Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2022

19-1012 Food Scientists and Technologists

Use chemistry, microbiology, engineering, and other sciences to study the principles underlying the processing and deterioration of foods; analyze food content to determine levels of vitamins, fat, sugar, and protein; discover new food sources; research ways to make processed foods safe, palatable, and healthful; and apply food science knowledge to determine best ways to process, package, preserve, store, and distribute food.

National estimates for Food Scientists and Technologists
Industry profile for Food Scientists and Technologists
Geographic profile for Food Scientists and Technologists

National estimates for Food Scientists and Technologists:

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Food Scientists and Technologists:

Employment (1)	Employment RSE (3)	Mean hourly wage	Mean annual wage (2)	Wage RSE (3)
14,720	4.2 %	$ 41.22	$ 85,730	1.0 %

Percentile wage estimates for Food Scientists and Technologists:

Percentile	10%	25%	50% (Median)	75%	90%
Hourly Wage	$ 23.03	$ 29.89	$ 38.39	$ 49.43	$ 63.57
Annual Wage (2)	$ 47,900	$ 62,160	$ 79,860	$ 102,810	$ 132,230

Industry profile for Food Scientists and Technologists:

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

Industries with the highest levels of employment in Food Scientists and Technologists:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Management of Companies and Enterprises	2,260	0.08	$ 48.42	$ 100,720
Other Food Manufacturing	2,180	0.87	$ 43.24	$ 89,940
Scientific Research and Development Services	1,490	0.17	$ 45.02	$ 93,640
Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services	1,050	0.07	$ 38.88	$ 80,860
Dairy Product Manufacturing	890	0.56	$ 37.51	$ 78,010

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Food Scientists and Technologists:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Other Food Manufacturing	2,180	0.87	$ 43.24	$ 89,940
Grain and Oilseed Milling	380	0.60	$ 42.45	$ 88,300
Dairy Product Manufacturing	890	0.56	$ 37.51	$ 78,010
Fruit and Vegetable Preserving and Specialty Food Manufacturing	740	0.43	$ 39.61	$ 82,390
Animal Food Manufacturing	260	0.37	$ 40.92	$ 85,100

Top paying industries for Food Scientists and Technologists:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Federal Executive Branch (OEWS Designation)	80	(7)	$ 54.97	$ 114,340
Merchant Wholesalers, Nondurable Goods (4242 and 4246 only)	90	0.02	$ 50.81	$ 105,690
Management of Companies and Enterprises	2,260	0.08	$ 48.42	$ 100,720
Scientific Research and Development Services	1,490	0.17	$ 45.02	$ 93,640
Other Food Manufacturing	2,180	0.87	$ 43.24	$ 89,940

Geographic profile for Food Scientists and Technologists:

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

Map of employment of food scientists and technologists by state, May 2022

States with the highest employment level in Food Scientists and Technologists:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
California	3,020	0.17	1.72	$ 42.63	$ 88,660
New Jersey	1,090	0.27	2.67	$ 47.83	$ 99,480
Texas	1,050	0.08	0.81	$ 44.61	$ 92,780
New York	930	0.10	1.02	$ 45.23	$ 94,090
Minnesota	740	0.26	2.62	$ 42.14	$ 87,650

Map of location quotient of food scientists and technologists by state, May 2022

States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Food Scientists and Technologists:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Nebraska	270	0.28	2.79	$ 40.09	$ 83,390
New Jersey	1,090	0.27	2.67	$ 47.83	$ 99,480
Minnesota	740	0.26	2.62	$ 42.14	$ 87,650
Idaho	200	0.25	2.53	$ 29.64	$ 61,660
South Dakota	90	0.22	2.17	$ 33.39	$ 69,460

Map of annual mean wages of food scientists and technologists by state, May 2022

Top paying states for Food Scientists and Technologists:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
New Jersey	1,090	0.27	2.67	$ 47.83	$ 99,480
Connecticut	(8)	(8)	(8)	$ 47.14	$ 98,060
New York	930	0.10	1.02	$ 45.23	$ 94,090
Texas	1,050	0.08	0.81	$ 44.61	$ 92,780
Illinois	710	0.12	1.21	$ 44.27	$ 92,070

Map of employment of food scientists and technologists by area, May 2022

Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Food Scientists and Technologists:

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	1,430	0.16	1.56	$ 49.20	$ 102,340
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	630	0.10	1.03	$ 42.41	$ 88,210
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA	630	0.26	2.63	$ 50.20	$ 104,420
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI	590	0.13	1.35	$ 45.55	$ 94,740
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	500	0.13	1.33	$ 46.24	$ 96,180
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	360	0.19	1.92	$ 47.63	$ 99,060
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	260	0.10	0.97	$ 33.40	$ 69,470
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	250	0.09	0.89	$ 45.75	$ 95,160
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA	200	0.17	1.73	$ 37.83	$ 78,690
Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA	200	0.42	4.25	$ 42.73	$ 88,880

Map of location quotient of food scientists and technologists by area, May 2022

Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Food Scientists and Technologists:

Metropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Sioux City, IA-NE-SD	90	1.01	10.12	$ 33.99	$ 70,700
Napa, CA	70	1.00	10.02	$ 33.76	$ 70,210
Vineland-Bridgeton, NJ	60	0.99	9.97	$ 44.02	$ 91,560
Owensboro, KY	50	0.95	9.57	$ 38.59	$ 80,270
Manhattan, KS	30	0.86	8.61	$ 36.04	$ 74,960
Twin Falls, ID	40	0.81	8.11	$ 25.21	$ 52,450
Kalamazoo-Portage, MI	90	0.68	6.84	$ 32.77	$ 68,160
Gainesville, GA	60	0.67	6.71	$ 26.26	$ 54,620
Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR-MO	160	0.63	6.38	$ 40.80	$ 84,860
San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles-Arroyo Grande, CA	70	0.62	6.23	$ 34.60	$ 71,970

Map of annual mean wages of food scientists and technologists by area, May 2022

Top paying metropolitan areas for Food Scientists and Technologists:

Metropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Wichita, KS	60	0.20	2.01	$ 55.99	$ 116,460
St. Louis, MO-IL	140	0.11	1.07	$ 50.85	$ 105,770
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA	630	0.26	2.63	$ 50.20	$ 104,420
Madison, WI	110	0.29	2.89	$ 49.48	$ 102,910
Austin-Round Rock, TX	100	0.09	0.86	$ 49.38	$ 102,710
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA	1,430	0.16	1.56	$ 49.20	$ 102,340
San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX	70	0.07	0.71	$ 49.06	$ 102,040
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	360	0.19	1.92	$ 47.63	$ 99,060
Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA	40	0.14	1.36	$ 46.76	$ 97,270
Lancaster, PA	50	0.20	1.96	$ 46.65	$ 97,020

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in Food Scientists and Technologists:

Nonmetropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Kansas nonmetropolitan area	80	0.22	2.22	$ 37.51	$ 78,020
Southeast Minnesota nonmetropolitan area	80	0.56	5.65	$ 43.77	$ 91,040
North Georgia nonmetropolitan area	80	0.44	4.42	$ 22.66	$ 47,140
South Central Wisconsin nonmetropolitan area	80	0.38	3.82	$ 40.52	$ 84,280
Southwest Minnesota nonmetropolitan area	70	0.57	5.70	$ 34.50	$ 71,770

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Food Scientists and Technologists:

Nonmetropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Southwest Minnesota nonmetropolitan area	70	0.57	5.70	$ 34.50	$ 71,770
Southeast Minnesota nonmetropolitan area	80	0.56	5.65	$ 43.77	$ 91,040
Southeast-Central Idaho nonmetropolitan area	50	0.52	5.23	$ 27.89	$ 58,020
North Georgia nonmetropolitan area	80	0.44	4.42	$ 22.66	$ 47,140
South Central Wisconsin nonmetropolitan area	80	0.38	3.82	$ 40.52	$ 84,280

Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for Food Scientists and Technologists:

Nonmetropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Southeast Minnesota nonmetropolitan area	80	0.56	5.65	$ 43.77	$ 91,040
Northeast Mississippi nonmetropolitan area	50	0.23	2.29	$ 40.73	$ 84,710
South Central Wisconsin nonmetropolitan area	80	0.38	3.82	$ 40.52	$ 84,280
Kansas nonmetropolitan area	80	0.22	2.22	$ 37.51	$ 78,020
Central Indiana nonmetropolitan area	40	0.26	2.61	$ 35.43	$ 73,700

About May 2022 National, State, Metropolitan, and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors, all metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, and all states and the District of Columbia. The top employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable XLS files.

The percentile wage estimate is the value of a wage below which a certain percent of workers fall. The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate—50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median. More about percentile wages.

(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.

(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours; for those occupations where there is not an hourly wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.

(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.

(7) The value is less than .005 percent of industry employment.

(8) Estimate not released.

(9) The location quotient is the ratio of the area concentration of occupational employment to the national average concentration. A location quotient greater than one indicates the occupation has a higher share of employment than average, and a location quotient less than one indicates the occupation is less prevalent in the area than average.

Other OEWS estimates and related information:

May 2022 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2022 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2022 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2022 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2022 Occupation Profiles

Technical Notes

Last Modified Date: April 25, 2023