Stacker compiled a list of the highest-paying science jobs in Columbus, OH metro area using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Jobs are ranked by 2021 annual mean wage. Jobs the BLS lists as “life, physical, and social science occupations” were included.

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#30. Environmental science and protection technicians, including health

Columbus, OH
– Annual mean salary: $40,470
– #152 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 310

National
– Annual mean salary: $50,550
– Employment: 34,110
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Kennewick-Richland, WA ($79,780)
— Huntsville, AL ($78,320)
— Birmingham-Hoover, AL ($76,970)

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#29. Biological technicians

Columbus, OH
– Annual mean salary: $50,200
– #50 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 370

National
– Annual mean salary: $51,770
– Employment: 76,150
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX ($69,050)
— Boulder, CO ($68,640)
— Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA ($65,940)

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#28. Occupational health and safety technicians

Columbus, OH
– Annual mean salary: $51,370
– #92 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 110

National
– Annual mean salary: $57,560
– Employment: 21,750
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Evansville, IN-KY ($77,880)
— Anchorage, AK ($77,690)
— Oklahoma City, OK ($77,100)

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#27. Hydrologic technicians

Columbus, OH
– Annual mean salary: $52,050
– #10 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 30

National
– Annual mean salary: $71,760
– Employment: 3,550
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Baton Rouge, LA ($126,900)
— Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX ($108,260)
— Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA ($86,310)

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#26. Survey researchers

Columbus, OH
– Annual mean salary: $52,290
– #24 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 30

National
– Annual mean salary: $64,690
– Employment: 8,850
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV ($90,860)
— Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ ($88,580)
— Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY ($86,230)

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#25. Chemical technicians

Columbus, OH
– Annual mean salary: $53,760
– #85 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 270

National
– Annual mean salary: $55,040
– Employment: 57,690
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Billings, MT ($86,340)
— Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV ($78,000)
— Baton Rouge, LA ($77,020)

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#24. Microbiologists

Columbus, OH
– Annual mean salary: $56,670
– #66 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 130

National
– Annual mean salary: $87,820
– Employment: 19,430
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Knoxville, TN ($125,380)
— Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH ($121,530)
— San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($115,340)

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#23. Social science research assistants

Columbus, OH
– Annual mean salary: $58,080
– #14 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 50

National
– Annual mean salary: $56,430
– Employment: 28,690
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA ($88,730)
— Columbia, SC ($77,760)
— Springfield, MA-CT ($70,570)

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#22. Food science technicians

Columbus, OH
– Annual mean salary: $61,420
– #3 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 70

National
– Annual mean salary: $47,870
– Employment: 11,530
– Metros with highest average pay:
— St. Louis, MO-IL ($66,580)
— Owensboro, KY ($63,700)
— Columbus, OH ($61,420)

10 / 30 James Kirkikis // Shutterstock

#21. Zoologists and wildlife biologists

Columbus, OH
– Annual mean salary: $63,960
– #87 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 40

National
– Annual mean salary: $70,300
– Employment: 15,930
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Barnstable Town, MA ($109,570)
— Gulfport-Biloxi-Pascagoula, MS ($106,800)
— Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV ($100,350)

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#20. Foresters

Columbus, OH
– Annual mean salary: $66,400
– #49 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 40

National
– Annual mean salary: $67,710
– Employment: 9,500
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA ($96,820)
— Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA ($96,220)
— Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD ($90,320)

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#19. Urban and regional planners

Columbus, OH
– Annual mean salary: $71,830
– #123 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 160

National
– Annual mean salary: $81,310
– Employment: 38,940
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Boulder, CO ($119,680)
— San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($112,760)
— San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($112,740)

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#18. Conservation scientists

Columbus, OH
– Annual mean salary: $74,560
– #48 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: data not available

National
– Annual mean salary: $68,230
– Employment: 22,550
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Springfield, MA-CT ($108,670)
— Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI ($106,200)
— Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV ($101,900)

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#17. Soil and plant scientists

Columbus, OH
– Annual mean salary: $75,440
– #32 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 110

National
– Annual mean salary: $76,290
– Employment: 15,610
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Durham-Chapel Hill, NC ($111,450)
— Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX ($109,490)
— Raleigh, NC ($109,320)

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#16. Forensic science technicians

Columbus, OH
– Annual mean salary: $75,580
– #19 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 180

National
– Annual mean salary: $66,850
– Employment: 17,020
– Metros with highest average pay:
— San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($106,600)
— Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA ($96,980)
— San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($96,410)

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#15. School psychologists

Columbus, OH
– Annual mean salary: $75,760
– #120 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 440

National
– Annual mean salary: $82,770
– Employment: 57,110
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Boulder, CO ($116,280)
— El Centro, CA ($116,010)
— Fresno, CA ($115,360)

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#14. Sociologists

Columbus, OH
– Annual mean salary: $76,350
– #10 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 70

National
– Annual mean salary: $96,260
– Employment: 2,640
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC ($129,870)
— Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI ($117,170)
— San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($109,760)

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#13. Chemists

Columbus, OH
– Annual mean salary: $78,310
– #116 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 630

National
– Annual mean salary: $89,130
– Employment: 80,600
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV ($131,290)
— Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT ($115,790)
— Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH ($108,330)

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#12. Environmental scientists and specialists, including health

Columbus, OH
– Annual mean salary: $81,430
– #74 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 770

National
– Annual mean salary: $81,240
– Employment: 76,890
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Idaho Falls, ID ($116,630)
— San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($109,190)
— San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($107,710)

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#11. Occupational health and safety specialists

Columbus, OH
– Annual mean salary: $81,860
– #93 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 980

National
– Annual mean salary: $78,740
– Employment: 106,340
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Kennewick-Richland, WA ($111,950)
— San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($108,240)
— San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($108,020)

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#10. Epidemiologists

Columbus, OH
– Annual mean salary: $82,410
– #27 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 100

National
– Annual mean salary: $86,740
– Employment: 8,180
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA ($145,410)
— New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA ($139,240)
— Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY ($124,460)

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#9. Geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographers

Columbus, OH
– Annual mean salary: $83,810
– #63 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 120

National
– Annual mean salary: $103,550
– Employment: 23,620
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX ($161,290)
— Corpus Christi, TX ($156,870)
— Midland, TX ($156,270)

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#8. Biochemists and biophysicists

Columbus, OH
– Annual mean salary: $83,900
– #37 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 130

National
– Annual mean salary: $113,460
– Employment: 35,050
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH ($135,070)
— Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA ($133,520)
— Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO ($133,390)

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#7. Hydrologists

Columbus, OH
– Annual mean salary: $87,570
– #24 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 150

National
– Annual mean salary: $94,780
– Employment: 6,390
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA ($148,150)
— Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV ($136,920)
— San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($125,470)

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#6. Food scientists and technologists

Columbus, OH
– Annual mean salary: $91,530
– #20 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 250

National
– Annual mean salary: $84,150
– Employment: 13,510
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Kansas City, MO-KS ($138,600)
— San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($103,970)
— Wichita, KS ($102,100)

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#5. Medical scientists, except epidemiologists

Columbus, OH
– Annual mean salary: $93,410
– #68 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 280

National
– Annual mean salary: $104,050
– Employment: 108,550
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Memphis, TN-MS-AR ($176,770)
— Columbia, SC ($155,570)
— Danbury, CT ($151,970)

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#4. Clinical and counseling psychologists

Columbus, OH
– Annual mean salary: $96,540
– #100 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 450

National
– Annual mean salary: $99,640
– Employment: 58,100
– Metros with highest average pay:
— San Diego-Carlsbad, CA ($136,630)
— San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($134,200)
— Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA ($133,060)

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#3. Materials scientists

Columbus, OH
– Annual mean salary: $96,750
– #22 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 100

National
– Annual mean salary: $104,790
– Employment: 6,690
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD ($142,410)
— San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($135,480)
— Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH ($133,380)

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#2. Economists

Columbus, OH
– Annual mean salary: $113,450
– #19 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 60

National
– Annual mean salary: $120,830
– Employment: 15,640
– Metros with highest average pay:
— New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA ($162,870)
— San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($161,320)
— San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($156,360)

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#1. Physicists

Columbus, OH
– Annual mean salary: $139,300
– #23 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 60

National
– Annual mean salary: $151,580
– Employment: 20,020
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD ($199,830)
— Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ ($195,300)
— Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX ($188,250)