Salary guide, May 2025
Food Scientist pay, United States
Manufacturing Headhunters uses the published BLS OEWS figures below. They describe the mapped occupation and area, not an individual offer.
This is what we do all day: recruit manufacturing professionals.
The median annual wage for Food Scientists and Technologists in the United States was $88,720 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS, May 2025). The middle half of workers earned between $68,810 and $116,650.
Also searched as: Product Developer, R&D Food Technologist. These titles share this page because BLS reports them under one occupation.
Broader occupation · SOC 19-1012 Food Scientists and Technologists
BLS measures this broader occupation across industries. It does not publish a separate wage for this manufacturing title.
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $52,920 | $68,810 | $88,720 | $116,650 | $145,280 |
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $25.44 | $33.08 | $42.65 | $56.08 | $69.85 |
BLS estimated 13,060 workers employed in this occupation in the United States.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. SOC 19-1012 Food Scientists and Technologists, U.S.. Official occupation data · Official area tables. Released 2026-05-15.
How does pay compare in the target metros?
| Metro | Median | 25th to 75th | Employment | Location quotient |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL | Not published by BLS for this area. National figures above apply. | |||
| Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL | Not published by BLS for this area. National figures above apply. | |||
| Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL | Not published by BLS for this area. National figures above apply. | |||
| Raleigh-Cary, NC | $68,590 | $68,590 to $85,780 | 110 | 1.79 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $104,200 | $81,180 to $130,870 | 730 | 0.92 |
| Northern New Jersey within New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $104,200 | $81,180 to $130,870 | 730 | 0.92 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | $93,670 | $77,190 to $118,560 | 410 | 1.19 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN | $100,390 | $76,970 to $130,910 | 610 | 1.62 |
Rank every metro for Food Scientist
What should you know about pay by manufacturing industry, United States?
Same BLS occupation, national estimates for each manufacturing industry (NAICS) BLS publishes, May 2025. Industry names are BLS labels. Nested NAICS rows overlap; they are not independent samples and must not be added together. Identical source rows repeated at different publication levels appear once.
- Chemical Manufacturing (NAICS 325000)$97,830
- Food Manufacturing (NAICS 311000)$85,160
- Beverage and Tobacco Product Manufacturing (NAICS 312000)$79,190
Bars compare up to 15 non-overlapping 3-digit manufacturing subsectors with exact annual medians. More detailed scopes remain in the table, identified by code and publication level.
| NAICS / scope | Industry | Employment | 25th | Median | 75th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31-33 · sector | Manufacturing | 7,400 | $66,290 | $84,680 | $108,050 |
| 311000 · 3-digit | Food Manufacturing | 6,330 | $66,060 | $85,160 | $107,890 |
| 311900 · 4-digit | Other Food Manufacturing | 2,250 | $75,860 | $95,570 | $124,070 |
| 311500 · 4-digit | Dairy Product Manufacturing | 980 | $61,520 | $77,140 | $100,100 |
| 311600 · 4-digit | Animal Slaughtering and Processing | 870 | $48,210 | $74,010 | $93,330 |
| 312000 · 3-digit | Beverage and Tobacco Product Manufacturing | 780 | $66,280 | $79,190 | $97,360 |
| 312100 · 4-digit | Beverage Manufacturing | 780 | $66,280 | $79,190 | $97,360 |
| 311400 · 4-digit | Fruit and Vegetable Preserving and Specialty Food Manufacturing | 690 | $62,740 | $82,100 | $104,340 |
| 311800 · 4-digit | Bakeries and Tortilla Manufacturing | 560 | $73,390 | $87,780 | $122,070 |
| 311200 · 4-digit | Grain and Oilseed Milling | 330 | $71,670 | $85,190 | $104,740 |
| 311300 · 4-digit | Sugar and Confectionery Product Manufacturing | 330 | $69,840 | $85,160 | $103,800 |
| 311100 · 4-digit | Animal Food Manufacturing | 260 | $68,970 | $85,760 | $104,600 |
| 325000 · 3-digit | Chemical Manufacturing | 250 | $81,200 | $97,830 | $126,480 |
| 325400 · 4-digit | Pharmaceutical and Medicine Manufacturing | 210 | $81,200 | $97,580 | $122,320 |
| 311700 · 4-digit | Seafood Product Preparation and Packaging | 70 | $75,160 | $101,160 | $124,910 |
| 3250A1 · 4-digit | Chemical Manufacturing (3251, 3252, 3253, and 3259 only) | 40 | $81,550 | $108,240 | $138,740 |
What should you know about manufacturing pay mix?
For Food Scientist, separate the guaranteed salary from any discretionary bonus or commission arrangement. OEWS measures straight-time gross wages, not pure base salary or total compensation. It includes base rate, guaranteed pay, commissions and production bonuses. It excludes overtime, shift differentials, nonproduction bonuses and benefits.
An attendance bonus is not a production bonus; confirm its purpose and treatment rather than adding every bonus to the BLS figure. Skills-based pay steps affect the base rate when they are part of straight-time pay; BLS does not publish a separate rate for each plant's skill grade. Ask whether a tool allowance is expense reimbursement or wage pay. OEWS does not publish a separate tool-allowance component. Keep these items separate in the offer so the published wage is not mistaken for the whole package.
Pay mix here means how published medians for this one BLS occupation differ across manufacturing industries and against the all-industry median. It does not split pay into base, incentive or overtime. BLS wages are straight-time gross pay and exclude overtime, shift differentials and nonproduction bonuses.
What should you know about two BLS releases?
| Release period | 25th | Median | 75th |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 2024 | $65,240 | $85,310 | $111,700 |
| May 2025 | $68,810 | $88,720 | $116,650 |
These are two separate BLS estimates from different survey panels. The workers and employers behind them differ, so the gap is not like-for-like pay for the same workers and is not a growth rate. We show no percentage change.
Recruiter's read. Qualitative, not BLS data.
What should you know about formulation work tied to a real constraint?
A food scientist should be able to explain a formulation as a set of trade-offs, not a recipe. We probe cost targets, label claims, allergen boundaries, clean label pressure and what had to be given up to hit them. We ask what they reformulated when an ingredient became scarce or expensive, and how they proved the substitute held up in the finished product rather than only in the tasting room.
What should you know about questions?
Wages for the OEWS survey are straight-time, gross pay, exclusive of premium pay. Base rate; cost-of-living allowances; guaranteed pay; hazardous-duty pay; incentive pay, including commissions and production bonuses; and tips are included. Excluded are overtime pay, severance pay, shift differentials, nonproduction bonuses, employer cost for supplementary benefits, and tuition reimbursements.
What is the median pay for a Food Scientist?
The median annual wage for Food Scientists and Technologists in the United States was $88,720 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS, May 2025). The middle half of workers earned between $68,810 and $116,650. This is the broader occupation BLS publishes, not a figure for this exact title.
What does the 10th percentile mean here?
10% of workers in this occupation and area earned less than $52,920. 90% earned less than $145,280.
Does this include overtime or bonuses?
Wages for the OEWS survey are straight-time, gross pay, exclusive of premium pay. Base rate; cost-of-living allowances; guaranteed pay; hazardous-duty pay; incentive pay, including commissions and production bonuses; and tips are included. Excluded are overtime pay, severance pay, shift differentials, nonproduction bonuses, employer cost for supplementary benefits, and tuition reimbursements.
Is this the pay for a Food Scientist at a plant?
BLS measures this broader occupation across industries. It does not publish a separate wage for this manufacturing title. These are occupation estimates across all industries, not an offer for a particular manufacturing title.
How many people work in this occupation?
BLS estimated 13,060 workers employed in this occupation in the United States.
What should you know about related?
What does this data mean for your opening?
Manufacturing Headhunters evaluates the national market for Food Scientists and Technologists based on May 2025 BLS data. The national median annual wage is $88,720. , releases are separate survey estimates. The May 2025 median is $88,720; the May 2024 median is $85,310. Their arithmetic difference is $3,410.
They are not the same workers' raises and do not establish a pay trend or its cause. , percentiles describe the wage distribution of the mapped occupation. The published middle interval is $68,810 to $116,650 annually. They do not assign pay to plant size, seniority, credentials or job complexity. Assess duties and candidate requirements separately; these rows do not measure a premium for them. These figures are broad, as the BLS aggregates this SOC 19-1012 role across all sectors. Industry-specific data shows Chemical Manufacturing median pay at $97,830 and Seafood Product Preparation at $101,160.
Regional comparison metros show higher compensation levels than the national median. For Food Scientist in U.S., percentiles describe the wage distribution of the mapped occupation. The published middle interval is $68,810 to $116,650 annually. They do not assign pay to plant size, seniority, credentials or job complexity. Assess duties and candidate requirements separately; these rows do not measure a premium for them. These regional differences highlight the limitations of national averages in specific industrial clusters. The locationQuotient for Chicago at 1.62 indicates a higher concentration of these professionals compared to the national average, though this metric does not define local wage competitiveness.
For Food Scientist in U.S., OEWS measures straight-time gross wages, not pure base salary or total compensation. Commissions and production bonuses are included; overtime, shift differentials, nonproduction bonuses and benefits are excluded. The broader SOC mapping means the data captures many roles beyond bench-to-plant scale-up or ingredient functionality experts. Recruitment focus remains on those who bridge R&D with production. The data provided by the BLS for national manufacturing industries provides a baseline, but the lack of granular sub-sector wage reporting requires hiring managers to apply local knowledge and specific industry benchmarks to their compensation planning.
Which pay questions should you settle before hiring?
, percentiles describe the wage distribution of the mapped occupation. The published middle interval is $68,810 to $116,650 annually. They do not assign pay to plant size, seniority, credentials or job complexity. Assess duties and candidate requirements separately; these rows do not measure a premium for them.
How do regional pay rates compare to the national median for Food Scientists?
Both New York-Newark-Jersey City and Chicago-Naperville-Elgin report higher median annual salaries than the national median of $88,720. These metros show medians of $104,200 and $100,390 respectively, reflecting distinct regional market conditions.
What is the middle band width for this occupation on a national scale?
For Food Scientist in U.S., percentiles describe the wage distribution of the mapped occupation. The published middle interval is $68,810 to $116,650 annually. They do not assign pay to plant size, seniority, credentials or job complexity. Assess duties and candidate requirements separately; these rows do not measure a premium for them. This spread highlights the diversity of compensation levels across the industry.
Does this data reflect only manufacturing-specific roles?
No, the BLS classifies this role under a broader SOC 19-1012 category that encompasses various industries. We provide national industry-specific rows, but no separate wage is published exclusively for manufacturing titles.
Related recruiting or pay page · Related wage comparison 1 · Data methodology · Related wage comparison 3 · Related wage comparison 4