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 31 certified H-1B Labor Condition Applications filed with the U.S. Department of Labor. Median offered wage: $82,580. 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 | $90,490 |
| Level II — qualified | 2 | $108,659 |
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. Click a company for its full H-1B salary breakdown.
| Employer | Most-filed title | Filings | Median |
|---|---|---|---|
| University of California, Los Angeles | Staff Research Associate | 9 | $74,672 |
| Beckman Research Institute of the City of Hope | Research Associate | 3 | $76,045 |
| City of Hope National Medical Center | Research Associate | 3 | $74,000 |
| UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO | Staff Research Associate IV | 3 | $82,580 |
| Children's Hospital Los Angeles | Research Associate | 2 | $95,898 |
| Gilead Sciences, Inc. | Senior Research Associate I, Analytical Operations | 2 | $111,461 |
| ImmunityBio, Inc. | Research Associate | 2 | $86,000 |
| The University of Southern California | Research Associate | 2 | $88,878 |
| Agilent Technologies, Inc. | Research Associate, Advanced | 1 | $103,000 |
| Kite Pharma Inc. | Senior Research Associate I, Cell Biology | 1 | $96,121 |
Recent sample filings
A snapshot of recent certified offers. Each line is a real, public, verifiable record.
- Research Associate at City of Hope National Medical Center$74,398DuarteDecided Mar 13, 2026I-200-26066-687150
- Staff Research Associate IV at Northern California Institute for Research and Education$97,240San FranciscoWage Level IIDecided Mar 9, 2026I-200-26061-674666
- Research Associate, Advanced at Agilent Technologies, Inc.$103,000CarpinteriaWage Level IDecided Mar 3, 2026I-200-26055-660733
- Research Associate at Beckman Research Institute of the City of Hope$76,045DuarteDecided Jan 27, 2026I-200-26020-571891
- Staff Research Associate IV at UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO$89,836La JollaDecided Nov 20, 2025I-200-25317-406741
- Research Associate at Beckman Research Institute of the City of Hope$76,045DuarteDecided Nov 7, 2025I-200-25273-348105
- Research Associate at Beckman Research Institute of the City of Hope$76,410DuarteDecided Nov 5, 2025I-200-25269-337268
- Staff Research Associate at University of California, Los Angeles$62,682Los AngelesDecided Aug 5, 2025I-200-25210-206371
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.