Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
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Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2023
19-2041 Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health
Conduct research or perform investigation for the purpose of identifying, abating, or eliminating sources of pollutants or hazards that affect either the environment or public health. Using knowledge of various scientific disciplines, may collect, synthesize, study, report, and recommend action based on data derived from measurements or observations of air, food, soil, water, and other sources. Excludes “Zoologists and Wildlife Biologists” (19-1023), “Conservation Scientists” (19-1031), “Forest and Conservation Technicians” (19-4071), “Occupational Health and Safety Specialists” (19-5011), “Fish and Game Wardens” (33-3031), and “Forest and Conservation Workers” (45-4011).
National estimates for Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health
Industry profile for Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health
Geographic profile for Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health
National estimates for Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health:
Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health:
| Employment (1) |
Employment
RSE (3) |
Mean hourly
wage |
Mean annual
wage (2) |
Wage RSE (3) |
| 80,730 |
1.2 % |
$ 41.69 |
$ 86,710 |
0.6 % |
Percentile wage estimates for Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health:
| Percentile |
10% |
25% |
50%
(Median) |
75% |
90% |
| Hourly Wage |
$ 23.36 |
$ 29.29 |
$ 37.97 |
$ 49.72 |
$ 64.26 |
| Annual Wage (2) |
$ 48,580 |
$ 60,920 |
$ 78,980 |
$ 103,420 |
$ 133,660 |
Industry profile for Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health:
Industries with the highest published employment and wages for Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health are provided.
For a list of all industries with employment in Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health, see the Create Customized Tables function.
Industries with the highest levels of employment in Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| State Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals (OEWS Designation) |
21,760 |
1.03 |
$ 36.54 |
$ 75,990 |
| Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services |
15,980 |
0.86 |
$ 43.41 |
$ 90,290 |
| Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services |
11,430 |
0.69 |
$ 40.43 |
$ 84,080 |
| Local Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals (OEWS Designation) |
11,100 |
0.20 |
$ 38.68 |
$ 80,450 |
| Federal, State, and Local Government, excluding State and Local Government Schools and Hospitals and the U.S. Postal Service (OEWS Designation) |
5,150 |
0.24 |
$ 53.80 |
$ 111,910 |
Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| State Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals (OEWS Designation) |
21,760 |
1.03 |
$ 36.54 |
$ 75,990 |
| Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services |
15,980 |
0.86 |
$ 43.41 |
$ 90,290 |
| Social Advocacy Organizations |
2,090 |
0.83 |
$ 36.93 |
$ 76,820 |
| Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services |
11,430 |
0.69 |
$ 40.43 |
$ 84,080 |
| Remediation and Other Waste Management Services |
900 |
0.50 |
$ 40.36 |
$ 83,950 |
Top paying industries for Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health:
Geographic profile for Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health:
States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health are provided.
For a list of all areas with employment in Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health, see the Create Customized Tables function.
States with the highest employment level in Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| California |
12,590 |
0.70 |
1.32 |
$ 49.21 |
$ 102,350 |
| Florida |
5,210 |
0.54 |
1.02 |
$ 31.71 |
$ 65,960 |
| Washington |
4,100 |
1.17 |
2.21 |
$ 45.34 |
$ 94,300 |
| North Carolina |
3,940 |
0.82 |
1.55 |
$ 36.25 |
$ 75,410 |
| New York |
3,680 |
0.39 |
0.74 |
$ 43.74 |
$ 90,970 |
States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Alaska |
730 |
2.34 |
4.39 |
$ 44.32 |
$ 92,180 |
| District of Columbia |
1,620 |
2.30 |
4.34 |
$ 55.73 |
$ 115,910 |
| Wyoming |
500 |
1.84 |
3.45 |
$ 34.70 |
$ 72,180 |
| New Mexico |
1,180 |
1.39 |
2.62 |
$ 39.47 |
$ 82,090 |
| Vermont |
360 |
1.21 |
2.28 |
$ 34.19 |
$ 71,120 |
Top paying states for Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health:
Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA |
4,240 |
0.45 |
0.84 |
$ 46.70 |
$ 97,130 |
| Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, CA |
3,210 |
3.06 |
5.75 |
$ 50.03 |
$ 104,070 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV |
2,980 |
0.96 |
1.81 |
$ 52.39 |
$ 108,970 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
2,670 |
0.43 |
0.81 |
$ 49.41 |
$ 102,760 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA |
2,460 |
1.18 |
2.23 |
$ 47.77 |
$ 99,370 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH |
1,820 |
0.66 |
1.24 |
$ 50.64 |
$ 105,330 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA |
1,710 |
0.70 |
1.32 |
$ 56.11 |
$ 116,700 |
| Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO |
1,330 |
0.83 |
1.57 |
$ 53.10 |
$ 110,440 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD |
1,270 |
0.45 |
0.84 |
$ 39.58 |
$ 82,320 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI |
1,210 |
0.63 |
1.19 |
$ 39.98 |
$ 83,160 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Boulder, CO |
850 |
4.35 |
8.18 |
$ 42.15 |
$ 87,660 |
| Trenton, NJ |
940 |
3.92 |
7.38 |
$ 40.13 |
$ 83,470 |
| Carson City, NV |
110 |
3.43 |
6.45 |
$ 32.97 |
$ 68,570 |
| Cheyenne, WY |
150 |
3.31 |
6.23 |
$ 33.98 |
$ 70,670 |
| Fairbanks, AK |
110 |
3.19 |
6.01 |
$ 42.60 |
$ 88,600 |
| Santa Fe, NM |
190 |
3.18 |
5.99 |
$ 33.58 |
$ 69,850 |
| Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, CA |
3,210 |
3.06 |
5.75 |
$ 50.03 |
$ 104,070 |
| Tallahassee, FL |
550 |
3.03 |
5.70 |
$ 22.02 |
$ 45,790 |
| Olympia-Tumwater, WA |
360 |
2.91 |
5.47 |
$ 36.21 |
$ 75,310 |
| Lansing-East Lansing, MI |
520 |
2.49 |
4.68 |
$ 37.47 |
$ 77,940 |
Top paying metropolitan areas for Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA |
400 |
0.35 |
0.67 |
$ 56.79 |
$ 118,130 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA |
1,710 |
0.70 |
1.32 |
$ 56.11 |
$ 116,700 |
| Kennewick-Richland, WA |
290 |
2.30 |
4.33 |
$ 54.20 |
$ 112,730 |
| Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO |
1,330 |
0.83 |
1.57 |
$ 53.10 |
$ 110,440 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV |
2,980 |
0.96 |
1.81 |
$ 52.39 |
$ 108,970 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH |
1,820 |
0.66 |
1.24 |
$ 50.64 |
$ 105,330 |
| Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA |
120 |
0.59 |
1.11 |
$ 50.19 |
$ 104,400 |
| Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, CA |
3,210 |
3.06 |
5.75 |
$ 50.03 |
$ 104,070 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
2,670 |
0.43 |
0.81 |
$ 49.41 |
$ 102,760 |
| Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA |
200 |
0.64 |
1.20 |
$ 49.29 |
$ 102,510 |
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health:
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health:
Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health:
About May 2023 National, State, Metropolitan, and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors, all metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, and all states and the District of Columbia.
The top employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable XLS files.
The percentile wage estimate is the value of a wage below which a certain percent of workers fall.
The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate—50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median.
More about percentile wages.
(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.
(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours;
for those occupations where there is not an hourly wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.
(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.
(8) Estimate not released.
(9) The location quotient is the ratio of the area concentration of occupational employment to the national average concentration.
A location quotient greater than one indicates the occupation has a higher share of employment than average, and a location quotient less than one indicates the occupation is less prevalent in the area than average.
Other OEWS estimates and related information:
May 2023 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2023 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2023 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2023 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2023 Occupation Profiles
Technical Notes
Last Modified Date: April 3, 2024
United States Department of Labor
