	300
72	Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville, California	$48,520	$43,390	450
73	Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, South Carolina	$48,430	$40,170	110
74	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, Florida	$48,320	$31,490	210
75	Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Florida	$48,210	$32,600	100
76	Tampa-St Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida	$48,180	$36,880	80
77	Ogden-Clearfield, Utah	$48,060	$32,990	40
78	Richmond, Virginia	$47,960	$30,620	120
79	Lafayette, Louisiana	$47,960	$41,010	30
80	Salt Lake City, Utah	$47,940	$30,250	500
81	Myrtle Beach-North Myrtle Beach-Conway, South Carolina	$47,750	$36,100	30
82	Dayton, Ohio	$47,750	$23,750	30
83	St Louis, Missouri	$47,660	$30,980	260
84	Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, Virginia	$47,500	$38,530	120
85	Edison-New Brunswick, New Jersey	$47,490	$29,530	60
86	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Washington	$47,140	$39,370	260
87	Southern Vermont nonmetropolitan area, Vermont	$46,870	$36,640	n/a
88	Fargo, North Dakota	$46,750	$23,990	30
89	Boise City-Nampa, Idaho	$46,630	$39,930	n/a
90	New York-White Plains-Wayne, New York	$46,510	$23,250	3,190
91	Omaha-Council Bluffs, Nebraska	$46,470	$28,800	130
92	West Central Kentucky nonmetropolitan area, Kentucky	$46,300	$37,710	60
93	Durham-Chapel Hill, North Carolina	$45,870	$30,660	1,510
94	College Station-Bryan, Texas	$45,650	$28,610	70
95	Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, Michigan	$45,600	$19,500	50
96	Reno-Sparks, Nevada	$45,290	$34,700	130
97	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas	$44,600	$18,970	330
98	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	$44,380	$31,190	570
99	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, California	$44,200	$27,580	1,200
100	Honolulu, Hawaii	$44,170	$29,340	40

See also: 💰 Highest paying industries for social science research assistants.