Material Science Engineer Salary
$38K - $49K
3% of jobs
$49K - $60K
2% of jobs
$60K - $71K
9% of jobs
$79.2K is the 25th percentile. Wages below this are outliers.
$71K - $82K
15% of jobs
$82K - $93K
19% of jobs
The median wage is $94.4K / yr.
$93K - $104K
14% of jobs
$114.9K is the 75th percentile. Wages above this are outliers.
$104K - $115K
13% of jobs
$115K - $126K
11% of jobs
$126K - $137K
6% of jobs
$137K - $148K
5% of jobs
$148K - $159K
3% of jobs
$38K
$96K
$158K
$100,738
/year
$48.43
/hour
Material Science Engineer Salary Comparison by Location
Nationwide
United States
$100,738
Columbus
Ohio
$97,303
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How much does a Material Science Engineer make?
As of Jul 14, 2026, the average annual pay for a Material Science Engineer in the United States is $100,738 a year.
Just in case you need a simple salary calculator, that works out to be approximately $48.43 an hour. This is the equivalent of $1,937/week or $8,394/month.
While ZipRecruiter is seeing annual salaries as high as $158,000 and as low as $38,000, the majority of Material Science Engineer salaries currently range between $80,000 (25th percentile) to $116,500 (75th percentile) with top earners (90th percentile) making $141,500 annually across the United States. The average pay range for a Material Science Engineer varies greatly (by as much as 36500), which suggests there may be many opportunities for advancement and increased pay based on skill level, location and years of experience.
A Material Science Engineer in your area makes on average $97,303 per year, or $3,435 (3.410%) less than the national average annual salary of $100,738. Ohio ranks number 30 out of 50 states nationwide for Material Science Engineer salaries.
To estimate the most accurate annual salary range for Material Science Engineer jobs, ZipRecruiter continuously scans its database of millions of active jobs published locally throughout America.
Find your next high paying job as a Material Science Engineer on ZipRecruiter today.
What are Top 10 Highest Paying Cities for Material Science Engineer Jobs
We've identified 10 cities where the typical salary for a Material Science Engineer job is above the national average. Topping the list is Nome, AK, , with Cupertino, CA, and Phoenix, AZ, close behind in the second and third positions. Phoenix, AZ, beats the national average by $23,268 (23.1%), and Nome, AK, furthers that trend with another $24,227 (24.0%) above the $100,738 average.
With these 10 cities having average salaries higher than the national average, the opportunities for economic advancement by changing locations as a Material Science Engineer appears to be exceedingly fruitful.
Finally, another factor to consider is the average salary for these top 10 cities varies very little at 5% between Nome, AK, and San Francisco, CA, , reinforcing the limited potential for much wage advancement. The possibility of a lower cost of living may be the best factor to use when considering location and salary for a Material Science Engineer role.
City | Annual Salary | Hourly Wage |
|---|---|---|
Nome, AK | $124,965 | $60.08 |
Cupertino, CA | $124,285 | $59.75 |
Phoenix, AZ | $124,006 | $59.62 |
Berkeley, CA | $123,347 | $59.30 |
Redwood City, CA | $123,339 | $59.30 |
Indio, CA | $122,514 | $58.90 |
Richland, WA | $122,308 | $58.80 |
Sitka, AK | $121,357 | $58.34 |
Glendale, RI | $119,944 | $57.67 |
San Francisco, CA | $118,687 | $57.06 |
What are Top 5 Best Paying Related Material Science Engineer Jobs in the U.S.
We found a few related jobs that pay more than jobs in the Material Science Engineer category.
For example Drug Safety Scientist jobs pay as much as $27,007 (26.8%) more than the average Material Science Engineer salary of $100,738. If you're qualified, finding work as a Drug Safety Scientist may help you make more money than that of the average Material Science Engineer position.
Job Title | Annual Salary | Hourly Wage |
|---|---|---|
Drug Safety Scientist | $127,745 | $61.42 |
Senior Bioprocess Engineer | $126,557 | $60.84 |
Associate Scientist | $74,723 | $35.92 |
Gene Therapy | $49,724 | $23.91 |
Phd Machine Learning | $47,468 | $22.82 |
About Our Data
ZipRecruiter salary estimates, histograms, trends and comparisons are derived from both employer job postings and third party data sources.
