Senior Research Scientist Salary

IQ Team
Written by IQ Team
IQ Team
Published March 24, 2022
Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
Table of contents

$118,411

Average Base Salary

$215,580

Average Total Compensation

Min: $63K
Max: $200K
Base Salary
Median: $106K
Mean (Average): $118K
Data points: 1,282
Min: $8K
Max: $542K
Total Compensation
Median: $175K
Mean (Average): $216K
Data points: 116
The average base salary for a Senior Research Scientist is $118,411
based on 1,282 data points.
Adjusting the average for more recent salary data points, the average recency weighted base salary is $123,862.

The estimated average total compensation is $215,580
based on 116 data points.
The average recency weighted total compensation is $212,430.

Senior Research Scientist Salary Compared to other Seniority Levels

Executive*
$231K
$240K
Executive
Median: $235K
Mean (Average): $235K
Data points: 2
Manager
$88K
$242K
Manager
Median: $228K
Mean (Average): $199K
Data points: 20
Senior
$63K
$200K
Senior
Median: $106K
Mean (Average): $118K
Data points: 1,282
Mid-Level
$55K
$165K
Mid-Level
Median: $105K
Mean (Average): $109K
Data points: 1,226
Entry Level
$50K
$110K
Entry Level
Median: $62K
Mean (Average): $70K
Data points: 1,470
Base salary
Median
Mean (Average)
* = Low confidence (less than 5 data points)

Seniority can increase the pay of a Research Scientist. Here are the base salaries of a Research Scientist grouped into 5 seniority categories.

Senior Research Scientist Salary Compared to other Positions

Machine Learning Engineer
$81K
$259K
Machine Learning Engineer
Median: $170K
Mean (Average): $173K
Data points: 906
Product Manager
$90K
$250K
Product Manager
Median: $168K
Mean (Average): $172K
Data points: 3,237
Software Engineer
$74K
$240K
Software Engineer
Median: $158K
Mean (Average): $159K
Data points: 30,835
Data Scientist
$85K
$214K
Data Scientist
Median: $140K
Mean (Average): $145K
Data points: 4,482
Data Engineer
$81K
$190K
Data Engineer
Median: $123K
Mean (Average): $129K
Data points: 4,327
Growth Marketing Analyst
$65K
$190K
Growth Marketing Analyst
Median: $127K
Mean (Average): $124K
Data points: 356
Research Scientist
$63K
$200K
Research Scientist
Median: $106K
Mean (Average): $118K
Data points: 1,282
Product Analyst
$67K
$175K
Product Analyst
Median: $111K
Mean (Average): $115K
Data points: 167
Business Intelligence
$71K
$150K
Business Intelligence
Median: $104K
Mean (Average): $107K
Data points: 802
Data Analyst
$58K
$165K
Data Analyst
Median: $91K
Mean (Average): $100K
Data points: 6,981
Business Analyst
$62K
$143K
Business Analyst
Median: $94K
Mean (Average): $97K
Data points: 7,885
Base salary
Median
Mean (Average)
* = Low confidence (less than 5 data points)

Most data science positions fall under different position titles depending on the actual role.

From the graph we can see that on average the Machine Learning Engineer role pays the most with a $172,626 base salary while the Business Analyst role on average pays the least with a $97,384 base salary.

Top Cities for Senior Research Scientist Salaries

San Francisco, CA
$102K
$275K
San Francisco, CA
Median: $154K
Mean (Average): $168K
Data points: 263
Seattle, WA
$72K
$263K
Seattle, WA
Median: $167K
Mean (Average): $168K
Data points: 30
Portland, OR
$118K
$186K
Portland, OR
Median: $179K
Mean (Average): $165K
Data points: 6
Albuquerque, NM
$66K
$231K
Albuquerque, NM
Median: $88K
Mean (Average): $134K
Data points: 5
Indianapolis, IN
$116K
$154K
Indianapolis, IN
Median: $132K
Mean (Average): $133K
Data points: 9
Austin, TX
$102K
$160K
Austin, TX
Median: $125K
Mean (Average): $129K
Data points: 21
Washington, DC
$80K
$198K
Washington, DC
Median: $112K
Mean (Average): $126K
Data points: 30
Los Angeles, CA
$73K
$186K
Los Angeles, CA
Median: $120K
Mean (Average): $126K
Data points: 33
San Diego, CA
$93K
$179K
San Diego, CA
Median: $105K
Mean (Average): $118K
Data points: 16
Houston, TX
$70K
$163K
Houston, TX
Median: $115K
Mean (Average): $115K
Data points: 86
Chicago, IL
$90K
$148K
Chicago, IL
Median: $105K
Mean (Average): $114K
Data points: 23
New York, NY
$69K
$248K
New York, NY
Median: $90K
Mean (Average): $111K
Data points: 123
Minneapolis-St. Paul Area
$93K
$120K
Minneapolis-St. Paul Area
Median: $102K
Mean (Average): $104K
Data points: 42
Boston, MA
$59K
$160K
Boston, MA
Median: $98K
Mean (Average): $104K
Data points: 140
Detroit, MI
$81K
$124K
Detroit, MI
Median: $103K
Mean (Average): $103K
Data points: 6
Base salary
Median
Mean (Average)
* = Low confidence (less than 5 data points)
1
...

The Research Scientist salary in Kansas City, MO is the highest paying salary with a $176,035 average base salary. The Research Scientist salary in Bucharest, Romania is the lowest paying salary with $41,000 average base salary.

Top Companies for Senior Research Scientist Salaries

Netflix
$127K
$630K
Netflix
Median: $350K
Mean (Average): $373K
Data points: 17
Meta
$164K
$277K
Meta
Median: $230K
Mean (Average): $227K
Data points: 12
Google
$164K
$247K
Google
Median: $198K
Mean (Average): $197K
Data points: 9
Nvidia
$115K
$242K
Nvidia
Median: $190K
Mean (Average): $186K
Data points: 15
Salesforce
$154K
$208K
Salesforce
Median: $168K
Mean (Average): $172K
Data points: 7
Intel Corporation
$124K
$186K
Intel Corporation
Median: $173K
Mean (Average): $166K
Data points: 10
Bosch
$146K
$191K
Bosch
Median: $162K
Mean (Average): $166K
Data points: 12
Amazon
$100K
$266K
Amazon
Median: $149K
Mean (Average): $163K
Data points: 16
Uber
$135K
$197K
Uber
Median: $148K
Mean (Average): $159K
Data points: 6
Bay area environmental research institute
$109K
$170K
Bay area environmental research institute
Median: $125K
Mean (Average): $132K
Data points: 5
Eli Lilly And Company
$116K
$153K
Eli Lilly And Company
Median: $131K
Mean (Average): $132K
Data points: 11
Harvard University
$96K
$170K
Harvard University
Median: $128K
Mean (Average): $131K
Data points: 6
Ford Motor Company
$102K
$157K
Ford Motor Company
Median: $130K
Mean (Average): $130K
Data points: 12
Samsung Electronics
$109K
$142K
Samsung Electronics
Median: $130K
Mean (Average): $128K
Data points: 9
Arm
$93K
$135K
Arm
Median: $125K
Mean (Average): $122K
Data points: 25
Base salary
Median
Mean (Average)
* = Low confidence (less than 5 data points)
1
...

The Research Scientist at Netflix salary is the highest paying salary with a $373,310 average base salary. The Research Scientist at Hewlett Packard Enterprise salary is the lowest paying salary with $51,248 average base salary.
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