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Research scientist salary in California (Updated 2026)

How much does a Research Scientist make in California?

Average base salary

$204,947
43%
above national average
Average $204,947
Low $107,981
High $388,989

The average salary for a research scientist is $204,947 per year in California. 1.1k salaries taken from job postings on Indeed in the past 36 months (updated July 13, 2026).

Research Scientist job openings in California

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Research Scientist, Machine Le...
Meta4out of 5 stars.
Burlingame, CA
$122,000 - $181,000 a year
1 week ago

Highest paying companies for Research Scientist in California

Average year pay is based on job postings on Indeed in the past 36 months.
HARVEY
 
$300,000per year
View company
ByteDance
 
$284,780per year
View company
Scale AI
 
$269,325per year
View company
Tencent
 
$262,850per year
View company
North Wind Group
 
$262,427per year
View company
AMD
 
$255,000per year
View company

Highest paying cities for Research Scientists near California

  1. San Jose, CA
    $260,014 per year
  2. San Francisco, CA
    $229,187 per year
  3. Sunnyvale, CA
    $214,454 per year
  4. Mountain View, CA
    $197,097 per year
  5. Menlo Park, CA
    $194,955 per year

Where can a Research Scientist earn more?

Compare salaries for Research Scientists in different locations
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How much do similar professions as Research Scientist get paid in California?

Junior Research Scientist

Job openings
Average $81,997 per year

Senior Research Scientist

Job openings
Average $198,574 per year