Salary for a Research Epidemiologist

Average Salary

During its national survey of employment trends, the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics collected pay information from 4,710 individual epidemiologists, both research and applied, working throughout the country. It reported that the mean yearly wage for the profession was $68,280, which equates to an hourly rate of $32.83. Individuals among the top 10 percent earned over $98,380 per year, while their colleagues in the bottom 10 percent earned less than $42,360.

The largest numbers of epidemiologists work for either state or local government agencies, according to the bureau’s figures. It listed the mean yearly salaries within these sectors of the industry as $60,230 and $61,060, respectively. Practitioners employed by general medical and surgical hospitals earned a mean of $78,850 per year, while those working in colleges, universities and professional schools received $65,610. Scientific research and development services were reported to have a mean yearly wage of $74,370, while pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing had one of the highest pay rates, at $104,470.

Location also impacts an epidemiologist’s pay. The bureau listed Massachusetts as the state in which, across all industry sectors, a practitioner was likely to earn the best compensation, with an annual mean of $87,200. California and Pennsylvania were also given as lucrative locations, with respective means of $83,150 and $77,290. Wage levels were similar between Virginia and New York--$69,090 and $69,000--as they were between Wyoming and Utah, at respective means of $61,900 and $60,030. Texas had one of the lowest pay levels, at an annual mean of $54,030.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics posits a 15 percent increase in employment opportunities for epidemiologists working in the United States over the decade from 2008 to 2018. This exceeds the estimated growth rate for the nation as a whole across all occupations, put at between 7 and 13 percent over the same time. Increased incidences and awareness of epidemics, such as avian flu, will spur this growth and should see salary levels remain competitive. However, the bureau cautions that research epidemiologists are likely to face competition for vacancies.