Occupation · SOC 19-1023
Zoologists and Wildlife Biologists Salary
Zoologists and Wildlife Biologists earn a median of $76,780 a year in the United States, which is $36.91 an hour. The mean is $83,020, and 18,120 people are employed in the occupation.
Also searched as Marine BiologyMarine Biologist
The full pay range
A single average hides most of what a reader wants to know. BLS publishes the whole distribution, so here it is: each row is the annual salary at that point in the pay range for zoologists and wildlife biologists.
Annual salary by percentile May 2025
| Percentile | Annual salary | Typically |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $49,100 | entry level, or a lower-paying region |
| 25th percentile | $61,180 | early career |
| Median (50th) | $76,780 | half earn more, half earn less |
| 75th percentile | $96,100 | experienced |
| 90th percentile | $126,440 | top of the field |
Zoologists and Wildlife Biologists salary by state
These are the 4 states that employ enough zoologists and wildlife biologists for BLS to report a reliable figure, ordered by median pay. A state missing here either employs too few to publish or falls below the threshold this site uses.
Median pay by state May 2025
| State | Median | Hourly | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | $98,530 | $47.37 | 2,210 |
| Oregon | $85,150 | $40.94 | 1,010 |
| Washington | $83,780 | $40.28 | 1,840 |
| Florida | $52,750 | $25.36 | 1,400 |
Common questions
How much do zoologists and wildlife biologists make?
The median salary for zoologists and wildlife biologists in the United States is $76,780 a year, which is $36.91 an hour. The mean is $83,020. Median and mean differ because a small number of very high earners pull the mean upward, so the median is the better answer to what the job typically pays.
What is the highest salary for a zoologists and wildlife biologist?
The highest-paid 10 percent of zoologists and wildlife biologists earn $126,440 or more. That is the highest figure the survey publishes for this occupation; there is no reported maximum, and individual earnings above it are not broken out.
How many people work as zoologists and wildlife biologists in the US?
18,120, as of the May 2025 release. That covers wage and salary workers in nonfarm establishments and excludes the self-employed, who are not surveyed.
How much do zoologists and wildlife biologists make a month?
About $6,398 a month before tax, which is the published annual median of $76,780 divided by twelve. BLS publishes annual and hourly wages rather than monthly, so treat this as arithmetic on the annual figure, not a separate measurement.
Do zoologists and wildlife biologists make $100,000 a year?
Some do. The best-paid 10 percent earn $126,440 or more, while the typical figure is $76,780. Six figures in this occupation is the top of the field, not the middle.
How much does a Marine Biology make?
Marine Biology is a common name for zoologists and wildlife biologists, classified by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics under SOC code 19-1023. The median salary is $76,780 a year, or $36.91 an hour. The same job is also called Marine Biologist.
Which state pays zoologists and wildlife biologists the most?
Of the 4 states with enough zoologists and wildlife biologist employment to report reliably, California has the highest median at $98,530, against a national median of $76,780. A higher median is not automatically more money in hand, because cost of living varies at least as much as pay does.
Where these numbers come from
Every figure above is published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 release, for SOC code 19-1023. Nothing here is interpolated or averaged by this site. The survey covers wage and salary workers in nonfarm establishments and excludes the self-employed. See how to read these figures for what that means in practice.