Entry-level Molecular and Cellular Biologist salary in St. Louis, MO

Based on 34 certified H-1B filings at DOL wage level I in the St. Louis, MO-IL metro area, FY2025–FY2026. Includes St Louis, Saint Louis, Chesterfield, Kirkwood.

Median salary$58,240
Middle 50%$54k–$64k
vs. all levels here−11%comparison median $65,532
Filings34FY2025–FY2026 · latest two fiscal years

Salary range

Box: middle 50% of filings. Whiskers: 10th–90th percentile. 99% of filings are between $53,040 and $77,859.
PercentileSalary
10th$53,187
25th$54,039
50th (median)$58,240
75th$63,975
90th$67,256

Salary by year

Median salary

$40k $55k $70k FY2023: median $50,336 (10 filings) FY2024: median $56,415 (14 filings) FY2025: median $56,222 (20 filings) FY2026: median $61,560 (14 filings) FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25 FY26

Filings per year

FY2020: 3 filings FY20 FY2021: 4 filings FY21 FY2022: 3 filings FY22 FY2023: 10 filings FY23 FY2024: 14 filings FY24 FY2025: 20 filings FY25 FY2026: 14 filings FY26 20
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–––3
FY2021–––4
FY2022–––3
FY2023$50,336$46,117$55,32610
FY2024$56,415$54,000$60,45014
FY2025$56,222$53,771$63,59020
FY2026$61,560$55,996$63,97514

Cost of living

St. Louis's median entry-level Molecular and Cellular Biologist salary of $58,240 is worth about $61,200 at national average prices.

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

Compared with all workers here

All Molecular and Cellular Biologists in the St. Louis, MO area earned a median of $78,330 in May 2025 (480 employed). The H-1B median here is $58,240, 26% 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
Washington University$58,24029
Wake Forest Universitytoo few2

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

By experience level

Wage levelMedianFilings
Entry-level · Level I $58,240 34
Mid-level · Level II $75,000 17
Senior · Level III too few 4
Expert · Level IV too few 5

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$53,851$58,24034
Mid-level · Level II$63,856$75,00017

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.