Research Associate salary in California
A real-employer view of Research Associate 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.
Research Associate in California: actual employer-disclosed pay
Public records from 15 certified H-1B Labor Condition Applications filed with the U.S. Department of Labor. Median offered wage: $80,870. 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.
| Level | Filings | Median offer |
|---|---|---|
| Level I — entry | 8 | $79,279 |
| Level II — qualified | 5 | $104,915 |
Top employers filing for this role
Companies with the most certified filings for Research Associate in California. Median offer is across all of that employer's filings.
| Employer | Most-filed title | Filings | Median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Power Environmental Energy Research Institute | Research Associate | 3 | $62,000 |
| Gilead Sciences, Inc. | Senior Research Associate, Medicinal Chemistry | 3 | $104,915 |
| Leland Stanford Jr. Univ/SLAC National Accelerator Lab | Research Associate | 2 | $80,382 |
| ADARx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | Research Associate II | 1 | $72,000 |
| Genista Biosciences Inc. | Research Associate | 1 | $82,000 |
| Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. | Research Associate II | 1 | $80,870 |
| Biotium Inc. | Research Associate I | 1 | $80,870 |
| Cytokinetics, Inc. | Research Associate II, Medicinal Chemistry | 1 | $80,870 |
| InnoCyto Inc | Research Associate | 1 | $61,000 |
| Circle Pharma, Inc. | Senior Research Associate I | 1 | $104,915 |
Recent sample filings
A snapshot of recent certified offers. Each line is a real, public, verifiable record.
- Research Associate II at ADARx Pharmaceuticals, Inc.$72,000San DiegoDecided Nov 26, 2025I-200-25323-421939
- Research Associate at Leland Stanford Jr. Univ/SLAC National Accelerator Lab$83,075Menlo ParkDecided Nov 14, 2025I-200-25308-373579
- Research Associate at Power Environmental Energy Research Institute$62,000CovinaWage Level IDecided Sep 29, 2025I-200-25265-324722
- Research Associate at Genista Biosciences Inc.$82,000San JoseWage Level IDecided Jun 20, 2025I-200-25163-086812
- Research Associate II at Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc.$80,870PleasantonWage Level IDecided Jun 5, 2025I-200-25149-031446
- Research Associate I at Biotium Inc.$80,870FremontWage Level IDecided May 19, 2025I-200-25132-964563
- Research Associate II, Medicinal Chemistry at Cytokinetics, Inc.$80,870South San FranciscoWage Level IDecided Apr 15, 2025I-200-25098-842444
- Research Associate at InnoCyto Inc$61,000IrvineWage Level IDecided Apr 2, 2025I-200-25086-806797
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.