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 28 certified H-1B Labor Condition Applications filed with the U.S. Department of Labor. Median offered wage: $83,247. 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 | 7 | $88,878 |
| Level II — qualified | 1 | $120,078 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| University of California, Los Angeles | Staff Research Associate | 9 | $74,672 |
| UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO | Staff Research Associate IV | 4 | $84,069 |
| Beckman Research Institute of the City of Hope | Research Associate | 2 | $76,227 |
| ImmunityBio, Inc. | Research Associate | 2 | $86,000 |
| Children's Hospital Los Angeles | Research Associate | 2 | $95,898 |
| City of Hope National Medical Center | Research Associate | 2 | $71,320 |
| The University of Southern California | Research Associate | 2 | $88,878 |
| Gilead Sciences, Inc. | Senior Research Associate I, Analytical Operations | 2 | $111,461 |
| University of California, San Francisco | STAFF RESEARCH ASSOCIATE IV | 1 | $83,915 |
| Loma Linda University Health Care | Research Associate | 1 | $157,220,960 |
Recent sample filings
A snapshot of recent certified offers. Each line is a real, public, verifiable record.
- 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
- Staff Research Associate at University of California, Los Angeles$62,682Los AngelesDecided Aug 5, 2025I-200-25210-206371
- Research Associate at ImmunityBio, Inc.$86,000San DiegoWage Level IDecided Jul 31, 2025I-200-25205-197510
- Staff Research Associate at University of California, Los Angeles$76,332Los AngelesDecided Jul 24, 2025I-200-25198-181330
- STAFF RESEARCH ASSOCIATE IV at University of California, San Francisco$83,915San FranciscoDecided Jul 22, 2025I-200-25196-177382
- Research Associate at ImmunityBio, Inc.$86,000San DiegoWage Level IDecided Jul 15, 2025I-200-25189-157643
- Staff Research Associate at University of California, Los Angeles$77,805Los AngelesDecided Jul 7, 2025I-200-25178-134234
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.