The salary statistics of life scientists in the industry sector of federal, state, and local government are shown in Table 1. In Table 2 we compare life scientist salaries in different industries within the federal, state, and local government sector.
| Percentile Bracket | Average Annual Salary |
|---|---|
| 10th Percentile Wage | $41,350 |
| 25th Percentile Wage | $53,600 |
| 50th Percentile Wage | $69,420 |
| 75th Percentile Wage | $88,280 |
| 90th Percentile Wage | $109,440 |
Table 1 shows the average annual salary for life scientists in the industry sector of federal, state, and local government. The salaries are shown in 5 percentile scales. The average annual salary for the 90th percentile (the top 10 percent of the highest paid) life scientists is $109,440. The median annual salary (50th percentile) is $69,420. The average annual salary for the bottom 10 percent paid life scientists is $41,350.
The table and chart below show the trend of the median salary of life scientists in the industry sector of federal, state, and local government from 2012 to 2018.
| Year | Median Salary | Yearly Growth | 6-Year Growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | $69,420 | 1.70% | 6.31% |
| 2017 | $68,240 | 1.58% | - |
| 2016 | $67,160 | 1.18% | - |
| 2015 | $66,370 | 0.98% | - |
| 2014 | $65,720 | 1.02% | - |
| 2013 | $65,050 | 0.02% | - |
| 2012 | $65,040 | - | - |
Data source: The national compensation survey conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in 2018 and published in April 2019 [1].