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Salary data from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics

Average Chemists Salary in Lake Charles, LA

Chemists in Lake Charles, LA earn a median annual salary of $130,770, which is +55.4% compared to the national median. There are 160 workers employed locally in this occupation.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey, May 2024 estimates for Lake Charles, LA (metro area).

$130,770
Lake Charles, LA median annual wage
$63/hour median
+55.4%
Difference vs national median
National median is $84,150
160
Local employment
1.6 jobs per 1,000 workers
2.89
Location quotient
Above 1.00 means the occupation is more concentrated here than nationally

Pay distribution

Local wage range

10th
$75,360
25th
$97,460
Median
$130,770
75th
$161,840
90th
$161,850

All values are percentiles of annual wages.

This local range is the useful part of the page. The median tells you the center of the market in Lake Charles, LA, while the percentile band shows how compressed or wide the local pay distribution actually is.

Regional price parity

Cost-of-living context

All-items regional price parity
85.9%
Exact metro RPP match
Median wage adjusted to the national price level
$152,320
Goods: 93.7%
Services: 71.7%
Rents: 51.8%

Comparison links

Comparable metros for this occupation

MetroMedian annual wageCompareEmployment
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV$145,430Compare2,640
Albuquerque, NM$137,740Compare160
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH$130,830Compare2,870
Midland, MI$129,700Compare310
Baton Rouge, LA$127,860Compare220
Huntsville, AL$127,070Compare120

The point of this table is not random nearby places. It is to show the other labor markets where this same occupation looks stronger or weaker on the same OEWS release.

Area context

Top occupations in Lake Charles, LA

OccupationMedian annual wageLQ
Architectural And Engineering Managers$184,0400.85
Petroleum Engineers$153,8305.99
Chemists$130,7702.89
Pharmacists$129,6700.90
Financial Managers$127,6400.42
Nurse Practitioners$127,3800.53
Electrical Engineers$125,6800.26
Sales Managers$119,0100.35

Lake Charles, LA has salary data for 275 occupations. The highest-paid occupation in this area is Architectural And Engineering Managers.

Historical series

Trend for Chemists in Lake Charles, LA

Historical trend data is not yet available for this occupation in this area.

Interpretation

Outlook and page notes

Nationally, Chemists are projected to change by +4.9% from 2024 to 2034, with 6,300 annual openings.

Use this page to answer three separate questions: what the occupation pays here, how large the local market is, and whether this market is unusually concentrated for the occupation.

For metro pages in particular, read long-term trend rows as directional until the area comparability layer is fully wired. OEWS area definitions can change over time, and that matters more at the metro level than at the state level.