Environmental Scientist salary: median $86,000 a year

Environmental Scientist listings that state pay run from $79,500 to $86,000 for the middle half, based on 41 current job listings. 65 environmental scientist roles are open now.

Environmental Scientist pay range

From 41 open listings that state pay. Annual, in US dollars.

Lower quarter
$79,500
Median
$86,000
Upper quarter
$86,000

Do AI skills change environmental scientist pay?

For Research roles in general, as of November 11, 2026. This is the function’s figure, not one for environmental scientist alone: one title rarely has enough listings on both sides.

Among Research listings, those that ask for an AI skill advertise a median $212,500, against $108,500 for those that never mention AI (+95.4%). That raw gap is not matched on level or industry.

Listings that ask for an AI skill
$212,500
median, from 147 paid listings
Listings that never mention AI
$108,500
median, from 345 paid listings

Advertised pay only: the midpoint of the range an employer posted, on live U.S. postings read from the full text. “Asks for an AI skill” means the posting names a specific AI skill; “no AI” means it never mentions AI. A difference in what is advertised is not a promise of what you would be paid, and it does not show that learning a skill causes a raise.

See the AI-skill pay table for every function · Check your own pay against these listings

More pay data: Research pay by level, skills that pay more and pay by employer size.

Open environmental scientist jobs

Verified against the employer’s own career site within the last week.

Showing the newest 15 of about 65 verified open jobs here. Search all jobs

All 65 environmental scientist jobs

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Environmental Scientist salary questions

How much does a environmental scientist make?
Among 41 open environmental scientist listings that state pay, the median is $86,000 a year, and half of listings fall between $79,500 and $86,000.
Where does this environmental scientist pay data come from?
From current job listings on employers’ own career sites that state a pay range. Hourly pay is converted at 2,080 hours a year, and a listing’s midpoint is used. Listed pay is what employers advertise, not what people are paid.
Which state pays environmental scientists the most?
Of the states with enough listings, California has the highest median listed pay at $86,000.

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