Entry-level Biochemist salary in Los Angeles, CA

Based on 80 certified H-1B filings at DOL wage level I in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA metro area, FY2025–FY2026. Includes Duarte, Monrovia, Pasadena, Irvine, Santa Monica.

Median salary$70,017
Middle 50%$62.4k–$73.4k
vs. all levels here−6%comparison median $74,100
Filings80FY2025–FY2026 · latest two fiscal years

Salary range

Box: middle 50% of filings. Whiskers: 10th–90th percentile. 99% of filings are between $50,149 and $89,470.
PercentileSalary
10th$52,957
25th$62,400
50th (median)$70,017
75th$73,418
90th$78,100

Salary by year

Median salary

$50k $65k $80k FY2020: median $61,048 (31 filings) FY2021: median $61,048 (31 filings) FY2022: median $62,400 (14 filings) FY2023: median $64,480 (15 filings) FY2024: median $68,000 (28 filings) FY2025: median $70,720 (48 filings) FY2026: median $66,560 (32 filings) FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25 FY26

Filings per year

FY2020: 31 filings FY20 FY2021: 31 filings FY21 FY2022: 14 filings FY22 FY2023: 15 filings FY23 FY2024: 28 filings FY24 FY2025: 48 filings FY25 FY2026: 32 filings FY26 48
Shaded: FY2025–FY2026, the years behind the figures above. Median shown for years with at least 10 filings. FY2026 covers Q1–Q3 only.
Show as table
Fiscal yearMedianP25P75Filings
FY2020$61,048$54,440$61,73331
FY2021$61,048$61,048$63,04231
FY2022$62,400$59,280$62,40014
FY2023$64,480$46,530$71,20915
FY2024$68,000$66,300$71,50028
FY2025$70,720$62,400$74,60148
FY2026$66,560$62,400$72,67232

Cost of living

Los Angeles's median entry-level Biochemist salary of $70,017 is worth about $61,700 at national average prices.

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024 (U.S. = 100; Los Angeles = 113.6).

Compared with all workers here

All Biochemists and Biophysicists in the Los Angeles, CA area earned a median of $131,700 in May 2025 (580 employed). The H-1B median here is $70,017, 47% lower.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS metropolitan area estimates. BLS wages include some incentive pay; H-1B figures are base salary.

Employers filing at this level

EmployerMedianFilings
The University of Southern California$53,26923
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center$62,40020
Beckman Research Institute of the City of Hope$72,94716
City of Hope National Medical Center$73,22411
California Institute of Technologytoo few4
Quest Diagnostics Incorporatedtoo few2

Employers with at least 2 filings here. Median shown at 10+ filings.

By experience level

Wage levelMedianFilings
Entry-level · Level I $70,017 80
Mid-level · Level II $70,264 17
Senior · Level III too few 5
Expert · Level IV – 0

Median shown when a level has at least 10 filings.

Minimum H-1B salary by level

Wage levelPrevailing wage (most common)Median offered salaryFilings
Entry-level · Level I$53,269$70,01780
Mid-level · Level II$60,590$70,26417

The prevailing wage is the minimum an employer must pay for this job and area. Amounts vary by county within a metro and by wage source.