Side-by-side distribution
Counsel
$214,750
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 51.5%
- Live roles
- 1,290
Research Scientist
$219,688
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 52.9%
- Live roles
- 384
Highest-paying jobs
Associate Counsel, Corporate
Legal Counsel (corporate / commercial, 3-5 PQE), hybrid/remote
Director, Corporate Counsel
Legal Counsel
General Counsel
Real Estate Senior Associate / Special Counsel ("Dirt" Focus)
REIT Special Counsel / Senior Associate
Real Estate Associate / Special Counsel (Lender-Side Focus)
Antitrust and Competition Associate / Special Counsel
Estate & Tax Planning Legal Counsel
Highest-paying jobs
Research Scientist, Interpretability
Research Engineer/Research Scientist, Pre-training
Research Engineer/Research Scientist - Personal AGI, North Stars
Research Engineer / Research Scientist- Personal AGI (Post Training)
Research Engineer/Research Scientist, Personal AGI-Model Experience
Research Engineer / Research Scientist - Personal AGI, Personality and Model Behavior
Research Engineer / Research Scientist -Personal AGI, Proactivity
Research Engineer / Research Scientist, Tokens
Staff / Principal Research Scientist - USA
Research Engineer / Scientist, Alignment
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| TM Tyson & Mendes LLP | $175,000 | 39 |
Fivetran
|
$214,096 | 25 |
Axiom Talent Platform
|
$214,750 | 22 |
Alliance Defending Freedom
|
$159,583 | 12 |
Barnes & Thornburg LLP
|
$275,000 | 10 |
Crusoe
|
$235,000 | 9 |
Clearway Energy
|
$215,000 | 9 |
|
OpenAI
|
$313,500 | 8 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
|
Anthropic
|
$377,500 | 12 |
Anduril Industries
|
$221,000 | 8 |
Astera Institute
|
$225,000 | 7 |
|
OpenAI
|
$425,000 | 6 |
Waabi
|
$212,750 | 6 |
| SA Scale AI | $243,000 | 5 |
Nuro
|
$229,900 | 5 |
World Labs
|
$300,000 | 4 |
Counsel salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $226,125 | 120 |
| New York | $220,000 | 159 |
| Seattle | $220,000 | 24 |
| Boston | $219,875 | 12 |
| Los Angeles | $214,750 | 29 |
| Atlanta | $214,750 | 11 |
| Denver | $214,096 | 49 |
| Chicago | $214,045 | 18 |
| Dublin | $204,500 | 3 |
| Austin | $193,870 | 14 |
Research Scientist salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Seattle | $291,650 | 11 |
| Boston | $275,000 | 8 |
| San Francisco | $267,500 | 67 |
| New York | $243,000 | 38 |
| Toronto | $212,000 | 8 |
| London | $203,341 | 10 |
| Los Angeles | $80,000 | 3 |
Counsel vs Research Scientist: which pays more?
The median for Counsel is $214,750 per year (typically $180,000–$250,000), versus $219,688 for Research Scientist ($177,088–$275,000). That puts Research Scientist about 2% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Counsel and Research 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.