Side-by-side distribution
Chemist
$78,260
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 28.5%
- Live roles
- 246
Geologist
$87,500
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 27.5%
- Live roles
- 109
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
Project Geologist
Principal Resource Geologist
Geologist / Hydrogeologist Project Manager
Sr. Professional Geologist
Lead Geologist - Land
Senior Exploration Geologist
Managing Consultant, Engineer/Geologist/Scientist Project Manager
Managing Consultant, Project Manager, Engineer/Geologist/Scientist
Senior Geologist
Engineering Geologist - Mi-Tech Services, Inc.
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 |
|---|---|---|
Barr Engineering
|
$70,000 | 6 |
| MC Michels Corporation | $84,240 | 3 |
|
Fugro
|
$142,870 | 2 |
| SC SLR Consulting | $137,500 | 2 |
|
ERM
|
$124,149 | 2 |
| TE True Environmental | $75,000 | 2 |
| VE Verdantas | $68,750 | 2 |
|
SpaceX
|
$160,000 | 1 |
Geologist salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| New York | $70,000 | 3 |
Chemist vs Geologist: which pays more?
The median for Chemist is $78,260 per year (typically $63,960–$105,660), versus $87,500 for Geologist ($70,000–$124,150). That puts Geologist about 12% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Chemist and Geologist 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.