Average Materials Scientists Salary in California

Materials Scientists in California earn a median annual salary of $177,030, which is +50.3% compared to the national median. There are 1,030 workers employed locally in this occupation.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey, May 2025 estimates for California (state).

$177,030

California median annual wage

$85/hour median

+50.3%

Difference vs national median

National median is $117,790

1,030

Local employment

0.1 jobs per 1,000 workers

1.04

Location quotient

Above 1.00 means the occupation is more concentrated here than nationally

Pay distribution

Local wage range

10th: $96,050
25th: $131,060
Median: $177,030
75th: $233,890
90th: $300,330

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 California, 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

110.7%

Exact state RPP match

Median wage adjusted to the national price level

$159,890

Goods: 106.1%
Services: 158.9%
Rents: 154.3%

Comparison links

Comparable states for this occupation

State	Median annual wage	Compare	Employment
Oregon	$150,550	Compare	100
Wisconsin	$137,700	Compare	70
District of Columbia	$137,600	Compare	N/A
Massachusetts	$132,600	Compare	890
Minnesota	$132,160	Compare	290
New York	$131,740	Compare	530

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 California

Occupation	Median annual wage	LQ
Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric	$400,150	0.78
Neurologists	$357,080	0.88
Airline Pilots, Copilots, And Flight Engineers	$353,900	0.88
Psychiatrists	$353,500	1.66
General Internal Medicine Physicians	$313,890	0.81
Obstetricians And Gynecologists	$301,240	0.65
Nurse Anesthetists	$292,410	0.37
Physicians, All Other	$281,590	0.64

California has salary data for 807 occupations. The highest-paid occupation in this area is Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric.

Historical series

Trend for Materials Scientists in California

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

Interpretation

Outlook and page notes

Nationally, Materials Scientists are projected to change by +4.9% from 2024 to 2034, with 600 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.