Visiting Researcher Salary in the United States

How much does a Visiting Researcher make in the United States?

As of September 01, 2026, the average salary for a Visiting Researcher in the United States is $55,814 per year, which breaks down to an hourly rate of $27.

However, a Visiting Researcher's salary can vary significantly. Here’s a look at the typical salary range:

  • Top Earners (90th percentile): $68,681
  • Majority Range (25th-75th percentile): $47,251 to $62,549
  • Entry-Level (10th percentile): $39,455

Key Factors That Influence Visiting Researcher Salaries

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

How Do Visiting Researcher 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 Visiting Researchers. For example, consider the average annual salaries in these key locations:
  • District of Columbia: $61,797.
  • California: $61,562.
  • Massachusetts: $60,742.

Top Paying Cities for Visiting Researchers

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: $70,398
  • San Francisco: $69,627
  • Oakland: $68,160

What Skills Can Increase a Visiting Researcher's Salary?

Demanded Skills for the Role:

  • Analysis (Mentioned in 12.21% Job Postings): Analysis is the process of considering something carefully or using statistical methods in order to understand it or explain it.
  • Data Analysis (Mentioned in 2.9% Job Postings): Data analysis is a process of inspecting, cleansing, transforming, and modeling data with the goal of discovering useful information, informing conclusions, and supporting decision-making. Data analysis has multiple facets and approaches, encompassing diverse techniques under a variety of names, and is used in different business, science, and social science domains. In today's business world, data analysis plays a role in making decisions more scientific and helping businesses operate more effectively. Data mining is a particular data analysis technique that focuses on modeling and knowledge discovery for predictive rather than purely descriptive purposes, while business intelligence covers data analysis that relies heavily on aggregation, focusing mainly on business information. In statistical applications, data analysis can be divided into descriptive statistics, exploratory data analysis (EDA), and confirmatory data analysis (CDA). EDA focuses on discovering new features in the data while CDA focuses on confirming or falsifying existing hypotheses. Predictive analytics focuses on application of statistical models for predictive forecasting or classification, while text analytics applies statistical, linguistic, and structural techniques to extract and classify information from textual sources, a species of unstructured data. All of the above are varieties of data analysis.
  • Financial Services (Mentioned in 1.78% Job Postings): A services provided by the finance industry, which encompasses a broad range of businesses that manage money. These services involve banking, brokerage, mortgages, credit cards, payment services, real estate, investment funds, taxes and accounting.
Skills Demand Percentage
Analysis 12.21%
Data Analysis 2.9%
Financial Services 1.78%

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 Visiting Researcher's salary.

  • Cell Biology: Can increase your salary by up to 25%.
  • Cell Culture: Can increase your salary by up to 24%.
  • Immunology: Can increase your salary by up to 21%.
Skill Salary Salary % Increase
Cell Biology $69,767
25%
Cell Culture $69,209
24%
Immunology $67,534
21%

Visiting Researcher Salary by Industry: Top Paying Sectors

For Visiting Researcher roles, the industry you choose can affect earning potential by as much as 55% (the gap between the highest and lowest paying industries). Data shows that the Financial Services and Internet sectors offer the strongest compensation, at 25% above the average. In contrast, Visiting Researcher positions in Edu., Gov't. & Nonprofit or Hospitality & Leisure typically offer lower base pay, as these industries often view Visiting Researcher as a support function rather than a direct revenue driver.

The top paying industries for a Visiting Researcher

Industry Sector Average Annual Salary Average Hourly Rate Pay vs.Avg
Financial Services$69,767$34.025%
Internet$69,767$34.025%
Software & Networking$69,767$34.025%
Biotechnology$66,976$32.020%
Healthcare$64,186$31.015%

How Education impacts a Visiting Researcher's Salary?

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

According to our 100% employer-reported salary data, the median salary for a Visiting Researcher with a Bachelor's Degree is between $59,152 and $63,325).

Visiting Researcher Salaries by Degree Level

Typical Education for Visiting Researcher
Degree Level % of user with this level of education
No Diploma 0.3%
High School 0.9%
Associates 0.7%
Bachelors 41.3%
Masters 37.5%
Doctorate 19.4%

Visiting Researcher Salary: Hourly Rate, Weekly Pay, and Monthly Pay

Understanding how a Visiting Researcher'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
$47,251
Average $55,814/year
$62,549
$3,938
Average $4,651/month
$5,212
$909
Average $1,073/week
$1,203
$23
Average $27/hour
$30
Annual Salary Monthly Pay Weekly Pay Hourly Wage
75th Percentile $62,549 $5,212 $1,203 $30
Average $55,814 $4,651 $1,073 $27
25th Percentile $47,251 $3,938 $909 $23

Most common benefits for Visiting Researcher

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

Common company salaries for Visiting Researcher

Here are companies hiring for Visiting Researcher and their salaries, click below for more details.

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FAQ about Visiting Researcher

1. What industry pays the highest salary for Visiting Researcher?

The Financial Services industry offers the highest average compensation for Visiting Researcher roles, with salaries approximately 25% above the market median.

Where Does Our Salary Data Come From?

Salary.com provides salary estimates, histograms, trends, and comparisons using data from employer job postings and third-party sources.

We offer detailed salary information across multiple percentiles for your reference. (Click here to learn Why the Salary Midpoint Formula Is Crucial for Achieving Pay Equity.)

With the most extensive online, real-time compensation data available, Salary.com helps you pinpoint your exact pay target.

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