Side-by-side distribution
Chemist
$78,260
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 28.3%
- Live roles
- 247
Environmental Scientist
$90,307
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 35.5%
- Live roles
- 183
Highest-paying jobs
Clinical Chemist
Medicinal Chemist
Senior Materials Chemist
Polymer Chemist/Plating Expert
Process Chemist
DARPA SETA Physical Chemist/Materials Scientist SME
Computational Chemist (Machine Learning) I / II
Computational Chemist - GPU Acceleration
Computational Synthetic Chemist
R&D Polymer Chemist
Highest-paying jobs
Senior Consultant, Claims Casualty - E&S/Specialty (Traditional Environmental Property Damage and Bodily Injury)
Computational Ecologist
Senior Managing Consultant, Environmental Services
Principal Consultant, Environmental Health and Safety (EHS)
Environmental Consultant – Senior Level – Mining Focus (Hybrid)
Principal Consultant, Environmental FERC Project Manager
Loss Control Consultant - Environmental
Principal Ecologist – Energy
Environmental Consultant – Mid/Senior Level – Sediment Remediation (Hybrid)
Environmental Consultant – Senior Level (Hybrid)
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Republic Services
|
$78,333 | 7 |
Abbott
|
$59,488 | 6 |
Cardinal Health
|
$73,304 | 4 |
| IT ITW | $104,500 | 3 |
|
Amentum
|
$80,000 | 3 |
Mitsubishi Chemical Group
|
$56,160 | 3 |
Veolia
|
$40,593 | 3 |
PPG
|
$103,875 | 2 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
|
ERM
|
$107,123 | 17 |
|
Barr Engineering
|
$116,250 | 6 |
| SC SLR Consulting | $90,500 | 6 |
AtkinsRéalis
|
$86,425 | 6 |
Apex Companies
|
$71,750 | 6 |
Triumvirate Environmental
|
$80,000 | 3 |
Kpaonline
|
$72,500 | 3 |
| TE True Environmental | $70,000 | 3 |
Environmental Scientist salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Seattle | $121,061 | 4 |
| Los Angeles | $117,653 | 4 |
| Austin | $96,292 | 3 |
| New York | $80,000 | 7 |
Chemist vs Environmental Scientist: which pays more?
The median for Chemist is $78,260 per year (typically $63,960–$105,660), versus $90,307 for Environmental Scientist ($75,103–$108,373). That puts Environmental Scientist about 15% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Chemist and Environmental Scientist are compared on equal terms regardless of the currency each role was originally posted in. Only roles that publish a salary range feed the medians; numbers refresh every few hours as new roles post and older ones close, so this comparison reflects the market right now rather than a fixed survey. Use it as a directional benchmark when weighing one path against the other.