Side-by-side distribution
Postdoc
$72,754
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 59.5%
- Live roles
- 383
Researcher
$106,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 36.3%
- Live roles
- 3,517
Highest-paying jobs
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Physics Expert (PhD / Postdoc)
Postdoctoral Researcher, Human Aware Interaction Learning
Postdoctoral Researcher, Post-Training and Continual Adaptation for Robotics
Clinical Sciences FY27 Postdoctoral Fellow – Open Pool
Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Soil Security for Cotton Farming Systems
Postdoctoral Research Fellow/Research Fellow - Health Policy
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Postdoctoral Researcher in Microwave and Antenna Engineering for CubeSat Applications
PostDoc – Machine Learning
Highest-paying jobs
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Post Doctoral Research Fellow
Lead, Quant Engineer
Senior Clinical Research Associate - Oncology (US)
Researcher, Training
Researcher, Training - London
Vice President, Quantitative Researcher, Infrastructure & Real Assets
Researcher, Safety Training
Researcher, Safety Training, National Security
Principal Machine Learning Researcher (Physical AI)
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| NU Northeastern University | $72,754 | 39 |
The University of Texas at Austin
|
$65,000 | 27 |
| CS Colorado State University | $65,000 | 14 |
Cleveland Clinic
|
$63,480 | 13 |
University of British Columbia
|
$60,000 | 13 |
| MG Mass General Brigham | $76,465 | 11 |
| BI Beth Israel Lahey Health | $60,000 | 11 |
| UO University of Queensland | $99,516 | 10 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| NU Northeastern University | $72,754 | 72 |
|
The University of Texas at Austin
|
$54,250 | 46 |
| WC Worldwide Clinical Trials | $145,000 | 35 |
IQVIA
|
$131,750 | 35 |
ICON plc
|
$124,335 | 27 |
| SJ St. Jude Children's Research Hospital | $72,515 | 22 |
USC
|
$72,196 | 20 |
| MG Mass General Brigham | $70,875 | 20 |
Postdoc salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $103,250 | 9 |
| New York | $78,000 | 12 |
| Boston | $72,754 | 48 |
| Austin | $62,131 | 8 |
Postdoc vs Researcher: which pays more?
The median for Postdoc is $72,754 per year (typically $64,000–$83,025), versus $106,000 for Researcher ($72,754–$162,000). That puts Researcher about 46% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Postdoc and Researcher 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.