Annual Salary, Salary Range, and Highest Paying States and Industries
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Forensic Science Technicians
Forensic Science Technicians collect, identify, classify, and analyze physical evidence related to criminal investigations. Perform tests on weapons or substances, such as fiber, hair, and tissue to determine significance to investigation. May testify as expert witnesses on evidence or crime laboratory techniques. May serve as specialists in area of expertise, such as ballistics, fingerprinting, handwriting, or biochemistry.
Table of contents
- Average salary
- Starting salary
- Salary rank
- Salary range
- Highest paying states
- Highest paying industries
Average salary
Starting salary
Entry-level Forensic Science Technicians with little to no experience can expect to make anywhere between $36,630 to $46,460 per year or $18 to $22 per hour. Similar to any other job, their salary will increase as they gain experience.
Salary rank
We wanted to make it easy for our readers to compare the salary of Forensic Science Technicians to all the other careers out there. So we created Salary Rank. We compared the salary of all careers then we gave them a rank of A, B, C, or D depending on where their average salary sit in comparison to other careers.
Salary range
| Level | Hourly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| Highest (Top 10%) | $49 | $100,910 |
| Senior (Top 25%) | $38 | $79,330 |
| Middle (Mid 50%) | $29 | $60,590 |
| Junior (Bottom 25%) | $22 | $46,460 |
| No experience (Bottom 10%) | $18 | $36,630 |
Highest paying states
| State | Hourly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| CA | $42 | $88,090 |
| IL | $41 | $85,690 |
| MA | $38 | $79,200 |
| OR | $37 | $76,970 |
| AK | $36 | $74,100 |
| IA | $35 | $73,690 |
| CT | $35 | $72,960 |
| NH | $34 | $71,140 |
| OH | $34 | $70,740 |
| MN | $34 | $70,440 |
Another simple way to increase your salary as a Forensic Science Technician is to move to a higher paying state. However moving to a higher paying state like CA doesn’t guarantee that you will make more because the expenses at CA might be much higher than where you are currently living at right now.
According to BLS, the highest paid Forensic Science Technicians are in the states of CA, IL, MA, OR and AK.
Highest paying industries
| Salary by industry | Annual | Hourly |
|---|---|---|
| Federal Executive Branch | $120790 | $58.07 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals | $75720 | $36.40 |
| Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services | $66040 | $31.75 |
| Local Government | $65840 | $31.65 |
| State Government | $64770 | $31.14 |
| Offices of Physicians | $64200 | $30.87 |
| Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services | $56240 | $27.04 |
| Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools | $51660 | $24.84 |
| Individual and Family Services | $49390 | $23.74 |
| Medical and Diagnostic Laboratories | $47060 | $22.63 |
| Investigation and Security Services | $29300 | $14.09 |
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