Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations

Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and Geographers Salary in the United States

DOL-verified data from 4,167 government filings, with BLS survey comparison.

DOL Median Salary
$92,120
BLS median: $99,240
DOL Median Salary
$92,120
From 4,167 DOL filings
BLS Median Salary
$99,240
BLS OEWS 2024 survey
Total Employers
657
Companies with DOL filings
Total Employment
22,510
Estimated US workers (BLS)

DOL Filings vs BLS Survey

What Employers File with DOL

$92,120
DOL-Filed Salary Range
$33,966$69,276$92,120$124,862$481,500

This figure comes from 4,167 employer filings with the US Department of Labor under legal obligation. Employers file this salary when sponsoring workers for PERM green cards or H-1B visas.

What BLS Says the Market Pays

$99,240
BLS Survey Salary Range
$58,790$72,440$99,240$134,350$178,880

This figure comes from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey of 22,510 establishments. This is an independent survey-based estimate of what all workers in this occupation earn.

DOL-filed salaries are 7.2% lower than BLS survey data, which may reflect that sponsored positions concentrate in high-cost locations or experience-intensive roles.

Salary Distribution

Top Paying Employers for Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and Geographers

Ranked by median salary from DOL filings
RankEmployerMedian SalaryFilingsvs Market
1Kosmos Energy LLC$279,00010+181.1%
2ELLINGTON & ASSOCIATES, INC.$234,00012+135.8%
3Murphy Exploration & Production Company USA$224,40012+126.1%
4Shell US Hosting Company$211,4005+113%
5SUN VALLEY GOLD LLC$208,0005+109.6%
6TALISMAN ENERGY USA INC.$187,8447+89.3%
7Newcrest Resources Inc.$182,5008+83.9%
8MURPHY EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION COMPANY$176,37110+77.7%
9California Resources Corporation$166,00019+67.3%
10STATOIL GULF SERVICES LLC$164,73720+66%
11SOUTHWESTERN ENERGY$158,7305+60%
12Hess Corporation$157,74728+59%
13TOTAL EP AMERICAS, LLC$156,4067+57.6%
14DeGolyer and MacNaughton Corporation$156,0006+57.2%
15Broken Hill Proprietary (USA), Inc.$154,89854+56.1%
16Apache Corporation$152,0005+53.2%
17SHELL OIL COMPANY$144,20028+45.3%
18Pioneer Natural Resources USA, Inc.$141,6909+42.8%
19CIMAREX ENERGY CO.$137,7006+38.8%
20BEUSA ENERGY$136,0006+37%
21Exxon Mobil Corporation$135,47090+36.5%
22GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH EMPLOYMENT SERVICES, LLC$135,0005+36%
23Shell Exploration and Production Company$134,50083+35.5%
24Shell International Exploration and Production Inc$133,50031+34.5%
25MARATHON OIL COMPANY$130,56015+31.6%
26SW Tech Corporation$129,0007+30%
27Chevron Corporation$127,500165+28.5%
28ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company$126,40058+27.4%
29Shell International Exploration & Production Inc.$125,60012+26.6%
30Occidental Petroleum Corporation$125,00026+26%
31BP America Inc.$124,862285+25.8%
32IKON SCIENCE AMERICAS INC$124,7408+25.7%
33Anadarko Petroleum Corporation$124,12446+25.1%
34EOG Resources, Inc.$124,00021+25%
35QRI INTERNATIONAL, LLC$122,5228+23.5%
36ConocoPhillips Company$120,720111+21.6%
37EMGS AMERICAS$119,6468+20.6%
38LINN OPERATING, INC$119,0009+19.9%
39SIGMA CUBED INC.$118,00012+18.9%
40JAGUAR EXPLORATION INC$117,5917+18.5%
41AFREN USA, INC.$116,6005+17.5%
42Repsol Services Company$116,00010+16.9%
43Occidental Oil and Gas Corporation$115,00032+15.9%
44Aramco Services Company$114,85810+15.7%
45ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company$114,4505+15.3%
46ROCK SOLID IMAGES INC$111,10026+12%
47NOBLE ENERGY INC.$109,50030+10.3%
48Spectrum Geo$108,0005+8.8%
49TOTAL E&P USA, INC.$107,2007+8%
50Institute of Gas Technology$105,0007+5.8%

View all companies hiring Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and Geographers

Salary by Metro Area

Metro AreaMedianvs NationalFilingsEmployers
Bakersfield, CA$149,000+61.7%275
Spring, TX$131,900+43.2%222
Denver, CO$126,199+37%268
New Orleans, LA$125,000+35.7%224
The Woodlands, TX$120,350+30.6%427
Anchorage, AK$119,550+29.8%265
Houston, TX$119,000+29.2%1,175146
Oklahoma City, OK$118,078+28.2%2010
San Ramon, CA$114,450+24.2%161
DALLAS, TX$108,800+18.1%1611
Englewood, CO$101,000+9.6%105
Livermore, CA$95,735+3.9%102
Woods Hole, MA$89,568-2.8%102
Midland, TX$88,355-4.1%229
Los Alamos, NM$80,150-13%161
GREENBELT, MD$79,010-14.2%103
Lakewood, CO$76,150-17.3%127
Salt Lake City, UT$72,897-20.9%247
Palisades, NY$72,100-21.7%291
Reno, NV$70,640-23.3%167
BERKELEY, CA$69,276-24.8%1033
New York, NY$68,280-25.9%126
Cambridge, MA$68,148-26%405
Fairbanks, AK$68,037-26.1%142
Boston, MA$65,000-29.4%104
Los Angeles, CA$64,314-30.2%104
Tucson, AZ$63,484-31.1%103
Stanford, CA$62,869-31.8%143
Seattle, WA$62,400-32.3%153
PASADENA, CA$61,984-32.7%256

Salary by State

StateMedianvs NationalFilings
Oklahoma$121,160-5.5%28
Texas$114,858-26.1%1,430
Alaska$111,000+4.8%45
Arkansas$108,000+65.5%9
Colorado$101,800+1.9%86
Alabama$95,272+18.6%15
Idaho$83,536-7%10
Pennsylvania$82,500+4.6%15
North Dakota$80,621-11.2%5
Nevada$78,450-17.5%36
New Mexico$77,300-17.5%20
Hawaii$76,710-23.8%9
Illinois$75,000-12.2%29
Louisiana$75,000+3.7%36
California$74,080-33.5%306
Delaware$73,738-11.1%2
Utah$72,383-30.4%30
Nebraska$70,720-17.3%33
Massachusetts$69,071-30%76
South Carolina$68,600-10.4%1
New York$68,024-19.9%66
Rhode Island$66,072-48.7%7
Washington$65,874-34%24
Maryland$65,000-34.5%40
Kansas$64,834-15.8%1
District of Columbia$64,046N/A4
South Dakota$64,000-11.5%7
Arizona$63,900-23.6%33
Kentucky$63,050-8.6%2
Oregon$62,544-34.3%15
Wyoming$62,162-14.4%18
Tennessee$61,200-20.1%11
Florida$59,556-37.4%29
New Jersey$58,573-25.7%52
Connecticut$58,000-26.1%11
Mississippi$57,000-49.9%9
Ohio$56,267-23.1%20
New Hampshire$55,290-29.2%12
Wisconsin$53,821-33.2%8
Michigan$53,000-35.2%14
Minnesota$50,000-31%7
Virginia$50,000-46.9%12
North Carolina$50,000-37.3%15
Georgia$49,140-21.8%12
Indiana$48,485-38.9%19
Missouri$48,180-49.4%10
Iowa$45,760-37.4%1
Montana$45,427-46.3%1

Salary Trend - DOL Data

Education Requirements

From PERM filings

For Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and Geographers positions, 29% of PERM filings required a Bachelor's degree, 68% required a Master's degree, and 0% required no formal degree.

Education by Top Employer

Most common minimum education from PERM filings
EmployerMost Common EducationMedian Salary
BP America Inc.Bachelor's$124,862
Schlumberger Technology CorporationMaster's$93,001
Chevron CorporationMaster's$127,500
The University of Texas at AustinNot specified$60,000
Lawrence Berkeley National LaboratoryNot specified$68,496
ConocoPhillips CompanyMaster's$120,720
Exxon Mobil CorporationMaster's$135,470
Shell Exploration and Production CompanyMaster's$134,500
CGG Services (U.S.) Inc.Master's$88,220
ExxonMobil Upstream Research CompanyNot specified$126,400

Salary by Industry

Same occupation, different industries (NAICS)

The highest-paying industry for Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and Geographers is Mining, Quarrying, Oil and Gas at $129,918. The lowest-paying industry with significant hiring is Educational Services at $62,516.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does a Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and Geographers make?

Based on 4,167 DOL filings, the median salary for a Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and Geographers is $92,120, ranging from $69,276 to $124,862.

What is the highest salary for a Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and Geographers?

The 90th percentile salary is $178,880 according to BLS data.

Which city pays the most for Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and Geographers?

Based on DOL filings, Bakersfield, CA offers the highest median at $149,000.

Does this data include all Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and Geographers salaries or only visa-sponsored workers?

DOL filing data covers positions where the employer filed for PERM green card sponsorship or an H-1B visa. These filings represent a subset of all Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and Geographers positions. We compare this data against BLS OEWS data which covers all workers in this occupation.

Salary Check

Are you a Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and Geographers wondering if your salary is competitive?

Compare your pay against government-filed salary data for this role.

Job Search

Find Open Positions

Browse current openings and compare them against the government-filed salary data above.

Source: US Department of Labor, Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) public disclosure files (PERM Form ETA-9089 and LCA Form ETA-9035), and US Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS). Salary figures represent employer filings and government survey estimates, not individual worker pay.