Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2006

19-1012 Food Scientists and Technologists

Use chemistry, microbiology, engineering, and other sciences to study the principles underlying the processing and deterioration of foods; analyze food content to determine levels of vitamins, fat, sugar, and protein; discover new food sources; research ways to make processed foods safe, palatable, and healthful; and apply food science knowledge to determine best ways to process, package, preserve, store, and distribute food.

National estimates for this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
State profile for this occupation
Metropolitan area profile for this occupation

National estimates for this occupation: Top

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:

Employment (1) Employment
RSE (3)
Mean hourly
wage
Mean annual
wage (2)
Wage RSE (3)
8,770 4.1 % $28.49 $59,260 1.6 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $14.24 $18.14 $25.87 $37.00 $46.80
Annual Wage (2) $29,620 $37,740 $53,810 $76,960 $97,350

Industry profile for this occupation: Top

Industries with the highest published employment and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all industries with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage
Other Food Manufacturing 1,640 $29.01 $60,350
Scientific Research and Development Services 1,060 $35.12 $73,050
Dairy Product Manufacturing 830 $22.14 $46,060
Management of Companies and Enterprises 670 $35.40 $73,630
Fruit and Vegetable Preserving and Specialty Food Manufacturing 650 $25.74 $53,550

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage
Miscellaneous Nondurable Goods Merchant Wholesalers (8) $38.97 $81,060
Federal Executive Branch (OES designation) 120 $37.97 $78,970
Management of Companies and Enterprises 670 $35.40 $73,630
Scientific Research and Development Services 1,060 $35.12 $73,050
Drugs and Druggists' Sundries Merchant Wholesalers 40 $32.04 $66,640

State profile for this occupation: Top

States with the highest published employment concentrations and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all States with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.

States with the highest concentration of workers in this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment
Minnesota 710 $34.60 $71,960 0.026%
Nebraska 220 $17.94 $37,310 0.024%
Idaho 140 $25.03 $52,070 0.022%
Iowa 280 $24.97 $51,930 0.019%
North Dakota 60 $24.99 $51,980 0.018%

Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment
Minnesota 710 $34.60 $71,960 0.026%
Hawaii (8) $33.12 $68,880 (8)
New Jersey 220 $32.32 $67,230 0.006%
Illinois 660 $32.24 $67,050 0.011%
Maryland 260 $32.04 $66,630 0.010%

Metropolitan area profile for this occupation: Top

Metropolitan areas with the highest published employment concentrations and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all Metropolitan areas with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of workers in this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
Ames, IA 40 $28.18 $58,600 0.098%
Brockton-Bridgewater-Easton, MA NECTA Division 70 $30.87 $64,210 0.079%
Columbus, OH 360 $33.18 $69,020 0.039%
Visalia-Porterville, CA 50 $20.81 $43,290 0.037%
Lakeland, FL 70 $26.86 $55,860 0.032%

Top paying Metropolitan areas for this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Division 70 $42.20 $87,780 0.003%
Pittsburgh, PA 60 $37.14 $77,250 0.005%
New York-White Plains-Wayne, NY-NJ Metropolitan Division 130 $36.53 $75,970 0.003%
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI 550 $36.10 $75,090 0.031%
Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, CA Metropolitan Division 80 $35.11 $73,030 0.005%

About May 2006 National, State, Metropolitan, and nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors in metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas in every State and the District of Columbia. The top five employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable Excel files (XLS).

Percentile wage estimates show the percentage of workers in an occupation that earn less than a given wage and the percentage that earn more. The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate—50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median. More about percentile wages.


(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.

(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours; for those occupations where there is not an hourly mean wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.

(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.

(8) Estimate not released.

Other OES estimates and related information:

May 2006 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2006 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2006 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2006 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

List of Occupations in SOC Code Number Order

List of Occupations in Alphabetical Order

Download May 2006 Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates in Zipped Excel files

Technical notes

 

Last Modified Date: December 6, 2007