Research Scientist salary in the United States

Research Scientist salary: common questions

What is the average Research Scientist salary in the United States?

The median midpoint of 286 live Research Scientist postings in the United States is $244k a year. Half of them fall between $197k and $327k.

How does Research Scientist pay change with seniority?

Entry-level postings have a median of $125k, while senior postings $205k. Staff, principal and director roles usually pay more and often add equity.

Which companies pay Research Scientist roles the most?

Among companies with at least two postings, the highest medians are at Anthropic ($600k), OpenAI ($440k), Datadog ($335k), Dyna Robotics ($313k).

Where do these numbers come from?

From the pay ranges employers publish in their own job postings (required in states such as California, Colorado, New York, Washington and Illinois). We take the midpoint of each range, convert hourly pay at 2,080 hours a year, and update the figures daily as postings open and close. They show base pay, not bonus or equity.