Conservation Scientists Salary — Richmond, Virginia

The average Conservation Scientists in Richmond, Virginia earns $77,390 a year.

$77,390 / year, mean
↓ 1.5% below national average 100th percentile in Virginia

Richmond sits at the very top of the range for this role in Virginia — among the highest-paying cities in the state for this occupation. That's close to the national average for conservation scientists — a fairly typical rate for this role. Cost of living here is close to the national average — not a major factor either way. This is a reasonably reliable estimate, though the underlying sample is moderate in size.

Percentile within Virginia

0th 50th 100th
Employment (this metro)
60
Estimate confidence
RSE 9.9%
Cost of living 98 #76 most expensive of 188 cities in this dataset 100 = U.S. average · Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024
Crime index 1524 #67 safest of 188 cities in this dataset Per 100k residents · Source: FBI Crime Data Explorer
Median home value $397,705 #53 priciest of 188 cities in this dataset Source: zillow_real
Median household income $84,405 #39 highest of 188 cities in this dataset Source: Census Bureau ACS 5-year

Combining these four figures gives a fuller picture than salary alone: Richmond ranks #76 for cost of living and #53 for home prices among the 188 cities in this pilot dataset, which matters as much as the headline salary number when comparing where to live.

San Jose $118,820 Springfield $105,360 San Francisco $99,130 Portland $97,290 Santa Cruz $96,480 Salem $93,780 Sacramento $92,500 Seattle $92,380 Trenton $90,470 Corvallis $89,970 Bend $88,510 Salinas $88,500 Santa Maria $88,130 Baltimore $86,680 San Diego $85,940 Santa Rosa $85,840 Oxnard $85,140 Charleston $83,560 Ann Arbor $82,790 Champaign $82,690 Medford $81,430 Lubbock $80,980 Olympia $80,210 Riverside $80,140 Los Angeles $80,060 Lansing $79,110 Bellingham $79,080 Mount Vernon $78,800 Fresno $77,450 San Luis Obispo $77,420 Richmond $77,390 Yakima $77,070 Blacksburg $74,980 Spokane $74,980 Bremerton $74,550 New York $74,430 Tampa $72,940 Gainesville $72,900 Grand Rapids $71,350 Austin $70,780 Virginia Beach $70,680 Tyler $70,640 Syracuse $70,430 Dallas $70,290 Orlando $69,220 Sarasota $68,490 Amarillo $68,180 San Antonio $67,510 Beaumont $67,420 Waco $67,240 Brownsville $67,190 Indianapolis $65,790 Allentown $65,440 Eugene $65,410 Chicago $65,170 Detroit $64,300 Houston $63,600 Rochester $63,480 Scranton $61,950 Philadelphia $61,450 Reading $61,100 Miami $60,510 Jacksonville $60,340 Lancaster $58,940 Port St. Lucie $58,840 Pittsburgh $58,470 Tallahassee $55,330
CityMean salaryvs. Richmond
Allentown, Pennsylvania$65,440-15.4%
Amarillo, Texas$68,180-11.9%
Ann Arbor, Michigan$82,790+7.0%
Austin, Texas$70,780-8.5%
Baltimore, Maryland$86,680+12.0%
Beaumont, Texas$67,420-12.9%
Bellingham, Washington$79,080+2.2%
Bend, Oregon$88,510+14.4%
Blacksburg, Virginia$74,980-3.1%
Bremerton, Washington$74,550-3.7%
Brownsville, Texas$67,190-13.2%
Champaign, Illinois$82,690+6.8%
Charleston, West Virginia$83,560+8.0%
Chicago, Illinois$65,170-15.8%
Corvallis, Oregon$89,970+16.3%
Dallas, Texas$70,290-9.2%
Detroit, Michigan$64,300-16.9%
Eugene, Oregon$65,410-15.5%
Fresno, California$77,450+0.1%
Gainesville, Florida$72,900-5.8%
Grand Rapids, Michigan$71,350-7.8%
Houston, Texas$63,600-17.8%
Indianapolis, Indiana$65,790-15.0%
Jacksonville, Florida$60,340-22.0%
Lancaster, Pennsylvania$58,940-23.8%
Lansing, Michigan$79,110+2.2%
Los Angeles, California$80,060+3.5%
Lubbock, Texas$80,980+4.6%
Medford, Oregon$81,430+5.2%
Miami, Florida$60,510-21.8%
Mount Vernon, Washington$78,800+1.8%
New York, New York$74,430-3.8%
Sarasota, Florida$68,490-11.5%
Olympia, Washington$80,210+3.6%
Orlando, Florida$69,220-10.6%
Oxnard, California$85,140+10.0%
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania$61,450-20.6%
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania$58,470-24.4%
Portland, Oregon$97,290+25.7%
Port St. Lucie, Florida$58,840-24.0%
Reading, Pennsylvania$61,100-21.0%
Riverside, California$80,140+3.6%
Rochester, New York$63,480-18.0%
Sacramento, California$92,500+19.5%
Salem, Oregon$93,780+21.2%
Salinas, California$88,500+14.4%
San Antonio, Texas$67,510-12.8%
San Diego, California$85,940+11.0%
San Francisco, California$99,130+28.1%
San Jose, California$118,820+53.5%
San Luis Obispo, California$77,420+0.0%
Santa Cruz, California$96,480+24.7%
Santa Maria, California$88,130+13.9%
Santa Rosa, California$85,840+10.9%
Scranton, Pennsylvania$61,950-20.0%
Seattle, Washington$92,380+19.4%
Spokane, Washington$74,980-3.1%
Springfield, Illinois$105,360+36.1%
Syracuse, New York$70,430-9.0%
Tallahassee, Florida$55,330-28.5%
Tampa, Florida$72,940-5.8%
Trenton, New Jersey$90,470+16.9%
Tyler, Texas$70,640-8.7%
Virginia Beach, Virginia$70,680-8.7%
Waco, Texas$67,240-13.1%
Yakima, Washington$77,070-0.4%
Gross salary
77,390/yr
Estimated take-home
59,638/yr
Est. total withheld
22.9%

Single filer, federal + Virginia state tax + FICA, 2025 rates. Does not include state-specific payroll withholdings beyond income tax (see Data transparency). Not tax advice — verify with a professional for your specific situation.

Data transparency

Sources used for this page

Official occupation and area metadata behind the visible salary, cost, housing and safety signals.

Occupation 19-1031 SOC code
Official area Richmond, VA BLS metro/geographic area
Area code 40060 Stable geographic key
Reference year 2025 BLS OEWS
Cost: bea_realHousing: zillow_realCrime: latest availableNet-pay source: va_tax_verificado 2025
No additional caveats are attached to this row.
Methodology

How this page is built

The salary figure is the mean annual wage reported by the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program for this occupation and metro area. Percentile and national-average comparisons are calculated directly from the 188 cities currently in this dataset, not from a fixed external benchmark. Cost of living, crime and housing figures come from BEA, FBI and Zillow respectively — see "Data transparency" above for the exact sources and reference years used on this specific page.

Confidence: the RSE (relative standard error) shown under Overview indicates how reliable the salary estimate is for this metro — a lower RSE means a larger underlying sample.