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California / Toxic Substances Control / Senior Environmental Scientist(Specialist)

Job-title file

Senior Environmental Scientist(Specialist)

Coordinate and deliver a specific program area, supporting planning, outreach, and daily operations.

123 employees hold this title in Toxic Substances Control. Median total compensation for the role is $104,691, above the department median of $102,059.

Employees
123
Total payroll
$12.6M
Role median
$104,691
Agency median
$102,059
Comparison
Above

What the records show

Role pay distribution

Pay distribution for this role

$50$166,334+

Hover a bar for its range; click to filter the list below.

How total compensation varies among the 123 people in this role. Even for one job title, pay differs with seniority, step, overtime, and tenure. Each bar is a pay range; the far-right bar collects the highest earners.

Compared with the local labor market

Senior Environmental Scientist(Specialist) pay vs. California

Across all employers in California, the median wage for Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health — about 12,490 people — is $106,510. Toxic Substances Control pays a median base salary of $110,564 for this role, 4% above that figureabout the 54th percentile of local pay for the occupation.

Where Toxic Substances Control sits in the local pay range

10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
$65,350
$81,480
$106,510
$132,770
$161,910
Toxic Substances Control median · $110,564

The bar is the range of annual wages for Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health across every employer in California, from the 10th to the 90th percentile, with the middle 50% highlighted. The marker shows Toxic Substances Control’s median base salary for this role. Both figures are base pay only.

And across the country

Nationwide, the median wage for Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health — about 89,250 people — is $82,220. Toxic Substances Control’s median base salary is 34% above that national figure, about the 76th percentile of pay for the occupation nationally.

10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
$52,520
$64,490
$82,220
$107,970
$140,010
Toxic Substances Control median · $110,564

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.

Computed over the 169 of 181 people in this role paid at least $25,000in base salary. The rest are part-year or part-time records, whose actual pay isn’t comparable to a full-time annual wage.

Median total compensation for this role at Toxic Substances Control is $111,845, 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

Senior Environmental Scientist(Specialist) is held in 31 California departments. In Toxic Substances Control, the median of $104,691 ranks #16 of 31.

Highest-paying departments for this role

Median total compensation for the Senior Environmental Scientist(Specialist) role in other Californiadepartments (highest first). Each bar links to that department’s page for this role.

Compare jurisdictions

Senior Environmental Scientist beyond California

This role is reported in 2 jurisdictions. In California, the median of $119,894 ranks #2 of 2. See Senior Environmental Scientist across all of California

Highest-paying jurisdictions for this role

Median total compensation for comparable Senior Environmental Scientistroles 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.

Record list

Employees with this title

Page 1

Carlos Ortega

Senior Environmental Scientist(Specialist)/Toxic Substances Control

2025 total comp
$191,535
Base pay
$126,636
Overtime
$64,649
Other pay
$250
Benefits
$0
Total compensation
$191,535
Employment type
Full-Time
Union / bargaining unit
R10
Work county
Los Angeles
Middle name
E

Source-specific fields

Base Pay
$10,732
Cs/csu
Cs
Position Number
8109330765051
Salary Total
$10,786
Total Pay
$191,535

Carlos Ortega works as a Senior Environmental Scientist(Specialist) for Toxic Substances Control. Their status is full-time. Carlos earned $191,535 in 2025. Union affiliation: R10.

Brian Abeel

Senior Environmental Scientist(Specialist)/Toxic Substances Control

2025 total comp
$181,970
Base pay
$125,910
Overtime
$55,811
Other pay
$250
Benefits
$0
Total compensation
$181,970
Employment type
Full-Time
Union / bargaining unit
R10
Work county
Sacramento

Source-specific fields

Base Pay
$10,732
Cs/csu
Cs
Position Number
8109310765305
Salary Total
$10,786
Total Pay
$181,970

Brian Abeel is a Senior Environmental Scientist(Specialist) at Toxic Substances Control. They work full-time. 2025 total compensation came to $181,970. They are represented by R10.

Lawrence Stuck

Senior Environmental Scientist(Specialist)/Toxic Substances Control

2023 total comp
$167,704
Base pay
$108,268
Overtime
$2,909
Other pay
$56,527
Benefits
$0
Total compensation
$167,704
Employment type
Full-Time
Union / bargaining unit
R10
Work county
Los Angeles
Middle name
A

Source-specific fields

Base Pay
$9,126
Cs/csu
Cs
Position Number
8109230765001
Salary Total
$9,126
Total Pay
$167,704

Lawrence Stuck works as a Senior Environmental Scientist(Specialist) for Toxic Substances Control. Their status is full-time. Lawrence earned $167,704 in 2023. They are represented by R10.

Patricia Cortez

Senior Environmental Scientist(Specialist)/Toxic Substances Control

2025 total comp
$164,591
Base pay
$122,923
Overtime
$41,419
Other pay
$250
Benefits
$0
Total compensation
$164,591
Employment type
Full-Time
Union / bargaining unit
R10
Work county
Sacramento
Middle name
S

Source-specific fields

Base Pay
$10,732
Cs/csu
Cs
Position Number
8109310765003
Salary Total
$10,356
Total Pay
$164,591

At Toxic Substances Control, Patricia Cortez serves as a Senior Environmental Scientist(Specialist). They work full-time. Their 2025 pay totaled $164,591. Union affiliation: R10.