Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2021
19-4013 Food Science Technicians
Work with food scientists or technologists to perform standardized qualitative and quantitative tests to determine physical or chemical properties of food or beverage products. Includes technicians who assist in research and development of production technology, quality control, packaging, processing, and use of foods.
National estimates for Food Science Technicians
Industry profile for Food Science Technicians
Geographic profile for Food Science Technicians
National estimates for Food Science Technicians:
Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Food Science Technicians:
| Employment (1) |
Employment
RSE (3) |
Mean hourly
wage |
Mean annual
wage (2) |
Wage RSE (3) |
| 11,530 |
2.6 % |
$ 23.01 |
$ 47,870 |
0.9 % |
Percentile wage estimates for Food Science Technicians:
| Percentile |
10% |
25% |
50%
(Median) |
75% |
90% |
| Hourly Wage |
$ 16.21 |
$ 18.10 |
$ 22.40 |
$ 26.57 |
$ 30.25 |
| Annual Wage (2) |
$ 33,710 |
$ 37,650 |
$ 46,590 |
$ 55,260 |
$ 62,920 |
Industry profile for Food Science Technicians:
Industries with the highest published employment and wages for Food Science Technicians are provided.
For a list of all industries with employment in Food Science Technicians, see the Create Customized Tables function.
Industries with the highest levels of employment in Food Science Technicians:
Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Food Science Technicians:
Top paying industries for Food Science Technicians:
Geographic profile for Food Science Technicians:
States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for Food Science Technicians are provided.
For a list of all areas with employment in Food Science Technicians, see the Create Customized Tables function.
States with the highest employment level in Food Science Technicians:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| California |
2,170 |
0.13 |
1.61 |
$ 23.64 |
$ 49,170 |
| Texas |
1,390 |
0.11 |
1.39 |
$ 20.65 |
$ 42,960 |
| Wisconsin |
930 |
0.34 |
4.14 |
$ 22.40 |
$ 46,600 |
| Pennsylvania |
580 |
0.10 |
1.28 |
$ 22.39 |
$ 46,570 |
| Washington |
520 |
0.16 |
1.98 |
$ 22.54 |
$ 46,880 |
States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Food Science Technicians:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| South Dakota |
150 |
0.35 |
4.31 |
$ 17.20 |
$ 35,770 |
| Wisconsin |
930 |
0.34 |
4.14 |
$ 22.40 |
$ 46,600 |
| Nebraska |
280 |
0.29 |
3.56 |
$ 21.35 |
$ 44,410 |
| Iowa |
370 |
0.25 |
3.03 |
$ 20.50 |
$ 42,640 |
| Oregon |
430 |
0.23 |
2.86 |
$ 21.25 |
$ 44,200 |
Top paying states for Food Science Technicians:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Missouri |
130 |
0.05 |
0.56 |
$ 30.52 |
$ 63,470 |
| Ohio |
200 |
0.04 |
0.48 |
$ 28.28 |
$ 58,830 |
| Massachusetts |
70 |
0.02 |
0.26 |
$ 27.67 |
$ 57,560 |
| Colorado |
150 |
0.06 |
0.70 |
$ 27.26 |
$ 56,690 |
| Georgia |
440 |
0.10 |
1.24 |
$ 27.19 |
$ 56,560 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Food Science Technicians:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX |
520 |
0.14 |
1.76 |
$ 21.53 |
$ 44,780 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
470 |
0.08 |
1.00 |
$ 24.03 |
$ 49,990 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA |
390 |
0.05 |
0.55 |
$ 24.57 |
$ 51,110 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA |
320 |
0.12 |
1.52 |
$ 28.75 |
$ 59,800 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD |
290 |
0.11 |
1.32 |
$ 26.73 |
$ 55,590 |
| Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX |
220 |
0.08 |
0.95 |
$ 22.84 |
$ 47,510 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA |
210 |
0.11 |
1.34 |
$ 24.65 |
$ 51,270 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI |
200 |
0.11 |
1.36 |
$ 22.41 |
$ 46,620 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA |
170 |
0.08 |
0.94 |
$ 28.09 |
$ 58,420 |
| Modesto, CA |
160 |
0.91 |
11.10 |
$ 22.70 |
$ 47,220 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Food Science Technicians:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Merced, CA |
100 |
1.33 |
16.19 |
$ 23.68 |
$ 49,260 |
| Napa, CA |
90 |
1.27 |
15.56 |
$ 22.92 |
$ 47,670 |
| Wausau, WI |
70 |
1.08 |
13.20 |
$ 18.62 |
$ 38,720 |
| Modesto, CA |
160 |
0.91 |
11.10 |
$ 22.70 |
$ 47,220 |
| Visalia-Porterville, CA |
140 |
0.90 |
11.02 |
$ 23.78 |
$ 49,460 |
| Sioux City, IA-NE-SD |
70 |
0.88 |
10.77 |
$ 21.20 |
$ 44,090 |
| Owensboro, KY |
40 |
0.82 |
10.06 |
$ 30.63 |
$ 63,700 |
| Kennewick-Richland, WA |
90 |
0.80 |
9.79 |
$ 20.56 |
$ 42,750 |
| Madera, CA |
40 |
0.77 |
9.44 |
$ 20.18 |
$ 41,970 |
| Yakima, WA |
50 |
0.56 |
6.90 |
$ 21.57 |
$ 44,870 |
Top paying metropolitan areas for Food Science Technicians:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| St. Louis, MO-IL |
100 |
0.07 |
0.91 |
$ 32.01 |
$ 66,580 |
| Owensboro, KY |
40 |
0.82 |
10.06 |
$ 30.63 |
$ 63,700 |
| Columbus, OH |
70 |
0.07 |
0.85 |
$ 29.53 |
$ 61,420 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA |
320 |
0.12 |
1.52 |
$ 28.75 |
$ 59,800 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA |
30 |
0.03 |
0.38 |
$ 28.17 |
$ 58,580 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA |
170 |
0.08 |
0.94 |
$ 28.09 |
$ 58,420 |
| Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN |
110 |
0.11 |
1.34 |
$ 27.81 |
$ 57,850 |
| Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO |
90 |
0.06 |
0.73 |
$ 27.65 |
$ 57,520 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH |
100 |
0.04 |
0.47 |
$ 27.58 |
$ 57,370 |
| Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI |
90 |
0.11 |
1.35 |
$ 27.34 |
$ 56,860 |
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in Food Science Technicians:
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Food Science Technicians:
Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for Food Science Technicians:
About May 2021 National, State, Metropolitan, and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors, all metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, and all states and the District of Columbia.
The top employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable XLS files.
The percentile wage estimate is the value of a wage below which a certain percent of workers fall.
The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate—50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median.
More about percentile wages.
(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.
(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours;
for those occupations where there is not an hourly wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.
(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.
(7) The value is less than .005 percent of industry employment.
(8) Estimate not released.
(9) The location quotient is the ratio of the area concentration of occupational employment to the national average concentration.
A location quotient greater than one indicates the occupation has a higher share of employment than average, and a location quotient less than one indicates the occupation is less prevalent in the area than average.
Other OEWS estimates and related information:
May 2021 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 Occupation Profiles
Technical Notes
Last Modified Date: March 31, 2022
United States Department of Labor
