Entry-level Medical Scientist salary in San Jose, CA

Based on 47 certified H-1B filings at DOL wage level I in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA metro area, FY2025–FY2026. Includes Stanford, Palo Alto, Milpitas, Sunnyvale.

Also listed as: Research Scientist, Associate Research Scientist

Median salary$84,000
Middle 50%$80k–$89k
vs. all levels here−8%comparison median $91,000
Filings47FY2025–FY2026 · latest two fiscal years

Salary range

Box: middle 50% of filings. Whiskers: 10th–90th percentile. 99% of filings are between $77,688 and $111,592.
PercentileSalary
10th$77,688
25th$80,000
50th (median)$84,000
75th$89,000
90th$94,418

Salary by year

Median salary

$60k $80k $100k FY2020: median $70,000 (31 filings) FY2021: median $75,000 (32 filings) FY2022: median $68,967 (52 filings) FY2023: median $72,000 (45 filings) FY2024: median $74,000 (52 filings) FY2025: median $82,979 (33 filings) FY2026: median $87,775 (14 filings) FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25 FY26

Filings per year

FY2020: 31 filings FY20 FY2021: 32 filings FY21 FY2022: 52 filings FY22 FY2023: 45 filings FY23 FY2024: 52 filings FY24 FY2025: 33 filings FY25 FY2026: 14 filings FY26 52
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$70,000$62,850$75,00031
FY2021$75,000$69,430$85,97332
FY2022$68,967$65,568$75,00052
FY2023$72,000$69,995$77,00045
FY2024$74,000$71,650$80,37552
FY2025$82,979$77,688$86,94033
FY2026$87,775$83,250$93,17414

Cost of living

San Jose's median entry-level Medical Scientist salary of $84,000 is worth about $76,100 at national average prices.

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024 (U.S. = 100; San Jose = 110.4).

Compared with all workers here

All Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists in the San Jose, CA area earned a median of $159,300 in May 2025 (2,150 employed). The H-1B median here is $84,000, 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 Leland Stanford, Jr University$84,00046

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

By experience level

Wage levelMedianFilings
Entry-level · Level I $84,000 47
Mid-level · Level II $112,900 20
Senior · Level III – 0
Expert · Level IV too few 2

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$77,688$84,00047
Mid-level · Level II$95,056$112,90020

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.