Fresher
10th to 25th percentile
From
$71,510
To
$84,610
Use this for early-career offers or roles with limited paid experience.
Median annual salary
$110,410
BLS OEWS 2025
25th percentile
$84,610
Lower market anchor
75th percentile
$163,030
Upper market anchor
Mean annual salary
$124,120
Average published wage
Salary Explorer
Pick a work area, role, location, and experience band to compare salary ranges.
Selected
Intermediate salary for Research Scientist in Boston
Open the page for the 25th to 75th percentile and the full percentile breakdown.
Salary Range by Experience
These bands translate salary percentiles into practical fresher, intermediate, and senior salary ranges. They are not fixed years-of-experience rules.
Median salary
$110,410
BLS
to
Intermediate
25th to 75th percentile
From
$84,610
To
$163,030
Use this for candidates with proven role skills and solid delivery history.
Senior
75th to 90th percentile
From
$163,030
To
$186,410
Use this for senior candidates, scarce skills, or higher-paying employers.
Fresher salary answer
Freshers and entry-level candidates can compare research scientist offers in Boston against $71,510 to $84,610.
Intermediate salary answer
Intermediate candidates can compare research scientist offers in Boston against $84,610 to $163,030.
Senior salary answer
Senior candidates can compare research scientist offers in Boston against $163,030 to $186,410.
How Boston Salaries Compare With Other Cities for This Role
Boston is a BLS metro estimate. The other rows are BLS metro areas for Biological Scientists, All Other, so candidates can compare local pay with major hiring markets.
Mean annual salary
San Francisco
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA
$148,020
Boston
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH
$124,120
Washington DC
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV
$123,730
New York
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA
$123,520
Seattle
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
$119,950
Los Angeles
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA
$105,100
Denver
Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO
$104,600
Atlanta
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA
$97,760
Chicago
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN
$94,030
Miami
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL
$92,980
How Research Scientist Salaries Compare With Other Roles
This chart compares research scientist pay in Boston with other roles available in the salary directory. Each row uses BLS OEWS min, avg, and top salary data.
Mean annual salary
Physician
Physicians, All Other, SOC 29-1229
$245,340
Psychiatrist
Physicians, All Other, SOC 29-1229
$245,340
Surgeon
Physicians, All Other, SOC 29-1229
$245,340
Branch Manager
Financial Managers, SOC 11-3031
$221,800
CFO
Financial Managers, SOC 11-3031
$221,800
Controller
Financial Managers, SOC 11-3031
$221,800
Finance Manager
Financial Managers, SOC 11-3031
$221,800
Dentist
Dentists, General, SOC 29-1021
$220,730
CIO
Computer and Information Systems Managers, SOC 11-3021
$220,300
Research Scientist
Biological Scientists, All Other, SOC 19-1029
$124,120
Salary Snapshot
The median annual salary for research scientists in Boston is $110,410. The middle market range runs from $84,610 at the 25th percentile to $163,030 at the 75th percentile. The wider salary range runs from $71,510to $186,410.
| Measure | Value | How to read it |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $71,510 | Lower published wage point |
| 25th percentile | $84,610 | Common lower market anchor |
| Median | $110,410 | Middle of the BLS wage range |
| 75th percentile | $163,030 | Upper market anchor |
| 90th percentile | $186,410 | High published wage point |
Source Notes
This page maps Research Scientist to BLS occupation Biological Scientists, All Other, SOC 19-1029. The wage data is annual USD salary from BLS OEWS 2025. It does not include equity, signing bonus, bonus targets, benefits value, or self-employed income.
This page uses the BLS OEWS occupation Biological Scientists, All Other, SOC 19-1029, as the public wage source for Research Scientist.
- BLS area
- Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH
- Employment estimate
- 2,630
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the median research scientist salary in Boston?
The median annual salary for research scientists in Boston is $110,410, based on BLS OEWS 2025 data for Biological Scientists, All Other.
How much can fresher research scientist candidates expect in Boston?
Freshers and entry-level candidates can use the 10th to 25th percentile range as a guide. For research scientists in Boston, that range is $71,510 to $84,610. It is a percentile band, not a fixed years-of-experience rule.
What is the intermediate research scientist salary range in Boston?
Intermediate candidates can compare offers against the 25th to 75th percentile range. For research scientists in Boston, that range is $84,610 to $163,030.
What do senior research scientist candidates earn in Boston?
Senior candidates can use the 75th to 90th percentile range for stronger skill depth, senior scope, or higher-paying employers. For research scientists in Boston, that range is $163,030 to $186,410.
Does this salary data include bonuses or equity?
No. BLS OEWS wage estimates cover wages and salaries. They do not fully capture equity, signing bonuses, annual bonus targets, benefits value, or contractor rates.
How should I use these salary percentiles?
Use percentiles as market anchors. The 10th to 25th percentile can fit fresher or lower-paid roles, the median is the midpoint, and the 75th to 90th percentile can fit stronger experience, scarce skills, or higher-paying employers.
Why does this page use Biological Scientists, All Other instead of only Research Scientist?
BLS publishes wages by standard occupation. This page maps Research Scientist to Biological Scientists, All Other, SOC 19-1029, so the numbers come from a public wage series instead of a private survey.
Does Boston mean city limits or a metro area?
Boston is displayed as a candidate-friendly city label, but the underlying wage estimate is for the BLS metro area Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH, not strict city limits.
18+ years of experience
Adithyan RK is the Co-Founder and CEO of Hyring, an AI-native recruitment platform that has run over 900,000 AI interviews for companies ranging from early-stage startups to the Fortune 500. He has spent 18 years building technology businesses, starting with a digital consultancy in 2008 and a staff augmentation firm in 2017, before founding Hyring in 2022 to rebuild hiring around evidence instead of guesswork.
Expertise
AI RecruitmentAI InterviewsRecruitment AutomationHR TechnologyHiring AnalyticsApplicant TrackingRecruiter Operations
6+ years of experience
Surya N is the Co-Founder and CTO of Hyring, where he architected the AI interviewing engine that has now conducted over 900,000 interviews for companies ranging from early-stage startups to the Fortune 500. A mechanical engineer who moved into artificial intelligence, he spent 6 years building AI applications inside a technology consultancy before co-founding Hyring, and wrote the first version of its AI interviewer from scratch: a system that listens, adapts its questioning in real time, and flags fraud rather than following a fixed script.
Expertise
AI Interview SystemsConversational AIInterview Fraud DetectionPlatform ArchitectureMachine Learning EngineeringApplied AISpeech and Voice AIBias Testing and Model Evaluation
Published on: 2 Jun 2026|Last updated: 28 Jun 2026|
Share: