Senior Ecologist Salary in the United States

How much does a Senior Ecologist make in the United States?

As of May 01, 2026, the average salary for a Senior Ecologist in the United States is $84,287 per year, which breaks down to an hourly rate of $41.

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

  • Top Earners (90th percentile): $102,100
  • Majority Range (25th-75th percentile): $76,429 to $93,611
  • Entry-Level (10th percentile): $69,274
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View as table View as graph 25% $76,429 10% $69,274 90% $102,100 75% $93,611 $84,287 50%(Median) Didn’t find job title? Click

Senior Ecologist Salaries by Percentile

Annual
Salary
Monthly
Pay
Weekly
Pay
Hourly
Wage
75th Percentile $93,611 $7,801 $1,800 $45
Average $84,287 $7,024 $1,621 $41
25th Percentile $76,429 $6,369 $1,470 $37
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Key Factors That Influence Senior Ecologist Salaries

A Senior Ecologist'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 Senior Ecologist Salaries?

Experience is a primary driver of a Senior Ecologist'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): $57,963
  • Early Career (1-2 years): $66,966
  • Mid-Level (2-4 years): $83,601
  • Senior-Level (5-8 years): $121,064
  • Expert (over 8 years): $137,279
Levels Salary
Biologist... Level Senior Ecologist$57,963
Biologist... Level Senior Ecologist$66,966
Senior Ec... Level Senior Ecologist$83,601
Biologist... Level Senior Ecologist$121,064
Biologist... Level Senior Ecologist$137,279
$57,963 0 yr
$66,966 < 2 yrs
$83,601 2-4 yrs
$121,064 5-8 yrs
$137,279 > 8 yrs
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What Am I Worth?

How Do Senior Ecologist 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 Senior Ecologists. For example, consider the average annual salaries in these key locations:

  • District of Columbia: $93,322.
  • California: $92,968.
  • Massachusetts: $91,729.

Top Paying Cities for Senior Ecologists

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: $106,311
  • San Francisco: $105,147
  • Oakland: $102,931

What Skills Can Increase a Senior Ecologist's Salary?

Demanded Skills for the Role:

  • Analysis (Mentioned in 11.94% Job Postings): Analysis is the process of considering something carefully or using statistical methods in order to understand it or explain it.
  • Microbiology (Mentioned in 2.56% Job Postings): Microbiology (from Greek μῑκρος, mīkros, "small"; βίος, bios, "life"; and -λογία, -logia) is the study of microorganisms, those being unicellular (single cell), multicellular (cell colony), or acellular (lacking cells). Microbiology encompasses numerous sub-disciplines including virology, parasitology, mycology and bacteriology. Eukaryotic microorganisms possess membrane-bound cell organelles and include fungi and protists, whereas prokaryotic organisms—all of which are microorganisms—are conventionally classified as lacking membrane-bound organelles and include Bacteria and Archaea. Microbiologists traditionally relied on culture, staining, and microscopy. However, less than 1% of the microorganisms present in common environments can be cultured in isolation using current means. Microbiologists often rely on molecular biology tools such as DNA sequence based identification, for example 16s rRNA gene sequence used for bacteria identification.
  • Data Analysis (Mentioned in 1.94% 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.
See More Skills
Skills Demand Percentage
Analysis 11.94%
Microbiology 2.56%
Data Analysis 1.94%
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 Senior Ecologist's salary.
  • Cell Biology: Can increase your salary by up to 20%.
  • Immunology: Can increase your salary by up to 15%.
  • Innovation: Can increase your salary by up to 14%.
Skill Salary Salary % Increase
Cell Biology
$101,144
20%
Immunology
$96,929
15%
Innovation
$96,087
14%
Collaboration
$95,244
13%
Cell Culture
$94,401
12%
Biochemistry
$94,401
12%
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How Education impacts a Senior Ecologist's Salary?

Your level of education can impact your salary potential. While many Senior Ecologists enter the field with a Master's Degree or MBA 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 Senior Ecologist with a Master's Degree or MBA is between $80,488 and $87,513).

Senior Ecologist Salaries by Degree Level

Typical Education for Senior Ecologist
Degree Level % of user with this level of education
No Diploma 0.9%
High School 18.4%
Associates 0.9%
Bachelors 18.4%
Masters 44.3%
Doctorate 36.3%
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Senior Ecologist Salary: Hourly Rate, Weekly Pay, and Monthly Pay

Understanding how a Senior Ecologist'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 May 01, 2026

Salary Trends for Senior Ecologist

Salaries for a Senior Ecologist can change over time, reflecting shifts in market demand and the overall economy. The median salary decreased from $83,417 in 2023 to around $81,294 in 2025, reflecting changes in demand, location, experience, and the wider economy. For a detailed analysis of Senior Ecologist salary trends, .

Average Annual Salary of Senior Ecologist Over Time

2022
$???
2023
$83,417
2024
$82,649
2025
$81,294
2026
$???
2027
$???
Year Average Annual Salary
2022
View More
2023 $83,417
2024 $82,649
2025 $81,294
2026
View More
2027
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Most common benefits for Senior Ecologist

Social Security
401(k)
Disability
Healthcare
Pension
Time Off (days)
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Common company salaries for Senior Ecologist

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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.)

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