Senior Chemical Engineer salary in Boston, MA

Based on 20 certified H-1B filings at DOL wage level III in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area, FY2025–FY2026. Includes Cambridge, Norwood, Waltham, Lexington, Burlington.

Also listed as: Process Engineer

Median salary$130,075
Middle 50%$127.4k–$135.8k
vs. all levels here+2%comparison median $127,360
Filings20FY2025–FY2026 · latest two fiscal years

Salary range

Box: middle 50% of filings. Whiskers: 10th–90th percentile. 99% of filings are between $86,777 and $152,372.
PercentileSalary
10th$119,850
25th$127,360
50th (median)$130,075
75th$135,793
90th$146,011

Salary by year

Median salary

$100k $120k $140k FY2020: median $113,853 (12 filings) FY2021: median $120,057 (19 filings) FY2022: median $114,000 (26 filings) FY2023: median $116,355 (19 filings) FY2024: median $123,500 (17 filings) FY2025: median $132,275 (12 filings) FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25 FY26

Filings per year

FY2020: 12 filings FY20 FY2021: 19 filings FY21 FY2022: 26 filings FY22 FY2023: 19 filings FY23 FY2024: 17 filings FY24 FY2025: 12 filings FY25 FY2026: 8 filings FY26 26
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$113,853$109,447$117,32712
FY2021$120,057$113,131$123,08319
FY2022$114,000$105,414$124,12526
FY2023$116,355$110,365$121,83719
FY2024$123,500$119,850$126,44917
FY2025$132,275$127,360$136,19512
FY2026–––8

Cost of living

Boston's median senior Chemical Engineer salary of $130,075 is worth about $120,100 at national average prices.

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024 (U.S. = 100; Boston = 108.3).

Compared with all workers here

All Chemical Engineers in the Boston, MA area earned a median of $109,460 in May 2025 (910 employed). The H-1B median here is $130,075, 19% higher.

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
Altexttoo few2
Amgentoo few2
Samsung SDI Americatoo few2

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

By experience level

Wage levelMedianFilings
Entry-level · Level I $75,000 25
Mid-level · Level II $107,910 22
Senior · Level III $130,075 20
Expert · Level IV $146,786 36

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$52,957$75,00025
Mid-level · Level II$107,910$107,91022
Senior · Level III$127,358$130,07520
Expert · Level IV$136,261$146,78636

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.