What is the average Chemist salary?

$170K a year on average and $171K at the median, across 79 open Chemist postings at companies that state pay (November 2026). The median is the better guide: a few very high offers pull the average up.

What is the typical range?

The middle half of the postings offer $135K to $205K a year. A quarter offer less and a quarter offer more.

Which companies advertise the highest Chemist pay?

Lila Sciences ($220K), Praxis Precision Medicines ($180K), Kailera Therapeutics, Inc. ($172K), by the median of their open postings that state pay (three postings or more).

Is a chemist a high-paying job?

The median Chemist posting advertises $171K a year, less than the median of all 55,899 job postings with pay on Jobs Every Hour ($174K). That is 2% below the middle of the market.

How much can you earn as a chemist?

A tenth of the postings offer $235K a year or more; the highest open Chemist role advertises up to $384K. Pay rises with level: see the table by level.

What is the Chemist salary per hour and per month?

The median of $171K a year is about $82 an hour (2,080 working hours) and $14,250 a month before tax. The middle half of postings: $65 to $99 an hour.

Which skills pay more for Chemist roles?

Postings that ask for Machine Learning (+$52K, 8 postings), Regulatory compliance (+$9K, 16 postings), GMP (+$9K, 16 postings) advertise more than the $171K median of all Chemist postings with pay.

Where do these figures come from?

From the pay ranges employers print in their own job postings, read from their careers pages every hour. The midpoint of each range is counted. These are advertised ranges for open roles, mostly in the United States and in US dollars, not what people are actually paid.

Chemist Salary: $170K Average, $171K Median (Nov 2026)

Chemist salary by level

Lead roles advertise a median of $202K, 35% more than senior roles ($150K). The level comes from the job title; titles without a level word are counted separately.

Level	Median salary	Middle half	Roles
Senior	$150K	$138K–$156K	17
Lead and above	$202K	$180K–$228K	36
No level in the title	$120K	$95K–$164K	25

Chemist salary by location

Name	Median salary	Roles counted
🇺🇸Boston, MA	$173K	19
🇺🇸United States	$164K	72
🇺🇸California	$156K	27

Skills that pay more for Chemist roles

Skill	Median with it	Above the median	Postings
Machine Learning	$223K	+$52K	8
Regulatory compliance	$180K	+$9K	16
GMP	$180K	+$9K	16

Top-paying companies

Name	Median salary	Roles counted
Lila Sciences	$220K	6
Praxis Precision Medicines	$180K	6
Kailera Therapeutics, Inc.	$172K	3
Flagship Pioneering, Inc.	$154K	5
Iambic Therapeutics	$108K	3

Highest-paying open Chemist roles

All chemist jobs

Senior / Principal Chemist, AI SafetyLila Sciences · 🇺🇸🇬🇧Cambridge, MA USA; London, UK; San Francisco, CA USA$268K - $384KLead and aboveAI5w
Senior Director / Vice President, Chemistry ExperimentLila Sciences · 🇺🇸Cambridge, MA USA$204K - $346KLead and aboveMachine Learning4mo
Head of ChemistryPhysicsX · 🇺🇸New York$200K - $300KLead and aboveMachine Learning11d
Senior Director, Medicinal Chemistry DesignParabilis Medicines · Cambridge$240K - $295KLead and aboveMachine Learning3mo
Director/Senior Director, Computational ChemistryFlagship Pioneering, Inc. · 🇺🇸Cambridge, MA USA$176K - $294KLead and above3w
Senior Director, LNP Formulation & Process DevelopmentFlagship Pioneering, Inc. · 🇺🇸Cambridge, MA USA$213K - $280KLead and aboveMachine Learning3w
Senior Director, Analytical DevelopmentLoyal · 🇺🇸Remote - US$230K - $280KRemoteLead and above12d
Senior Director, Head of Analytical DevelopmentPraxis Precision Medicines · 🇺🇸United States - Remote$250K - $275KRemoteLead and aboveAgileSuccessFactorsRegulatory compliance5w
Director, Formulation DevelopmentTarsus Pharmaceuticals · 🇺🇸Irvine, California, United States$188K - $264KLead and aboveRegulatory complianceLean manufacturingSix Sigma6w
Computational Chemist - Machine Learned Force Fields, Material DiscoverySandboxaq · 🇺🇸United States$134K - $252KRemotePythonMachine LearningPyTorch2w
Director of Chemistry, Manufacturing and ControlsOklo · 🇺🇸Austin, Texas$170K - $250KLead and above2mo
Computational ChemistEdison Scientific · 🇺🇸San Francisco$180K - $250KPython6d
Synthetic ChemistInductive Bio · 🇺🇸Boston, MA$210K - $250KHybrid4w
Materials Scientist, Polymers1X · 🇺🇸San Carlos, CA$200K - $248KStatistics3mo
Director, Medicinal Chemistry SynthesisParabilis Medicines · Cambridge$200K - $240KLead and above4w
Senior Director, Analytical SciencesMineralys Therapeutics · 🇺🇸US Remote$215K - $240KRemoteLead and aboveRegulatory complianceGMP6w
Director, Analytical Development and Quality ControlKailera Therapeutics, Inc. · 🇺🇸US-Remote$192K - $235KRemoteLead and aboveRegulatory complianceGMPRisk management3w
Director, Process ChemistryPraxis Precision Medicines · 🇺🇸United States - Remote$215K - $235KRemoteLead and aboveAgileSuccessFactorsRegulatory compliance8mo
Associate Director, Bioanalytical DevelopmentFormation Bio · 🇺🇸Boston, MA; New York, NY$178K - $232KLead and aboveGCPData qualityReconciliations8mo
Staff Formulations Manager, Rocket Motor SystemsAnduril Industries · 🇺🇸Huntsville, Alabama, United States; McHenry, Mississippi…$143K - $227KLead and aboveComputer VisionSecurity clearanceSensor fusion8mo

Questions about Chemist pay

What is the average Chemist salary?: $170K a year on average and $171K at the median, across 79 open Chemist postings at companies that state pay (November 2026). The median is the better guide: a few very high offers pull the average up.
What is the typical range?: The middle half of the postings offer $135K to $205K a year. A quarter offer less and a quarter offer more.
Which companies advertise the highest Chemist pay?: Lila Sciences ($220K), Praxis Precision Medicines ($180K), Kailera Therapeutics, Inc. ($172K), by the median of their open postings that state pay (three postings or more).
Is a chemist a high-paying job?: The median Chemist posting advertises $171K a year, less than the median of all 55,899 job postings with pay on Jobs Every Hour ($174K). That is 2% below the middle of the market.
How much can you earn as a chemist?: A tenth of the postings offer $235K a year or more; the highest open Chemist role advertises up to $384K. Pay rises with level: see the table by level.
What is the Chemist salary per hour and per month?: The median of $171K a year is about $82 an hour (2,080 working hours) and $14,250 a month before tax. The middle half of postings: $65 to $99 an hour.
Which skills pay more for Chemist roles?: Postings that ask for Machine Learning (+$52K, 8 postings), Regulatory compliance (+$9K, 16 postings), GMP (+$9K, 16 postings) advertise more than the $171K median of all Chemist postings with pay.
Where do these figures come from?: From the pay ranges employers print in their own job postings, read from their careers pages every hour. The midpoint of each range is counted. These are advertised ranges for open roles, mostly in the United States and in US dollars, not what people are actually paid.

Chemist salary: $171K median