Sacker compiled a list of the highest-paying science jobs in the Albuquerque, N.M. metro area using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Jobs are ranked by 2021 annual mean wage. Jobs the BLS lists as “life, physical, and social science occupations” were included.

#22. Forest and conservation technicians

Albuquerque, NM
– Annual mean salary: $41,890
– #112 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 140

National
– Annual mean salary: $43,420
– Employment: 30,440
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA ($68,370)
— Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH ($66,570)
— Corvallis, OR ($62,260)

#21. Biological technicians

Albuquerque, NM
– Annual mean salary: $43,070
– #143 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 110

National
– Annual mean salary: $51,770
– Employment: 76,150
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX ($69,050)
— Boulder, CO ($68,640)
— Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA ($65,940)

#20. Microbiologists

Albuquerque, NM
– Annual mean salary: $48,810
– #72 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 80

National
– Annual mean salary: $87,820
– Employment: 19,430
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Knoxville, TN ($125,380)
— Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH ($121,530)
— San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($115,340)

#19. Forensic science technicians

Albuquerque, NM
– Annual mean salary: $50,260
– #74 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 90

National
– Annual mean salary: $66,850
– Employment: 17,020
– Metros with highest average pay:
— San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($106,600)
— Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA ($96,980)
— San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($96,410)

#18. Chemical technicians

Albuquerque, NM
– Annual mean salary: $50,410
– #143 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 60

National
– Annual mean salary: $55,040
– Employment: 57,690
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Billings, MT ($86,340)
— Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV ($78,000)
— Baton Rouge, LA ($77,020)

#17. Environmental science and protection technicians, including health

Albuquerque, NM
– Annual mean salary: $56,260
– #26 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 110

National
– Annual mean salary: $50,550
– Employment: 34,110
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Kennewick-Richland, WA ($79,780)
— Huntsville, AL ($78,320)
— Birmingham-Hoover, AL ($76,970)

#16. Anthropologists and archeologists

Albuquerque, NM
– Annual mean salary: $56,510
– #39 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 90

National
– Annual mean salary: $66,800
– Employment: 6,650
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Anchorage, AK ($85,120)
— Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA ($84,300)
— Urban Honolulu, HI ($81,990)

#15. Urban and regional planners

Albuquerque, NM
– Annual mean salary: $61,960
– #193 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 130

National
– Annual mean salary: $81,310
– Employment: 38,940
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Boulder, CO ($119,680)
— San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($112,760)
— San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($112,740)

#14. School psychologists

Albuquerque, NM
– Annual mean salary: $71,730
– #158 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 200

National
– Annual mean salary: $82,770
– Employment: 57,110
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Boulder, CO ($116,280)
— El Centro, CA ($116,010)
— Fresno, CA ($115,360)

#13. Zoologists and wildlife biologists

Albuquerque, NM
– Annual mean salary: $73,800
– #35 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 40

National
– Annual mean salary: $70,300
– Employment: 15,930
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Barnstable Town, MA ($109,570)
— Gulfport-Biloxi-Pascagoula, MS ($106,800)
— Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV ($100,350)

#12. Medical scientists, except epidemiologists

Albuquerque, NM
– Annual mean salary: $76,340
– #118 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 210

National
– Annual mean salary: $104,050
– Employment: 108,550
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Memphis, TN-MS-AR ($176,770)
— Columbia, SC ($155,570)
— Danbury, CT ($151,970)

#11. Environmental scientists and specialists, including health

Albuquerque, NM
– Annual mean salary: $77,120
– #106 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 410

National
– Annual mean salary: $81,240
– Employment: 76,890
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Idaho Falls, ID ($116,630)
— San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($109,190)
— San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($107,710)

#10. Epidemiologists

Albuquerque, NM
– Annual mean salary: $78,570
– #29 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 40

National
– Annual mean salary: $86,740
– Employment: 8,180
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA ($145,410)
— New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA ($139,240)
— Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY ($124,460)

#9. Geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographers

Albuquerque, NM
– Annual mean salary: $79,800
– #78 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: data not available

National
– Annual mean salary: $103,550
– Employment: 23,620
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX ($161,290)
— Corpus Christi, TX ($156,870)
— Midland, TX ($156,270)

#8. Hydrologists

Albuquerque, NM
– Annual mean salary: $82,230
– #31 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 60

National
– Annual mean salary: $94,780
– Employment: 6,390
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA ($148,150)
— Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV ($136,920)
— San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($125,470)

#7. Conservation scientists

Albuquerque, NM
– Annual mean salary: $82,700
– #17 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 70

National
– Annual mean salary: $68,230
– Employment: 22,550
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Springfield, MA-CT ($108,670)
— Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI ($106,200)
— Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV ($101,900)

#6. Economists

Albuquerque, NM
– Annual mean salary: $84,520
– #50 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 30

National
– Annual mean salary: $120,830
– Employment: 15,640
– Metros with highest average pay:
— New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA ($162,870)
— San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($161,320)
— San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($156,360)

#5. Occupational health and safety specialists

Albuquerque, NM
– Annual mean salary: $84,580
– #64 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 320

National
– Annual mean salary: $78,740
– Employment: 106,340
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Kennewick-Richland, WA ($111,950)
— San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($108,240)
— San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($108,020)

#4. Chemists

Albuquerque, NM
– Annual mean salary: $85,940
– #74 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 150

National
– Annual mean salary: $89,130
– Employment: 80,600
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV ($131,290)
— Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT ($115,790)
— Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH ($108,330)

#3. Atmospheric and space scientists

Albuquerque, NM
– Annual mean salary: $91,780
– #34 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: data not available

National
– Annual mean salary: $96,880
– Employment: 8,520
– Metros with highest average pay:
— San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($118,860)
— Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH ($118,420)
— Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA ($114,860)

#2. Clinical and counseling psychologists

Albuquerque, NM
– Annual mean salary: $107,120
– #56 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 170

National
– Annual mean salary: $99,640
– Employment: 58,100
– Metros with highest average pay:
— San Diego-Carlsbad, CA ($136,630)
— San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($134,200)
— Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA ($133,060)

#1. Physicists

Albuquerque, NM
– Annual mean salary: $151,630
– #12 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 380

National
– Annual mean salary: $151,580
– Employment: 20,020
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD ($199,830)
— Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ ($195,300)
— Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX ($188,250)