Across 159 live US postings for research scientists with a listed USD salary, measured November 2026, the median offer is $190,000–$304,750 a year. This is the tracked catalog, not the whole labor market.
Measured November 2026 · n=159 US postings with salary
Research scientist salary: $190,000–$304,750 a year, measured from live postings.
Every number below comes from 268 tracked live postings whose title matches "research scientist". No surveys, no self-reports. Listed salaries only, in US dollars.
- The median research scientist posting offers $190,000–$304,750 a year (n=159).
- 22% of the 268 live postings matching "research scientist" are remote.
- Builds AI research scientists list $192,000–$304,750, vs $136,000–$184,000 at Little AI.
Median salary by seniority (USD / year)
Seniority as tagged on the posting. Both salary bounds required.
| Segment | US postings with salary | Median min–max / year |
|---|---|---|
| Intern | 1 | $170,598–$170,602 |
| Junior | 4 | $126,000–$423,000 |
| Mid-level | 19 | $136,000–$184,000 |
| Senior | 73 | $192,000–$300,000 |
| Lead | 13 | $242,500–$352,290 |
Remote vs on-site (USD / year)
| Segment | US postings with salary | Median min–max / year |
|---|---|---|
| Remote | 20 | $205,000–$312,680 |
| On-site / hybrid | 139 | $168,000–$300,000 |
Companies hiring research scientists
Method
US-dollar postings whose title contains "research scientist", with both salary bounds listed. This page exists because 159 such postings clear the 50-posting floor Level requires before publishing a dedicated salary page. Below that, the median moves too much between ingestion cycles to be a citable number.
Sample: postings at tech companies tracked by Level. Not the whole labor market. Do not cite as a national average.
Refreshed automatically; this edition is measured November 2026. Small-n slices move a lot. Read the n column first.
Source: O*NET OnLine (U.S. Dept. of Labor): Computer and Information Research Scientists (SOC 15-1221.00).
How many research scientists jobs are remote?
22% of the 159 live postings are marked remote by the employer, measured November 2026.
Does the AI level of the job change the pay?
In this sample, 224 postings build AI and 35 involve little AI. See the level breakdown below for the median at each level. Measured November 2026.