Senior Materials Scientist salary in New York, NY

Based on 27 certified H-1B filings at DOL wage level III in the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ metro area, FY2025–FY2026. Includes Upton, Stony Brook, Annandale, Linden, Cranbury.

Also listed as: Research Associate Materials Science

Median salary$124,987
Middle 50%$119.7k–$130.4k
vs. all levels here+19%comparison median $105,456
Filings27FY2025–FY2026 · latest two fiscal years

Salary range

Box: middle 50% of filings. Whiskers: 10th–90th percentile. 99% of filings are between $109,015 and $169,183.
PercentileSalary
10th$111,904
25th$119,711
50th (median)$124,987
75th$130,383
90th$143,109

Salary by year

Median salary

$90k $115k $140k FY2020: median $108,250 (12 filings) FY2022: median $114,650 (12 filings) FY2026: median $124,987 (18 filings) FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25 FY26

Filings per year

FY2020: 12 filings FY20 FY2021: 0 filings FY21 FY2022: 12 filings FY22 FY2023: 8 filings FY23 FY2024: 1 filings FY24 FY2025: 9 filings FY25 FY2026: 18 filings FY26 18
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$108,250$102,088$115,07512
FY2021–––0
FY2022$114,650$109,000$118,88812
FY2023–––8
FY2024–––1
FY2025–––9
FY2026$124,987$116,106$132,49618

Cost of living

New York's median senior Materials Scientist salary of $124,987 is worth about $111,000 at national average prices.

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024 (U.S. = 100; New York = 112.6).

Compared with all workers here

All Materials Scientists in the New York, NY area earned a median of $120,650 in May 2025 (560 employed). The H-1B median here is $124,987, 4% 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
Brookhaven National Laboratory$125,00017
Infineumtoo few2

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

By experience level

Wage levelMedianFilings
Entry-level · Level I $76,762 14
Mid-level · Level II $85,494 42
Senior · Level III $124,987 27
Expert · Level IV too few 4

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$62,941$76,76214
Mid-level · Level II$79,518$85,49442
Senior · Level III$96,096$124,98727

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.