Compared with the local labor market
Chemist pay vs. California
Across all employers in California, the median wage for Chemists — about 9,820 people — is $97,860. California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation pays a median base salary of $74,936 for this role, 23% below that figure — about the 24th percentile of local pay for the occupation.
Where California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation sits in the local pay range
$60,930
$76,340
$97,860
$127,790
$164,150
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation median · $74,936
The bar is the range of annual wages for Chemists across every employer in California, from the 10th to the 90th percentile, with the middle 50% highlighted. The marker shows California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s median base salary for this role. Both figures are base pay only.
And across the country
Nationwide, the median wage for Chemists — about 82,770 people — is $91,240. California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s median base salary is 18% below that national figure, about the 31st percentile of pay for the occupation nationally.
$58,460
$69,460
$91,240
$125,550
$160,830
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation median · $74,936
Local and national wages differ for reasons beyond how well a job pays — cost of living, the mix of employers, and local demand for the occupation all move the California range relative to the national one.
Median total compensation for this role at California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is $76,421, which includes overtime and employer-paid benefits. The benchmark above excludes both, so total compensation is deliberately not compared against it.
Benchmark: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025). BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) covers all employers in the area — private, non-profit, and government alike — so this is a comparison against the whole local labor market for the occupation, not against private-sector pay. OEWS wages are straight-time pay and exclude overtime, shift differentials, and employer-paid benefits, so the government figure shown here is base pay on the same basis. Total compensation is not comparable to it. Job titles are matched to the closest standard occupation, so the comparison is between similar work rather than an identical job classification.
Compare departments
This role across California
Chemist is held in 3 California departments. In California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the median of $76,421 ranks #3 of 3.
Highest-paying departments for this role
Median total compensation for the Chemist role in other Californiadepartments (highest first). Each bar links to that department’s page for this role.
Compare jurisdictions
Chemist beyond California
This role is reported in 16 jurisdictions. In California, the median of $108,620 ranks #5 of 16. See Chemist across all of California →
Highest-paying jurisdictions for this role
Median total compensation for comparable Chemist roles in other jurisdictions. Titles are matched by normalized name across sources, not identical job classification, and pay is not cost-of-living adjusted. Each bar links to that jurisdiction’s page for the role.