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Hourly Wage for Clinical Ethicist Salary in the United States

What is the hourly salary range of Clinical Ethicist?

As of September 01, 2026, the average hourly rate for a Clinical Ethicist in the United States is $56, which translates to an annual salary of about $115,612.

However, the hourly wage can vary significantly based on several factors. Here’s a detailed look at the typical pay range per hour:

  • Top Earners (90th percentile): $61 per hour
  • Majority Range (25th-75th percentile): $52 to $58 per hour
  • Entry-Level (10th percentile): $49 per hour
Salary Factors Salary-Boosting Skills Salary by Experience Related Job Salaries Top Paying Cities Explore Related Jobs

Key Factors That Influence Clinical Ethicist Salaries

A Clinical Ethicist's salary isn't a fixed number. It's shaped by several important factors. Below, we'll explore how your years of experience, geographic location, education and company size can directly affect your earning potential.

How Experience Level Affects Clinical Ethicist Salaries?

Experience is a primary driver of a Clinical Ethicist's salary. As you build your skills and take on more complex tasks, your compensation generally increases. Here's how the average salary grows at different career stages:

  • Entry-Level (less than 1 year): $113,102
  • Early Career (1-2 years): $113,330
  • Mid-Level (2-4 years): $114,243
  • Senior-Level (5-8 years): $115,612
  • Expert (over 8 years): $117,472
Levels Salary
Entry Level Clinical Ethicist$113,102
Intermediate Level Clinical Ethicist$113,330
Senior Level Clinical Ethicist$114,243
Specialist Level Clinical Ethicist$115,612
Expert Level Clinical Ethicist$117,472
View as Graph

How Do Clinical Ethicist Salaries Vary from State to State?

Your salary can change significantly depending on where you work. States with a higher cost of living and strong industrial sectors often pay more to attract Clinical Ethicists. For example, consider the average annual salaries in these key locations:
  • District of Columbia: $128,006.
  • California: $127,520.
  • Massachusetts: $125,821.

Top Paying Cities for Clinical Ethicists

Salaries can also vary between different cities. Major metropolitan areas or cities with a high demand for technicians often offer more competitive pay. Here are a few examples of average annual salaries in different U.S. cities:

  • San Jose: $145,821
  • San Francisco: $144,225
  • Oakland: $141,185

What Skills Can Increase a Clinical Ethicist's Salary?

Demanded Skills for the Role:

  • Initiative (Mentioned in 7.25% Job Postings): Taking decisive action and initiating plans independently to address problems, improve professional life, and achieve goals.
  • Spiritual Care (Mentioned in 4.35% Job Postings): Spiritual care attends to a person's spiritual or religious needs as he or she copes with illness, loss, grief or pain and can help him or her heal emotionally as well as physically.
  • Clinical Practice (Mentioned in 1.45% Job Postings): Clinical practice is defined as a model of practice that involves those activities with and on behalf of clients, especially those activities completed in the client's presence and with the client's collaboration.
Skills Demand Percentage
Initiative 7.25%
Spiritual Care 4.35%
Clinical Practice 1.45%
See More Skills

What skills can make your compensation higher?

Mastering certain specialized skills can lead to a significant increase in pay. Here are examples of skills and the potential impact they can have on a Clinical Ethicist's salary.

  • Clinical Care: Can increase your salary by up to 43%.
  • Spiritual Care: Can increase your salary by up to 32%.
  • Pediatric: Can increase your salary by up to 30%.
Skill Salary Salary % Increase
Clinical Care $165,325
43%
Spiritual Care $152,608
32%
Pediatric $150,296
30%
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Clinical Ethicist Salary by Company Size: Startups vs. Enterprise

Clinical Ethicist salary potential scales significantly with company size. Data shows that Enterprise companies (5,000+ employees) pay the highest average salary at around $129,977. While startup companies pay approximate $110,360.

Clinical Ethicist Salary by Company Size

Company Size Employees Average Salary
Startup 1~50 $110,360
Growth Stage 51~500 $116,605
Established 501~5000 $125,613
Enterprise 5000+ $129,977

Clinical Ethicist Salary by Industry: Top Paying Sectors

For Clinical Ethicist roles, the industry you choose can affect earning potential by as much as 100% (the gap between the highest and lowest paying industries). Data shows that the Healthcare and Biotechnology sectors offer the strongest compensation, at 40% above the average. In contrast, Clinical Ethicist positions in Pharmaceuticals or Edu., Gov't. & Nonprofit typically offer lower base pay, as these industries often view Clinical Ethicist as a support function rather than a direct revenue driver.

The top paying industries for a Clinical Ethicist

Industry Sector Average Annual Salary Average Hourly Rate Pay vs.Avg
Healthcare$161,857$78.040%
Biotechnology$150,296$72.030%

How Education impacts a Clinical Ethicist's Salary?

Your level of education can impact your salary potential. While many Clinical Ethicist enter the field with a Bachelor's Degree, higher education can lead to more specialized and higher-paying roles.

According to our 100% employer-reported salary data, the median salary for an Clinical Ethicist with a Bachelor's Degree is between $0 and $0.

Clinical Ethicist Salaries by Degree Level

Typical Education for Clinical Ethicist
Degree Level % of user with this level of education
No Diploma 50.0%
High School 50.0%
Associates 0.0%
Bachelors 0.0%
Masters 50.0%
Doctorate 50.0%
View as Graph

Clinical Ethicist Salary: Hourly Rate, Weekly Pay, and Monthly Pay

Understanding how a Clinical Ethicist's annual salary breaks down can help with budgeting. Below, you can see the average hourly rate, weekly pay, and monthly pay for this role. Use the buttons to switch between different pay periods.

Last Updated on September 01, 2026
$107,968
Average $115,612/year
$121,277
$8,997
Average $9,634/month
$10,106
$2,076
Average $2,223/week
$2,332
$52
Average $56/hour
$58
Annual Salary Monthly Pay Weekly Pay Hourly Wage
75th Percentile $121,277 $10,106 $2,332 $58
Average $115,612 $9,634 $2,223 $56
25th Percentile $107,968 $8,997 $2,076 $52

Most common benefits for Clinical Ethicist

  • Social Security
  • 401 (k)
  • Disability
  • Healthcare
  • Pension
  • Time Off (days)

Common company salaries for Clinical Ethicist

Here are companies hiring for Clinical Ethicist and their salaries, click below for more details.

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FAQ about Clinical Ethicist

1. What are the responsibilities of Clinical Ethicist?

Offers guidance to patients, their families, and professional staff on ethical, legal and policy issues and concerns stemming from clinical interactions between health care professionals and patients. Provides guidance to the institutional ethics committee pertaining to policy formulation and educational and case review activities. Develops institutional policies concerning ethical issues such as "do-not-resuscitate" and "withdrawal of life-support". Requires a master's degree or doctorate related to health ethics. Typically reports to a manager or head of a unit/department. Typically requires 4 to 7 years of related experience. Contributes to moderately complex aspects of a project. Work is generally independent and collaborative in nature.

2. What are the skills of Clinical Ethicist

Specify the abilities and skills that a person needs in order to carry out the specified job duties. Each competency has five to ten behavioral assertions that can be observed, each with a corresponding performance level (from one to five) that is required for a particular job.

1.)

Initiative: Taking decisive action and initiating plans independently to address problems, improve professional life, and achieve goals.

2.)

Spiritual Care: Spiritual care attends to a person's spiritual or religious needs as he or she copes with illness, loss, grief or pain and can help him or her heal emotionally as well as physically.

3.)

Clinical Practice: Clinical practice is defined as a model of practice that involves those activities with and on behalf of clients, especially those activities completed in the client's presence and with the client's collaboration.

Where Does Our Salary Data Come From?

Salary.com salary estimates, histograms, trends, and comparisons are derived from both employer job postings and third-party data sources. We also provide multiple percentiles of salary information for your reference, click here to know Why the Salary Midpoint Formula Is Crucial to Getting Pay Equity Right. With more online, real-time compensation data than any other website, Salary.com helps you determine your exact pay target.

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