Median salary
$262,500
per year · annualized USD
Typical range
$211.8k – $326.7k
25th–75th percentile
Disclosing pay
78.6%
103 of 131 roles
Live roles
131
open right now
Salary trend
median · annualized USDSalary distribution
annualized USD · disclosed rolesHighest-paying jobs
Research Scientist, Interpretability
Research Engineer/Research Scientist, Pre-training
Principal Research Scientist, Robot Foundation Model
Research Engineer / Research Scientist - Personal AGI, Personalization
Research Scientist
Research Scientist, APEX Benchmarks
Research Engineer / Research Scientist - Personal AGI, Memory
Staff / Principal Research Scientist - USA
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
|
OpenAI
|
$440,000 | 14 |
| SA Scale AI | $244,350 | 12 |
|
Anthropic
|
$352,500 | 9 |
Waabi
|
$212,750 | 6 |
World Labs
|
$300,000 | 4 |
Nuro
|
$221,495 | 4 |
Iambic Therapeutics, Inc
|
$141,400 | 4 |
|
Wayve
|
$394,500 | 3 |
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How much do Research Scientist roles in California pay?
The median salary for Research Scientist roles in California is $262,500 per year. Most pay falls between $211,819 (25th percentile) and $326,700 (75th percentile), with the broader 10th–90th percentile band running from $174,950 to $440,000.
These figures are computed live from 131 active Research Scientist roles in California on JobsRadar, of which 103 (78.6%) publish a salary range. Pay is normalized to annualized USD so roles can be compared on equal terms; the highest-paying roles listed above show their original posted currency. Numbers refresh every few hours as new roles are posted and older ones close.
Employers currently hiring well-paid Research Scientist roles in California include Anthropic, Wayve, OpenAI and Idler.
Salary transparency varies by employer and region, so the disclosing share above reflects only roles that publish pay — not every open position. Use it as a directional benchmark rather than an exact offer.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the average Research Scientist salary in California?
- The median is $262,500 per year, with most pay between $211,819 and $326,700 (25th–75th percentile), based on 103 live listings that disclose pay on JobsRadar.
- What is the Research Scientist salary range in California?
- Pay ranges from about $174,950 to $440,000 per year (10th–90th percentile) around a median of $262,500. Figures are annualized USD from live listings, refreshed every few hours.