What a wildlife biologist earns, by metro
Median pay for wildlife biologists runs from $48,110 in Jacksonville to $129,940 in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara — a 2.7× range across 136 metropolitan areas. The national median of $76,780 sits inside that range but describes no particular market.
Wildlife Biologist — nationalBLS OEWS · May 2025
$76,780Median annual
$36.91Median hourly
$49,10010th percentile
$126,44090th percentile
18,120Employed nationally
Median means half earn more and half earn less — it says nothing about
how far. The percentile columns are where the information is.
What the percentile band tells you
Ten per cent of wildlife biologists earn below $49,100 and ten per cent above $126,440 — a 2.58× band. The upside from median to 90th percentile is 65%, which is a normal amount of room for experience and specialisation to matter. An offer below the 25th percentile is worth questioning; one above the 75th is worth taking seriously.
Where the money is
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (CA) leads and Jacksonville (FL) trails, but the gap is modest. For a role like this the more useful comparison is not between cities but between the 10th and 90th percentile within one — see the band above.
Highest paying metros
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara CA | $129,940 | $62.47 | 0.31 | 40 |
| Santa Cruz-Watsonville CA | $122,170 | $58.74 | 2.79 | 30 |
| Gulfport-Biloxi MS | $113,800 | $54.71 | 1.63 | 30 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria DC-VA-MD-WV | $104,330 | $50.16 | 0.73 | 270 |
| Baltimore-Columbia-Towson MD | $99,490 | $47.83 | 0.65 | 100 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont CA | $99,230 | $47.71 | 1.08 | 300 |
| Salem OR | $98,110 | $47.17 | 3.84 | 80 |
| Providence-Warwick RI-MA | $97,040 | $46.66 | 0.98 | 80 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue WA | $96,450 | $46.37 | 2.95 | 720 |
| Worcester MA | $93,930 | $45.16 | 1.75 | 70 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad CA | $93,500 | $44.95 | 1.39 | 250 |
| Alaska nonmetropolitan area | $92,600 | $44.52 | 28.96 | 370 |
| Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro OR-WA | $89,880 | $43.21 | 2.5 | 350 |
| Fairbanks-College AK | $88,740 | $42.67 | 22.94 | 100 |
| Upper Peninsula of Michigan nonmetropolitan area | $88,710 | $42.65 | 4.15 | 50 |
| Urban Honolulu HI | $88,240 | $42.42 | 2.43 | 130 |
| Santa Rosa-Petaluma CA | $86,670 | $41.67 | 2.79 | 70 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City NY-NJ | $86,400 | $41.54 | 0.15 | 160 |
| Southwest Colorado nonmetropolitan area | $86,050 | $41.37 | 7.36 | 90 |
| Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard WA | $85,940 | $41.32 | 5.54 | 60 |
| Bismarck ND | $85,330 | $41.03 | 4.82 | 40 |
| Northwest Colorado nonmetropolitan area | $85,210 | $40.97 | 4.41 | 70 |
| Corvallis OR | $85,150 | $40.94 | 18.16 | 80 |
| Coast Oregon nonmetropolitan area | $85,150 | $40.94 | 14.31 | 190 |
| Anchorage AK | $85,130 | $40.93 | 8.94 | 180 |
Lowest paying metros
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jacksonville FL | $48,110 | $23.13 | 1.02 | 90 |
| Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands TX | $48,130 | $23.14 | 0.46 | 180 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington TX | $49,100 | $23.61 | 0.5 | 240 |
| North Florida nonmetropolitan area | $49,650 | $23.87 | 4.73 | 60 |
| Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville FL | $49,920 | $24.00 | 1.26 | 40 |
| Lakeland-Winter Haven FL | $50,000 | $24.04 | 1.3 | 40 |
| Tallahassee FL | $52,060 | $25.03 | 5.06 | 110 |
| South Florida nonmetropolitan area | $52,520 | $25.25 | 6.73 | 70 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach FL | $53,230 | $25.59 | 0.73 | 240 |
| Lincoln NE | $54,530 | $26.22 | 1.41 | 30 |
Alaska nonmetropolitan area is the cluster
Alaska nonmetropolitan area has 28.96× the national concentration of wildlife biologists — the densest market in the country for this role, with 370 employed locally. Pay there is $92,600, which does not put it near the top of the pay table. Concentration and compensation are different things — a dense market is easier to get hired in and easier to move around within, but the competition that makes it dense also caps what employers need to offer.
Where the role is most concentrated
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska nonmetropolitan area | $92,600 | $44.52 | 28.96 | 370 |
| Fairbanks-College AK | $88,740 | $42.67 | 22.94 | 100 |
| Corvallis OR | $85,150 | $40.94 | 18.16 | 80 |
| Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater WA | $82,500 | $39.66 | 16.56 | 250 |
| Eastern Oregon nonmetropolitan area | $81,720 | $39.29 | 15.9 | 140 |
| Central Oregon nonmetropolitan area | $83,780 | $40.28 | 15.14 | 90 |
| Coast Oregon nonmetropolitan area | $85,150 | $40.94 | 14.31 | 190 |
| Western Wyoming nonmetropolitan area | $74,970 | $36.04 | 13.44 | 160 |
| Wenatchee-East Wenatchee WA | $84,500 | $40.63 | 13.02 | 80 |
| Helena MT | $84,230 | $40.49 | 12.55 | 70 |
| Eastern Wyoming nonmetropolitan area | $74,860 | $35.99 | 11.47 | 110 |
| High Desert Utah nonmetropolitan area | $70,240 | $33.77 | 10.8 | 140 |
Largest employers by metro
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue WA | $96,450 | $46.37 | 2.95 | 720 |
| Alaska nonmetropolitan area | $92,600 | $44.52 | 28.96 | 370 |
| Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro OR-WA | $89,880 | $43.21 | 2.5 | 350 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington MN-WI | $61,050 | $29.35 | 1.36 | 310 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont CA | $99,230 | $47.71 | 1.08 | 300 |
| Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater FL | $55,050 | $26.47 | 1.78 | 300 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria DC-VA-MD-WV | $104,330 | $50.16 | 0.73 | 270 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad CA | $93,500 | $44.95 | 1.39 | 250 |
| Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater WA | $82,500 | $39.66 | 16.56 | 250 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach FL | $53,230 | $25.59 | 0.73 | 240 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington TX | $49,100 | $23.61 | 0.5 | 240 |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom CA | $84,620 | $40.68 | 1.51 | 190 |
Current openings
Remote Wildlife Biologist
Seattle-Tacoma-BellevueAlaska nonmetropolitan areaPortland-Vancouver-HillsboroMinneapolis-St. Paul-BloomingtonSan Francisco-Oakland-FremontTampa-St. Petersburg-ClearwaterWashington-Arlington-AlexandriaSan Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad
About this data
Figures come from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics programme, May 2025 release, SOC code 19-1023. OEWS surveys employers, so it reports what is actually paid rather than what job advertisements claim, and it excludes the self-employed. Estimates are published for 136 of 528 metropolitan areas; the remaining 392 had too few survey responses for BLS to publish without risking disclosure, so they are absent here rather than estimated. For a specialised role that is normal. Read the methodology.