Chemists & materials scientists

Detailed Occupation

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2020 Workforce

96.8k

Average Age

41.5

Average Salary

$87,133

Average Male Salary

$93,816

Average Female Salary

$77,004

About

Chemists & materials scientists are most often employed by the Pharmaceutical & medicine manufacturing industry. The average yearly wage for Chemists & materials scientists was $87,133 in 2016. The top 3 most similar occupations to Chemists & materials scientists by wage are Operations research analysts, Producers & directors, and Chiropractors.

Chemists & materials scientists are part of the Life, physical, & social science occupations, along with Agricultural & food scientists, Biological scientists, Conservation scientists & foresters, Medical scientists, & life scientists, all other, Astronomers & physicists, and 17 more.

The top 3 locations that employ the most Chemists & materials scientists are Rockville, Gaithersburg Cities & North Potomac PUMA, MD, Imperial Calcasieu Regional Planning & Development District 2 (South) PUMA, LA, and Dane County (West) PUMA, WI. The top 3 locations with a relatively high concentration of Chemists & materials scientists are Imperial Calcasieu Regional Planning & Development District 2 (South) PUMA, LA, Rockville, Gaithersburg Cities & North Potomac PUMA, MD, and South Plainfield & Middlesex Boroughs PUMA, NJ.

Photo by U.S. Army RDECOM

Employment

Information on the businesses and industries that employ Chemists & materials scientists and on wages and locations for those in the field. Pharmaceutical & medicine manufacturing is the industry that employs the most Chemists & materials scientists, both by share and by number, though the highest paid industry for Chemists & materials scientists, by average wage, is Nonferrous metal (except aluminum) production & processing. Chemists & materials scientists are paid most in Framingham Town, Marlborough City & Natick Town PUMA, MA but are relatively concentrated in Imperial Calcasieu Regional Planning & Development District 2 (South) PUMA, LA.

Yearly Wage

$87,133

AVERAGE SALARY

± $4,989

In 2020, Chemists & materials scientists earned an average of $87,133, $31,179 more than than the average national salary of $55,954.

Operations research analysts make somewhat more than Chemists & materials scientists while Chiropractors make somewhat less. This chart shows the various occupations closest to Chemists & materials scientists as measured by average annual salary in the US.

Wage Distribution

0.307

WAGE GINI

In 2015, Chemists & materials scientists had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.307, which is lower than than the national average of 0.478. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly for Chemists & materials scientists (shown in red) than for the overall labor force (shown in gray).

Wage by Location

HIGHEST PAYING PUMAS

This map shows the Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States shaded by average annual wage for Chemists & materials scientists.

Spatial Concentration

PUMAs with a Relatively High Concentration of Chemists & materials scientists

This map displays which Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States have a relatively high population of Chemists & materials scientists.

Most Common

The most common industries employing Chemists & materials scientists, by number of employees, are Pharmaceutical & medicine manufacturing, Scientific research & development services, Industrial & miscellaneous chemicals, Architectural, engineering & related services, Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges, Soap, cleaning compound, & cosmetics manufacturing , Medical equipment & supplies manufacturing, Administration of human resource programs, Paint, coating, & adhesive manufacturing , Petroleum refining, and Electric power generation, transmission & distribution.

Highest Paying

The highest paying industries for Chemists & materials scientists, by average wage, are Nonferrous metal (except aluminum) production & processing, Miscellaneous paper & pulp products, and Miscellaneous fabricated metal products manufacturing.

Industries by Share

96.8k

2020 Workforce

± 7,637

5.11%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 10.7%

The number of people employed as Chemists & materials scientists has been growing at a rate of 5.11%, from 92,131 people in 2019 to 96,835 people in 2020.

This graphic shows the share of Chemists & materials scientists employed by various industries. Pharmaceutical & medicine manufacturing employs the largest share of Chemists & materials scientists at 20.5%, followed by Scientific research & development services with 14.8% and Industrial & miscellaneous chemicals with 13%.

Diversity

Demographic information on Chemists & materials scientists in the US. The average age of male Chemists & materials scientists in the workforce is 42.9 and of female Chemists & materials scientists is 39.5, and the most common race/ethnicity for Chemists & materials scientists is White (Non-Hispanic).

Composition by Sex

58.3k

MALE WORKFORCE

± 5,929

38.5k

FEMALE WORKFORCE

± 4,816

60.3% of Chemists & materials scientists are Male, making them the more common sex in the occupation. This chart shows the sex breakdown of Chemists & materials scientists.

Race & Ethnicity

Most Common Race or Ethnicity of Chemists & materials scientists

White (Non-Hispanic)
Asian (Non-Hispanic)
Black (Non-Hispanic)

65.9% of Chemists & materials scientists are White (Non-Hispanic), making that the most common race or ethnicity in the occupation. Representing 17.9% of Chemists & materials scientists, Asian (Non-Hispanic) is the second most common race or ethnicity in this occupation. This chart shows the racial and ethnic breakdown of Chemists & materials scientists.

Age by Sex

42.9

AVERAGE MALE AGE

± 1.38

39.5

AVERAGE FEMALE AGE

± 1.58

The median age of Chemists & materials scientists is 41.5, and Male employees are generally 3.4 years older than than their Female counterparts.

Education

Data on higher education choices for Chemists & materials scientists from The Department of Education and Census Bureau. The most common major for Chemists & materials scientists is Physical Sciences but a relatively high number of Chemists & materials scientists hold a major in Physical Sciences.

Majors

ACS PUMS data only shows the major for bachelor's degrees. However, we can filter the data based on highest degree obtained.

MOST COMMON MAJORS

MOST SPECIALIZED MAJORS

Skills

Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for Chemists & materials scientists from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Chemists & materials scientists need many skills, but most especially Science and Reading Comprehension. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Chemists & materials scientists need more than the average amount of Science, Operations Analysis, and Mathematics.