Life sciences salaries: what life sciences jobs advertise
Life sciences postings that state pay run $110,000 to $195,000 for the middle half, median $149,000, from 2,245 paid postings from 341 employers. With function, level and industry matched, pay is +9.8% (about $16k a year) against other industries.
By Justin KullaLast updated
Life sciences pay range
From 2,245 paid postings from 341 employers. Annual, in US dollars.
- Lower quarter
- $110,000
- Median
- $149,000
- Upper quarter
- $195,000
The median for all professional postings is $137,000, so Life sciences is above it. With function, level and industry matched, Life sciences pay is +9.8% (about $16k a year) against other industries.
Life sciences pay by level
Levels with at least 30 paid postings from 8 employers.
| Group | Median | Middle half | Gap | Postings | Employers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Entry level | $80,000 | $60,500 to $97,500 | n/a | 170 | 78 |
| Early career | $100,000 | $83,000 to $121,000 | n/a | 344 | 135 |
| Mid-level | $135,000 | $109,000 to $150,000 | n/a | 289 | 122 |
| Senior individual contributor | $146,000 | $120,500 to $185,000 | n/a | 482 | 141 |
| Manager | $163,000 | $142,000 to $189,000 | n/a | 448 | 148 |
| Director | $235,000 | $203,000 to $272,500 | n/a | 440 | 124 |
| VP and above | $319,000 | $294,500 to $350,500 | n/a | 72 | 47 |
Compare with other industries
The groups ranked just above and below by median.
All 17 industries · 2,245 postings in this one
Questions about this data
- How much do Life sciences jobs pay?
- $110,000 to $195,000 for the middle half, median $149,000, from 2,245 paid postings from 341 employers that state pay. That is above the $137,000 median for all professional postings. It is advertised pay, not what people are paid.
- Is Life sciences pay higher or lower once the job mix is matched?
- With function, level and industry matched, advertised pay is +9.8% (about $16k a year) against other industries.
- How does Life sciences pay change with level?
- Entry level: $80,000; Early career: $100,000; Mid-level: $135,000; Senior individual contributor: $146,000; Manager: $163,000; Director: $235,000; VP and above: $319,000.
Method, download and how to cite
Data as of November 9, 2026. Rebuilt daily.
Pay is the midpoint of the range an employer posted (or stated in the posting text), converted to a year, on live U.S. professional jobs. It is advertised pay, not what anyone is paid.
A “gap, job mix matched” compares postings inside cells of the same function, level and industry, so a group is not credited for simply holding more senior or better-paid roles. It needs 150 or more postings across at least 5 cells with 15 postings on each side, and is shown as n/a otherwise. A gap is a difference in advertised pay between postings. It does not show that a skill, an industry or an employer size causes higher pay.
Download the CSV (aggregates only; no posting, employer or person is in it). Cite as: NextChapter, “Advertised pay in Life sciences (industry) on U.S. professional job postings”, data as of November 9, 2026, https://launchyournextchapter.com/resources/pay-data/industry/life-sciences
See also the AI skills salary premium, which uses the same method for AI skills only, and the salary by job title pages.
More pay data
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