Chemists Salary

It’s a stretch — at the median salary of $86K, rent takes 57.9% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $3,124/month. The 30% guideline puts the comfortable ceiling at roughly $1,600/month in rent — so roommates or a 1-bedroom would ease the math significantly.

The 10th-percentile wage — what new chemists typically earn — is $60K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $3,602/month. At HUD’s $3,124/month FMR, rent would take 87% of that take-home — above the 30% guideline, so a 1-bedroom or shared housing is likely necessary starting out.

Pay here is roughly in line with the national average — $86K locally vs. $91K nationally, a 6% difference.

Santa Maria-Santa Barbara pays $86K median vs. the U.S. average of $91K — that’s -6%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 108.8), the purchasing-power equivalent is $79K — below the national median.

The median is $85,930 a year, that works out to about $41 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $60,030, and experienced chemists can clear $145,620. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.

On that salary, you'd take home roughly $5,392/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $3,124/month, which eats 57.9% of your paycheck. That's above the 30% rule of thumb, housing will be a stretch at the median salary, though you can manage with roommates or a smaller place.

Santa Maria-Santa Barbara has a Regional Price Parity of 108.8 (100 is the national average). Prices are above average here, so your dollar buys less than the same salary would in a cheaper metro. After cost-of-living adjustment, the median chemists salary is worth about $78,980 in national-average purchasing power.

The table above ranks every state by median pay for this role. Keep in mind that the highest-paying states tend to have the highest costs of living, so the top salary doesn't always mean the most money in your pocket.