Life & Physical Science

Materials Scientists

SOC 19-2032

Research the properties of new materials with industrial or scientific applications.

The job

Median pay

$118k

$90k to $151k typical range

Outlook, 2025 to 2035

Growing fast

+8.3% projected

Openings a year

600

BLS projection

Typical education

Doctoral

Our model

AI displacement risk

High

How much of this job AI may do instead of the person

Works with AI

6/100

AI alongside the person rather than instead of them

AI exposure

85th pct

More exposed than 85% of occupations · modeled estimate · 79th pct in Microsoft's data

Future-proof

58/100

At a glance

Annual openings for Materials Scientists come to about 600, among the smaller pools in our data. Displacement risk is high and works-with-AI scores 6/100, tilting toward AI replacing tasks; modeled exposure is at the 85th percentile. Projected employment change for 2025 to 2035 is +8.3%, ahead of the typical occupation we cover. Entry into Materials Scientists usually takes a doctoral degree. Median pay is $117,790, 75% above the typical occupation we cover, and 32% above the median across Life & Physical Science. On the modeled AI scale, this is 35 points higher than Medical Scientists.

Take the next step

Weigh it against ChemistsPay, outlook, entry and AI exposure side by side See where it pays mostCalifornia leads at $177k; all states are listed below Find careers like itOpen the map at Materials Scientists and explore its neighbours See open jobsMaterials Scientists roles hiring now Learn the skillsCourses for Materials Scientists, who lean most on reading comprehension Real pay & reviewsSelf-reported pay and reviews on Glassdoor

Similar pay in Life & Physical Science

Key skills

Reading Comprehension
Active Listening
Science
Critical Thinking
Writing
Speaking

Pay and jobs by state

BLS OEWS May 2025, 50 states and DC. Sorted by jobs; per 1,000 is jobs per thousand workers in the state; vs national compares that rate with the country's. A tilde marks a figure estimated from the parent occupation group where BLS publishes none.

State	Jobs	Per 1,000	vs national	Median pay
California	1,030	0.1	1.0×	$177k
Massachusetts	890	0.2	4.5×	$133k
New York	530	0.1	1.0×	$132k
North Carolina	490	0.1	1.8×	$106k
Ohio	450	0.1	1.5×	$109k
New Jersey	440	0.1	1.9×	$103k
Illinois	380	0.1	1.1×	$126k
Colorado	370	0.1	2.4×	$117k
Georgia	350	0.1	1.3×	$92k
Indiana	320	0.1	1.8×	$131k

All 50 states and DC

State	Jobs	Per 1,000	vs national	Median pay
Texas	300	0.0	0.4×	$73k
Minnesota	290	0.1	1.8×	$132k
Washington	290	0.1	1.5×	$127k
Maryland	270	0.1	1.8×	$112k
Michigan	230	0.1	1.0×	$107k
Florida	200	0.0	0.4×	$102k
Iowa	180	0.1	2.1×	$88k
Arizona	135 (estimated)	0.0 (estimated)	0.8× (estimated)	$114k (estimated)
Missouri	131 (estimated)	0.0 (estimated)	0.8× (estimated)	$108k (estimated)
Utah	110	0.1	1.2×	$127k
Washington DC	102 (estimated)	0.1 (estimated)	2.7× (estimated)	$138k
Nevada	100	0.1	1.2×	$97k
Oregon	100	0.1	0.9×	$151k
Pennsylvania	100	0.0	0.3×	$107k
Virginia	100	0.0	0.5×	$124k
Delaware	90	0.2	3.4×	$120k (estimated)
Louisiana	88 (estimated)	0.0 (estimated)	0.8× (estimated)	$108k (estimated)
Alabama	84 (estimated)	0.0 (estimated)	0.7× (estimated)	$106k (estimated)
New Hampshire	80	0.1	2.1×	$120k
South Carolina	80	0.0	0.6×	$102k
Kentucky	79 (estimated)	0.0 (estimated)	0.7× (estimated)	$103k (estimated)
Idaho	72 (estimated)	0.1 (estimated)	1.5× (estimated)	$96k (estimated)
Wisconsin	70	0.0	0.4×	$138k
Oklahoma	69 (estimated)	0.0 (estimated)	0.7× (estimated)	$106k (estimated)
Tennessee	60	0.0	0.3×	$69k
New Mexico	58 (estimated)	0.1 (estimated)	1.2× (estimated)	$115k (estimated)
Nebraska	54 (estimated)	0.1 (estimated)	1.0× (estimated)	$96k (estimated)
Connecticut	50	0.0	0.5×	$130k
Montana	50	0.1	1.8×	$72k
Mississippi	47 (estimated)	0.0 (estimated)	0.7× (estimated)	$92k (estimated)
Arkansas	45 (estimated)	0.0 (estimated)	0.6× (estimated)	$90k (estimated)
Hawaii	43 (estimated)	0.1 (estimated)	1.3× (estimated)	$106k (estimated)
West Virginia	42 (estimated)	0.1 (estimated)	1.1× (estimated)	$98k (estimated)
Alaska	40 (estimated)	0.1 (estimated)	2.3× (estimated)	$123k (estimated)
Kansas	40	0.0	0.5×	$115k
Maine	32 (estimated)	0.0 (estimated)	0.9× (estimated)	$108k (estimated)
North Dakota	27 (estimated)	0.1 (estimated)	1.1× (estimated)	$102k (estimated)
South Dakota	27 (estimated)	0.1 (estimated)	1.1× (estimated)	$94k (estimated)
Rhode Island	25 (estimated)	0.0 (estimated)	0.9× (estimated)	$127k (estimated)
Wyoming	25 (estimated)	0.1 (estimated)	1.6× (estimated)	$105k (estimated)
Vermont	19 (estimated)	0.1 (estimated)	1.1× (estimated)	$108k (estimated)

Top metro areas

Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH700 jobs · $133k median
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ560 jobs · $121k median
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN460 jobs · $133k median
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA380 jobs · $232k median
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI270 jobs · $132k median
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA240 jobs · $93k median
Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO240 jobs · $107k median
Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN200 jobs · $108k median

Explore the rankings

Explore Materials Scientists interactively →

Pay and outlook from BLS (OEWS 2025, Employment Projections 2025-2035). Skills and work activities from O*NET 30.3. AI exposure and future-proof scores are modeled estimates. How these numbers are made.