Side-by-side distribution
Environmental Scientist
$90,307
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 35.5%
- Live roles
- 183
Research Scientist
$179,075
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 49.9%
- Live roles
- 823
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)
Highest-paying jobs
Research Engineer/Research Scientist, Pre-training
Research Scientist, Interpretability
Principal Research Scientist, Robot Foundation Model
[Expression of Interest] Research Engineer / Scientist, Alignment - London
Research Scientist, APEX Benchmarks
Research Engineer / Research Scientist -Personal AGI, Proactivity
Research Engineer / Research Scientist - Personal AGI, Memory
Research Engineer / Research Scientist - Personal AGI, Personalization
Research Scientist
Research Engineer/Research Scientist- Personal AGI, Model Experience
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 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
The University of Texas at Austin
|
$55,000 | 16 |
Vertex Pharmaceuticals
|
$155,300 | 15 |
|
OpenAI
|
$440,000 | 14 |
MSD
|
$245,550 | 13 |
| SA Scale AI | $244,350 | 12 |
Anduril Industries
|
$221,000 | 12 |
|
Anthropic
|
$388,750 | 10 |
Astera Institute
|
$173,750 | 10 |
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 |
Environmental Scientist vs Research Scientist: which pays more?
The median for Environmental Scientist is $90,307 per year (typically $75,103–$108,373), versus $179,075 for Research Scientist ($120,640–$245,550). That puts Research Scientist about 98% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Environmental Scientist 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.