Occupation salary profile

Food Scientists and Technologists

SOC 19-1012 BLS OEWS May 2025 H-1B LCAs, last 12 months

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 median · BLS
$88,720
▲ +4% YoY
H-1B sponsor median
$88,962
▲ +3.08% YoY · 431 LCAs
Average salary · BLS
$95,360
Mean annual wage
U.S. employment
13,060
Jobs (BLS)
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Enter your pay and a location to see where you stand against BLS and H-1B pay, your estimated take-home pay, and your purchasing power.

Pay range for Food Scientists and Technologists

Annual base pay at each percentile. BLS covers all U.S. workers in this occupation; H-1B covers 431 certified Labor Condition Applications filed by sponsoring employers in the last 12 months.

Percentile All U.S. workers (BLS) H-1B sponsored
10th — entry pay$52,920$61,672
25th$68,810$71,526
Median (50th)$88,720$88,962
75th$116,650$111,642
90th — top pay$145,280$137,500
H-1B sponsors pay a median of $88,962 for Food Scientists and Technologists — 0.3% above the BLS national median of $88,720.

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Based on hrs/week × weeks/year = 2,080 hrs
Projections 2025–2035

Job outlook for Food Scientists and Technologists

BLS projects employment of food scientists and technologists to grow 6.2% from 2025 to 2035, faster than the 3.5% average for all occupations. About 1,000 openings are projected each year, on average, from new jobs and from replacing workers who retire or move to other occupations.

Jobs 2025 → 2035
14,100 → 14,900
+900 jobs
Projected change
+6.2%
All occupations: +3.5%
Openings per year
1,000
Average, 2025–2035
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree
No related experience required
Self-employed
5.7% of workers (2025)
Preparation needed (O*NET Job Zone 4)
Considerable Preparation Needed. Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
Fastest-growing jobs → Best-paying jobs that need a bachelor's degree →

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–2035 · BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook →

H-1B sponsored pay

Pay by H-1B wage level

Employers assign every H-1B filing a Department of Labor prevailing-wage level, from Level I (entry) to Level IV (fully competent). Pay rises steeply with level.

H-1B median $88,962
Change vs prior year +3.08%
After inflation (CPI-U) -0.05%
Wage level LCAs Share P25 Median P75
Level I 123 28.5% $60,570 $68,227 $75,000
Level II 108 25.1% $76,820 $86,632 $93,067
Level III 96 22.3% $90,000 $103,300 $113,570
Level IV 96 22.3% $111,875 $125,233 $144,947
H-1B job titles

Salaries by job title in Food Scientists and Technologists

The 3 most-filed job titles inside SOC 19-1012, from 431 H-1B filings. Seniority words and level numbers are grouped (“Senior Data Engineer II” counts as Data Engineer). Tap a title for its full range, wage levels and the exact titles employers used.

Job title LCAs Share P25 Median P75 YoY
Food Scientist 22 5.1% $73,000 $82,500 $111,042 -3.94%
Scientist generic 13 3.02% $90,571 $120,000 $124,589 +30.08%
R&D Scientist 10 2.32% $86,154 $87,206 $99,920 +13.25%

Titles are cleaned from the employer's own LCA text (codes and typos removed, nothing invented). Rows need 10+ filings in this SOC.

Skills & tools

Skills needed for Food Scientists and Technologists

How important each skill and knowledge area is for this job, rated by O*NET on a 1–5 scale from surveys of workers and occupational analysts.

Top skills
  • Active Learning4.0
  • Critical Thinking4.0
  • Reading Comprehension4.0
  • Active Listening3.9
  • Complex Problem Solving3.9
  • Judgment and Decision Making3.9
  • Science3.9
  • Speaking3.9
  • Writing3.9
  • Monitoring3.6
Top knowledge areas
  • Production and Processing4.4
  • Food Production4.1
  • Chemistry4.0
  • English Language4.0
  • Mathematics3.7
  • Engineering and Technology3.7
  • Biology3.5
  • Computers and Electronics3.3
Software and technology used
Microsoft ExcelMicrosoft Office softwareMicrosoft OutlookMicrosoft PowerPointHubSpot softwareHypertext markup language HTMLMarketo Marketing AutomationMicrosoft AccessMicrosoft WordRSAP softwareStructured query language SQLTableauBioDiscovery ImaGeneImage analysis softwareInsightful S-PLUSMDS Analytical Technologies GenePix ProOracle Eloqua

Highlighted = in demand: frequently listed in employer job postings for this occupation (O*NET).

Source: O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.

About the job

What food scientists and technologists do

  • Inspect food processing areas to ensure compliance with government regulations and standards for sanitation, safety, quality, and waste management.
  • Check raw ingredients for maturity or stability for processing, and finished products for safety, quality, and nutritional value.
  • Study methods to improve aspects of foods, such as chemical composition, flavor, color, texture, nutritional value, and convenience.
  • Develop food standards and production specifications, safety and sanitary regulations, and waste management and water supply specifications.
  • Stay up to date on new regulations and current events regarding food science by reviewing scientific literature.
  • Study the structure and composition of food or the changes foods undergo in storage and processing.
  • Confer with process engineers, plant operators, flavor experts, and packaging and marketing specialists to resolve problems in product development.
  • Test new products for flavor, texture, color, nutritional content, and adherence to government and industry standards.
Also called
Food and Drug Research ScientistFood ScientistFood TechnologistResearch ChefCorporate Food ScientistFood EngineerFood Safety Regulatory ManagerFormulatorProduct Development ScientistResearch Scientist
More job titles for this occupation (19)
Applications ScientistCrop AdvisorDairy BacteriologistEnologistFermentation ScientistFlavoristFood Preservation ScientistFood Processing ScientistFood Safety AuditorFood Safety ScientistHybrid Corn BreederHybrid TechnologistPostdoctoral Research Associate (Postdoc Research Associate)Product Development SpecialistQC Scientist (Quality Control Scientist)Quality Food ExpertScientistSwine NutritionistSwine Technician (Swine Tech)

Source: O*NET 31.0 (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0). These are general job titles, not H-1B filings; for titles employers actually filed, see “Job titles” above.