Chemist salary in St. Louis, MO

Based on 22 certified H-1B filings in the St. Louis, MO-IL metro area, FY2025–FY2026. Includes St Louis, Chesterfield, Maryland Heights, Saint Charles, Saint Louis.

Also listed as: Quality Control Chemist, Analytical Chemist

Median salary$81,580
Middle 50%$62.3k–$88.1k
vs. national median−9%comparison median $90,000
Filings22FY2025–FY2026 · latest two fiscal years

Salary range

Box: middle 50% of filings. Whiskers: 10th–90th percentile. 99% of filings are between $58,001 and $123,583.
PercentileSalary
10th$60,000
25th$62,280
50th (median)$81,580
75th$88,129
90th$109,013

Salary by year

Median salary

$50k $70k $90k FY2020: median $64,147 (11 filings) FY2021: median $74,750 (12 filings) FY2022: median $81,765 (11 filings) FY2024: median $81,200 (11 filings) FY2025: median $81,580 (14 filings) FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25 FY26

Filings per year

FY2020: 11 filings FY20 FY2021: 12 filings FY21 FY2022: 11 filings FY22 FY2023: 4 filings FY23 FY2024: 11 filings FY24 FY2025: 14 filings FY25 FY2026: 8 filings FY26 14
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$64,147$62,887$82,50011
FY2021$74,750$60,902$95,57912
FY2022$81,765$72,020$84,50011
FY2023–––4
FY2024$81,200$63,066$87,19711
FY2025$81,580$63,120$85,00214
FY2026–––8

Cost of living

St. Louis's median Chemist salary of $81,580 is worth about $85,800 at national average prices.

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024 (U.S. = 100; St. Louis = 95.1).

Compared with all workers here

All Chemists in the St. Louis, MO area earned a median of $86,690 in May 2025 (1,040 employed). The H-1B median here is $81,580, 6% lower.

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

Top employers filing

EmployerMedianFilings
Washington Universitytoo few6
Sigma-Aldrich Manufacturingtoo few3
API Innovation Centertoo few2
Spogen Biotechtoo few2

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

By experience level

Wage levelMedianFilings
Entry-level · Level I too few 4
Mid-level · Level II $83,830 12
Senior · Level III – 0
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
Mid-level · Level II$79,102$83,83012

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.