Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2019

19-2041 Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health

Conduct research or perform investigation for the purpose of identifying, abating, or eliminating sources of pollutants or hazards that affect either the environment or the health of the population. Using knowledge of various scientific disciplines, may collect, synthesize, study, report, and recommend action based on data derived from measurements or observations of air, food, soil, water, and other sources. Excludes "Zoologists and Wildlife Biologists" (19-1023), "Conservation Scientists" (19-1031), "Forest and Conservation Technicians" (19-4093), "Fish and Game Wardens" (33-3031), and "Forest and Conservation Workers" (45-4011).

National estimates for this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
Geographic profile for this occupation

National estimates for this occupation: Top

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:

Employment (1)	Employment RSE (3)	Mean hourly wage	Mean annual wage (2)	Wage RSE (3)
84,290	1.8 %	$37.47	$77,940	0.8 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile	10%	25%	50% (Median)	75%	90%
Hourly Wage	$20.58	$26.01	$34.31	$45.74	$59.98
Annual Wage (2)	$42,810	$54,100	$71,360	$95,140	$124,760

Industry profile for this occupation: Top

Industries with the highest published employment and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all industries with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services	20,970	1.41	$38.29	$79,650
State Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation)	20,100	0.92	$32.62	$67,860
Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services	10,960	0.73	$37.63	$78,270
Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation)	10,060	0.18	$34.84	$72,460
Federal Executive Branch (OES Designation)	4,820	0.24	$49.96	$103,920

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in this occupation:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services	20,970	1.41	$38.29	$79,650
Social Advocacy Organizations	2,230	1.00	$34.28	$71,300
State Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation)	20,100	0.92	$32.62	$67,860
Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services	10,960	0.73	$37.63	$78,270
Remediation and Other Waste Management Services	870	0.55	$39.15	$81,440

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Natural Gas Distribution	150	0.14	$50.66	$105,380
Merchant Wholesalers, Nondurable Goods (4241, 4247, and 4249 only)	60	0.01	$49.98	$103,960
Federal Executive Branch (OES Designation)	4,820	0.24	$49.96	$103,920
Oil and Gas Extraction	540	0.38	$49.17	$102,280
Wholesale Electronic Markets and Agents and Brokers	210	0.04	$49.06	$102,040

Geographic profile for this occupation: Top

States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all areas with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.

States with the highest employment level in this occupation:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
California	14,380	0.83	1.44	$44.38	$92,320
Texas	5,190	0.42	0.73	$37.23	$77,430
Florida	4,800	0.55	0.95	$29.42	$61,200
North Carolina	3,840	0.86	1.50	$31.43	$65,380
New York	3,840	0.40	0.70	$40.42	$84,080

States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Alaska	810	2.55	4.45	$39.32	$81,780
District of Columbia	1,790	2.47	4.30	$54.10	$112,540
Wyoming	550	2.02	3.52	$32.97	$68,580
New Mexico	1,270	1.54	2.69	$37.45	$77,900
Vermont	330	1.09	1.89	$31.32	$65,140

Top paying States for this occupation:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
District of Columbia	1,790	2.47	4.30	$54.10	$112,540
California	14,380	0.83	1.44	$44.38	$92,320
Washington	3,040	0.92	1.60	$41.28	$85,870
Virginia	3,270	0.84	1.47	$41.18	$85,660
Colorado	2,420	0.90	1.57	$40.72	$84,690

Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in this occupation:

Metropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA	4,040	0.42	0.73	$40.73	$84,720
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	3,950	1.24	2.17	$50.10	$104,210
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA	3,210	1.30	2.26	$52.49	$109,180
Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, CA	2,930	2.89	5.04	$43.29	$90,040
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	2,890	0.46	0.81	$44.86	$93,300
Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD	1,780	1.29	2.25	$39.74	$82,660
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH	1,700	0.61	1.06	$41.39	$86,100
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	1,640	0.81	1.42	$44.54	$92,640
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI	1,590	0.34	0.59	$39.49	$82,130
San Diego-Carlsbad, CA	1,410	0.95	1.65	$37.38	$77,750