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Specialty Profile · California

Scientist, Earth Sciences salary in California

A real-employer view of Scientist, Earth Sciences pay, clustered from DOL OFLC certified filings. Variants like Senior, Lead, and II/III titles fold into this cluster — the wage range below reflects all of them.

Adrian Serafin, founder and editor of RateOrchardBy Adrian SerafinFounderUpdated May 4, 2026
Real disclosed salaries

Scientist, Earth Sciences in California: actual employer-disclosed pay

Public records from 10 certified H-1B Labor Condition Applications filed with the U.S. Department of Labor. Median offered wage: $113,568. Every figure below is an actual offered salary an employer attested to under federal law.

By DOL wage level

DOL classifies every offer into one of four wage levels based on the role's experience and skill requirements.

LevelFilingsMedian offer
Level II — qualified3$113,568
Level III — experienced4$142,314

Top employers filing for this role

Companies with the most certified filings for Scientist, Earth Sciences in California. Median offer is across all of that employer's filings.

EmployerMost-filed titleFilingsMedian
Universities Space Research AssociationScientist, Earth Sciences4$113,568
California Institute of Technology/Jet Propulsion LaboratoryScientist3$144,310
California Institute of TechnologyStaff Scientist2$97,036
UNIVERSITY OF MIAMIAssistant Scientist1$114,421

Recent sample filings

A snapshot of recent certified offers. Each line is a real, public, verifiable record.

  • Assistant Scientist at UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI
    $114,421
    LafayetteDecided Dec 24, 2025I-200-25351-491189
  • Scientist, Earth Sciences at Universities Space Research Association
    $113,568
    Mountain ViewWage Level IIDecided Jul 11, 2025I-200-25185-154268
  • Scientist at California Institute of Technology/Jet Propulsion Laboratory
    $154,024
    PasadenaWage Level IIIDecided May 19, 2025I-200-25132-966581
  • Staff Scientist at California Institute of Technology
    $104,072
    PasadenaDecided Dec 5, 2024I-200-24332-504527
  • Staff Scientist at California Institute of Technology
    $90,000
    PasadenaDecided Nov 7, 2024I-200-24305-446675
  • Scientist, Earth Sciences at Universities Space Research Association
    $113,568
    Mountain ViewWage Level IIDecided Jul 11, 2025I-200-25185-154328
  • Scientist, Earth Sciences at Universities Space Research Association
    $113,568
    Mountain ViewWage Level IIDecided Jul 11, 2025I-200-25185-154251
  • Scientist, Earth Sciences at Universities Space Research Association
    $113,568
    Mountain ViewWage Level IIIDecided Mar 26, 2025I-200-25078-788722

Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Foreign Labor Certification. Disclosed wages reflect what employers attested to pay; actual paid wages may differ. Only certified filings are shown — denied and withdrawn cases are excluded.