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What US chemists made in 2021, according to the ACS salary survey

Overall salaries were down slightly, but industry members saw increases from 2020, by andrea widener, october 31, 2021 | a version of this story appeared in volume 99, issue 40.

Credit: C&EN/Shutterstock

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Salary Survey 2021

Salary breakdown by demographics

Salary breakdown by region, unemployment, who took the survey.

Click here to see the most recent salary survey results

Overall, American Chemical Society members have fared well economically through the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the society’s 2021 salary survey. Median annual salaries were down only slightly, according to the survey of 5,488 members, which was conducted from May 7 to June 23, 2021.

Members who work in industry were the one group that saw salaries rise. That increase could be explained, at least in part, by the booming biotech and pharmaceutical sectors . Salaries dropped for members who work in academia and government.

Download a PDF of the print version of this story here .

Note: Not all of the data presented on this webpage is included in the PDF.

The unemployment rate for ACS members increased slightly, rising to 1.8% from 1.5% in 2020. That is still lower than unemployment had been for the previous 20 years; 2020 was the first time it had fallen below 2% since ACS began collecting data.

ACS publishes C&EN, but C&EN remains editorially independent of ACS. C&EN publishes the ACS salary survey because similar data on chemists’ salaries are not available from other sources. C&EN does not play a role in designing the survey questions, conducting the survey, or analyzing the results. C&EN requested specific data from the ACS salary survey team.

Note for all data: Data are from 5,488 American Chemical Society members’ survey responses collected from May 7 to June 23, 2021, except when other years’ data are shown. Salaries reflect the median annual salaries for full-time US employees except for students, members over 70, and international members.

Industry was the only sector with salary increases

Salaries have increased steadily since 1985 when viewed in current dollars

Note: Current dollars are the value in the year the salary was reported. Data are missing for 2017 and 2018 because of changes to the survey. For more explanation, see the 2019 salary report at cenm.ag/salarysurvey2019 .

But salaries have been decreasing when adjusted for inflation

Note: Salaries were adjusted for inflation using 1985 as the base year. Data are missing for 2017 and 2018 because of changes to the survey. For more explanation, see the 2019 salary report at cenm.ag/salarysurvey2019 .

Chemical engineers made more than chemists

Men made significantly more than women

Note: Salaries for additional genders are not reported because of the small number of people who responded in those categories.

White respondents earned the highest salaries

Note: Respondents could choose more than one race and could additionally denote their Hispanic/Latino identity in response to a separate question. Salaries for additional races and ethnicities are not reported because of the small number of people who responded in those categories.

Salaries continued to vary widely by region. In some cases, bachelor's degree recipients made more than those with a master's degree

West North Central

West South Central

East North Central

East South Central

South Atlantic

Middle Atlantic

New England

Unemployment for ACS members fell drastically in 2020 right before the pandemic started to affect the economy

But unemployment returned to 2019 levels for those with master's and bachelor's degrees.

Note: Numbers reflect unemployment status as of March 1 in the indicated year. The margin of error for the 2021 overall unemployment rate is ±1.5 percentage points.

These are the US ACS members who took the 2021 survey

More respondents worked in academia than industry.

Most had a doctoral degree

Most respondents were native US citizens

Note: Numbers were rounded to 100%.

Most respondents were men

Note: Numbers were rounded to 100%. a Additional groups include genderqueer or gender nonconforming, transgender male, transgender female, and different identity.

Respondents were predominantly White

Note: Numbers do not add to 100% because respondents could choose more than one race and could additionally denote their Hispanic/Latino identity in response to a separate question. a Additional groups include American Indian, Alaska Native, First Nations, Aboriginal Australian, or other Indigenous group; Black/African; Caribbean; Middle Eastern/North African; Native American; and self-descriptions.

The largest proportion of respondents were 45–54 years old, and the average age was 44.5

Only a small fraction identified themselves as disabled

These are the top 10 sectors in which respondents worked, outside education.

Those in education fields worked in a variety of jobs, and men significantly outnumbered women in tenure-track faculty positions

Note: Additional groups include genderqueer or gender nonconforming, transgender male or female, and different identity.

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Associate or senior editor, nature communications (electrochemistry).

• New York City, New York (US)
• Associate Editor $74,000 - Senior Editor $91,000.
• Springer Nature Ltd

About Springer Nature Group Springer Nature opens the doors to discovery for researchers, educators, clinicians and other professionals. Every day,...

View details Associate or Senior Editor, Nature Communications (Electrochemistry)

• 11 days ago
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Open Rank (Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, or Professor)

• Coral Gables, Florida
• Commensurate with experience
• University of Miami, The Philip and Patricia Frost Institute for Chemistry and Molecular Science

The Frost Institute for Chemistry and Molecular Science seeks to recruit two internationally recognized scientists.

View details Open Rank (Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, or Professor)

• 13 days ago
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Molecular Oncology Postdoctoral Fellow

• Tampa, Florida
• Above NIH scale plus benefits (Moffitt covers medical premium for team members)
• Claudia Lopez-Matamoros

The lab's research interest is to study the structures, regulation, and therapeutic targeting of p53 tumor suppressor pathway for cancer treatment.

View details Molecular Oncology Postdoctoral Fellow

• 18 days ago
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Postdoctoral Associate

• Houston, Texas (US)
• Per NIH Guidelines
• Baylor College of Medicine (BCM)

View details Postdoctoral Associate

• 33 days ago
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Professional-Track Faculty Positions Available!

• Beaverton, Oregon
• Based on Experience
• Vaccine & Gene Therapy Institute, Oregon Health & Science University

VGTI is seeking professional-track faculty candidates with demonstrated potential for creative collaborations in infectious disease.

View details Professional-Track Faculty Positions Available!

• 46 days ago
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Postdoctoral Fellow in Medicinal Chemistry for Cancer Drug Discovery

• Ann Arbor, Michigan
• University of Michigan - Department of Pathology

Postdoctoral position is available to develop small molecule inhibitors for targeted therapies in cancer.

View details Postdoctoral Fellow in Medicinal Chemistry for Cancer Drug Discovery

• 48 days ago
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Postdoctoral Scholar in Carbohydrate Synthesis

• Las Vegas, NV
• 48000 + benefits

Looking for a talented and motivated postdoc in the areas of carbohydrate chemistry for developing lipid nanoparticle-based delivery systems for mRNA.

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Postdoctoral Researchers ((1) Chemist, (2) 3D Printing Biomedical Engineer) and (3) Technicians

• Boston, Massachusetts
• Salary commensurate with experience
• Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School - Center for Engineered Therapeutics

Postdoctoral researchers with (1) a chemistry background (drug synthesis/modification) or (2) a 3D printing biomedical engineering background.

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Supervisory Biochemist

• Rockville, Maryland
• $163,964.00 - $191,900.00
• National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences

The National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), is seeking a a Senior Scientist.

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Assistant Professor of Biochemistry, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, College of Sciences

• Las Vegas, Nevada
• Commensurate with qualifications and experience.
• University of Nevada, Las Vegas

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Chair, Division of Chemical Biology and Medicinal Chemistry

• Chapel Hill, North Carolina (US)
• University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

UNC Eshelman seeks an aspirational and collaborative leader to serve as Chair of the Division of Chemical Biology and Medicinal Chemistry.

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Assistant Professor of Analytical Chemistry, Dept of Chemistry and Biochemistry, College of Sciences

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Associate or Senior Editor

• Washington D.C. (US)
• $84,000 – $98,000 per year (for candidates hired in the US).
• AAAS/Science

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and Science Magazine seek a full time Associate or Senior commissioning editor who w...

View details Associate or Senior Editor

• 21 days ago
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Postdoc Positions: Next-generation Single-molecule Imaging

• $61,150-$80,315
• Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC)

The Pertsinidis lab in the Structural Biology Program of the Sloan Kettering Institute at MSKCC has immediate openings for Postdoctoral positions.

View details Postdoc Positions: Next-generation Single-molecule Imaging

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Multiple, T/TT Faculty Positions applied Toxicology, Environmental Health and Disease Treatment

• Bloomington, Indiana
• Commensurate with rank and experience
• Indiana University Bloomington

IU has launched a major, multi-year initiative in research in applied precision approaches to toxicology, environmental health, and disease treatment.

View details Multiple, T/TT Faculty Positions applied Toxicology, Environmental Health and Disease Treatment

• 27 days ago
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Postdoctoral Research Associate - Computational Mass Spectometry

• Princeton, New Jersey
• Dependent on experience
• Ludwig Princeton Branch, Princeton University

The Skinnider Lab of the Ludwig Princeton Branch at Princeton University aims to recruit one to two postdoctoral associates or more senior research...

View details Postdoctoral Research Associate - Computational Mass Spectometry

• 30 days ago
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Postdoctoral Research Associate - AI/Machine Learning for Illicit Drug Identification

The Skinnider Lab of the Ludwig Princeton Branch at Princeton University aims to recruit a postdoctoral or more senior research position to work on...

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Postdoctoral Scholar Position in Pharmaceutics in Nanomedicine, Nanomaterials, and Drug Delivery

• Portland, Oregon
• Oregon State University, College of Pharmacy

Developing novel nanomaterials and delivery vectors for gene /drug/imaging agents for various diseases treatment, evaluation in animal models.

View details Postdoctoral Scholar Position in Pharmaceutics in Nanomedicine, Nanomaterials, and Drug Delivery

• 32 days ago
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Postdoctoral Fellow

• Smith College, Northampton
• Target pay is generally around 50k to 60k.
• Smith College

The Department of Chemistry at Smith College invites applications for a 2-year benefits-eligible Postdoctoral Fellow

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• 40 days ago
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Society of Science Fellows at the University of Notre Dame

• Notre Dame, Indiana
• Stipend: NRSA NIH pay scale for two years plus $10,000 for scientific meetings, PD, & other research
• University of Notre Dame, College of Science

The Society of Science Fellows supports highly motivated & accomplished individuals who are the best of the next generation of researchers.

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