Pay by state · 54 states

Environmental Scientist and Specialist, Including Health Salary by State (2026)

Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health earn the most in District of Columbia at $132,620 a year and the least in Puerto Rico at $53,030 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The national median is $82,220. All 54 states and territories with reported data are ranked below, with a cost-of-living adjusted column.

Highest median
$132,620District of Columbia
National median
$82,220BLS OEWS, May 2025
Lowest median
$53,030Puerto Rico
States reporting
54of 54 OEWS areas

All states

Environmental Scientist and Specialist, Including Health salary in every state

Sort by any column. Employment is the number of environmental scientists and specialists, including health OEWS estimates in that state; blank cells are estimates BLS suppressed because the sample was too small.

Annual wages by state, sortable by median, quartiles, employment and cost-of-living adjusted median
#
1DCDistrict of Columbia
$132,620
$98,410$161,4701,270$120,672
2CACalifornia
$106,510
$81,480$132,77012,490$96,198
3RIRhode Island
$100,730
$79,770$123,180330$98,485
4MAMassachusetts
$100,640
$79,890$127,3102,930$95,162
5WAWashington
$98,300
$79,950$127,7704,470$91,858
6OROregon
$97,440
$76,870$113,3201,370$94,272
7TXTexas
$92,000
$66,640$128,3805,630$94,790
8AKAlaska
$91,960
$76,290$114,400860$89,841
9UTUtah
$90,710
$71,200$124,9901,020$91,752
10MNMinnesota
$88,000
$61,570$105,8502,260$89,230
11NMNew Mexico
$86,630
$76,080$104,250940$93,947
12COColorado
$85,990
$65,670$106,6902,580$83,443
13GAGeorgia
$85,710
$67,200$115,5901,750$89,010
14NDNorth Dakota
$84,570
$67,020$92,340240$95,066
15MDMaryland
$84,190
$65,850$106,8601,760$80,212
16NVNevada
$83,050
$65,370$105,530490$83,067
17VAVirginia
$82,230
$68,030$102,7502,850$81,332
18NYNew York
$82,160
$67,040$104,3103,700$76,130
19WVWest Virginia
$82,100
$63,950$102,420250$91,735
20CTConnecticut
$82,070
$70,200$107,380620$79,211
21ILIllinois
$81,590
$60,790$121,0401,550$81,624
22NHNew Hampshire
$80,810
$66,560$100,170480$77,579
23AZArizona
$80,600
$64,420$103,0101,970$80,058
24MTMontana
$80,260
$66,300$93,140570$84,801
25HIHawaii
$79,510
$60,650$92,620670$72,314
26NJNew Jersey
$79,210
$62,150$102,4403,150$72,800
27IAIowa
$78,780
$62,080$91,070690$89,766
28OHOhio
$78,540
$62,210$95,1202,460$84,657
29KSKansas
$78,210
$64,070$106,800590$86,834
30VTVermont
$77,460
$63,630$97,430490$79,075
31TNTennessee
$76,840
$62,670$99,2001,230$83,640
32PAPennsylvania
$76,110
$60,420$95,9103,020$78,004
33MIMichigan
$76,080
$61,120$94,5203,100$79,071
34OKOklahoma
$75,910
$59,840$89,670520$86,416
35SCSouth Carolina
$74,910
$57,030$100,320490$79,905
36NCNorth Carolina
$74,130
$61,820$93,9904,150$78,589
37WYWyoming
$74,050
$61,780$85,020410$79,889
38WIWisconsin
$72,820
$62,560$86,610920$77,390
39ALAlabama
$72,490
$52,750$85,350870$81,612
40KYKentucky
$71,040
$56,070$78,8501,000$78,794
41IDIdaho
$70,350
$61,880$85,650670$73,670
42LALouisiana
$69,820
$58,500$95,4301,600$79,155
43GUGuam
$68,640
$47,860$88,61080N/A
44SDSouth Dakota
$68,230
$62,910$79,880240$77,021
45MEMaine
$66,480
$56,470$78,060530$68,501
46INIndiana
$64,700
$52,580$94,9101,290$69,325
47DEDelaware
$64,690
$57,130$76,990290$64,814
48NENebraska
$64,040
$55,320$79,970510$71,074
49MOMissouri
$61,050
$55,000$72,8801,380$67,223
50FLFlorida
$60,830
$48,870$81,6005,950$58,822
51MSMississippi
$57,780
$47,010$77,600390$66,450
52ARArkansas
$57,220
$44,930$88,710270$65,818
53VIU.S. Virgin Islands
$53,830
$44,240$70,71040N/A
54PRPuerto Rico
$53,030
$38,020$81,330390N/A

Method

How the cost-of-living adjustment works

The adjusted column divides each state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity (RPP) and multiplies by 100. RPPs measure how much a fixed basket of goods, services and rents costs in one state relative to the national average, so the result restates local pay in national-average dollars.

For Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health, that changes the ranking: District of Columbia leads on raw pay at $132,620, while District of Columbia leads once prices are taken into account at $120,672.

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities by State, 2024 (public domain). The adjustment is NueCareer's calculation, not a BLS or BEA published statistic.

Questions

Environmental Scientist and Specialist, Including Health pay by state: FAQ

Which state pays Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health the most?

District of Columbia reports the highest median wage for Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health at $132,620 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), followed by California ($106,510) and Rhode Island ($100,730).

Which state pays Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health the least?

Puerto Rico reports the lowest median for Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health at $53,030 a year, $79,590 below the highest-paying state (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

Where do Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health earn the most after cost of living?

Dividing each state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity puts District of Columbia first at $120,672 in national-average dollars, from a raw median of $132,620. BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024.