Two marine biologists can do similar work and earn very different salaries, sometimes tens of thousands of dollars apart. If you’re weighing a career change, you’ll want a realistic sense of where your own marine biologist salary would land and what moves it up from there.
Three things decide most of it: who employs you, which state you work in, and how far you take your education. Hiring grows slowly in this field, so it helps to know where the better-paying roles are before you start.
Unity Environmental University’s Bachelor of Science in Marine Biology and Sustainable Aquaculture lets you build a science foundation through remote learning while you keep your paycheck.
How Much Do Marine Biologists Make?
Marine biologists earned a median salary of $76,780 in May 2025, or about $36.91 an hour, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Federal data groups marine biologists with zoologists and wildlife biologists, so these figures cover the whole group.
Here’s how pay spreads across the occupation:
- Bottom 10%: less than $49,100 a year
- Middle 50%: $61,180 to $96,100 a year
- Median: $76,780 a year
- Top 10%: more than $126,440 a year
That’s a spread of more than $77,000 inside a single occupation. Who you work for, and where, goes a long way toward explaining it.
Marine Biologist Salary by Employer Type
Government agencies employ about two-thirds of the people in this occupation, but they don’t pay the most. Private employers pay the highest medians, led by consulting firms that study how coastal construction and offshore energy projects affect marine life.
Median pay across the five largest employer types shows how much the setting matters:
| Employer | Median Pay, May 2025 |
| Consulting firms | $84,570 |
| Research and development labs | $84,110 |
| Government agencies | $78,650 |
| State colleges and universities | $78,630 |
| Conservation and advocacy nonprofits | $56,700 |
The nonprofit row stands out. Conservation and advocacy groups pay nearly $28,000 less than consulting firms at the median, a gap worth weighing if nonprofit work is what draws you to the field.
The government figure also blends very different employers. In BLS wage data for this occupation, federal agencies paid an average of $101,300, well above the occupation’s overall average of $83,020. State agencies employ more than twice as many of these biologists and pay less on average. If you picture yourself as a state fisheries biologist, base your pay expectations on what your state agency pays, since the federal figure will run high.
Where the Highest-Paying Marine Biology Jobs Sit
The highest-paying marine biology jobs share two things. The first is the employer: engineering and consulting firms, federal agencies, and research labs pay this occupation the most on average. The second is senior responsibility, such as running a monitoring program or leading a project team.
That second piece often depends on education. Leading independent research typically calls for a PhD, which helps explain why the largest salaries in this field tend to come later in a career.
Marine Biologist Starting Salary and How Pay Grows
Most people start near the bottom of the pay range. Many first jobs carry a technician title, and biological technicians had a median wage of $57,510 in May 2025. A realistic marine biologist starting salary falls somewhere between $49,000 and $57,500, depending on the employer.
Education does much of the work in moving you up from there:
- Bachelor’s degree: The typical entry requirement for this occupation. Paired with the field experience employers look for, it can qualify you for field survey and monitoring roles.
- Master’s degree: Often expected for higher-level positions that involve designing studies or managing programs. In a survey by the Occupational Information Network (O*NET), about 28% of workers in this occupation said new hires need a master’s. For some, that means continuing into a master’s in marine conservation biology.
- PhD: The credential behind most lead-investigator positions, usually in research roles at universities and federal labs.
None of these steps has to happen at once. You can work with a bachelor’s degree first and decide later whether graduate school is worth the time and cost.
Marine Biologist Pay by State
Where you work can move your pay by a wide margin, and the states with the most jobs aren’t always the ones that pay the most. In BLS state wage data for May 2025, only California appears on both lists:
| Most Jobs | Jobs | Highest Average Pay | Average Pay |
| California | 2,210 | District of Columbia | $117,980 |
| Washington | 1,840 | California | $111,800 |
| Florida | 1,400 | Maryland | $104,320 |
| Oregon | 1,010 | Mississippi | $93,740 |
| Colorado | 730 | Hawaii | $92,250 |
The marine biologist salary in Florida shows the gap. Florida has the third-largest number of these jobs in the country but doesn’t rank among the five top-paying states. Washington is a different story in one area: the Seattle metro employs more of these biologists than any other metro in the country, and they averaged $105,140. Before you relocate for a job, weigh the offer against what it costs to live there.
None of that has to be settled before you start school. Unity’s marine biology program runs through Distance Education, so you can finish the degree from home and choose a state once you know which jobs you’re after.
Marine Biologist Job Outlook Through 2035
BLS projects 4% employment growth for this occupation from 2025 to 2035, about the same pace as the 3% average across all occupations. That works out to roughly 700 new jobs on a base of 19,500, which makes the job outlook for marine biology steady but modest.
Most of the roughly 1,400 openings projected each year will come from people retiring or changing fields. In practice, that means you’ll mostly be competing for existing seats as they open up.
Funding is the other variable. Much of the money for this work comes from government budgets, so hiring can tighten even while research on biodiversity and changing ecosystems stays in demand.
That’s a good reason to build skills that also carry into consulting and private research, such as data analysis, geographic information systems (GIS), and environmental impact assessment. Many of the same skills lead into other ocean careers, which helps if biologist openings near you are scarce.
Do Marine Biologists Make Good Money?
By national standards, yes. The $76,780 median is about 50% higher than the $50,980 median for all U.S. workers. Within the sciences, the picture is more modest: life scientists as a group came in at a median of $96,310.
Whether it’s good money for you depends on what you’d be leaving behind. Three questions help settle it:
- How does your current salary compare with the entry-level range, and could you manage the gap for the first few years?
- Which employer type would you aim for, and does that sector pay above or below the median?
- Would a graduate degree fit your timeline and budget if the roles you want require one?
Pay is only half the trade. The other half is the day-to-day work and the equipment you’d use, which matters just as much when you’re deciding whether to commit.
Start Building Toward a Marine Biologist Salary at Unity
A state agency, a consulting firm, and a federal lab all hire from the same starting point: a bachelor’s degree in the sciences. Building that foundation now keeps all three options open.
Unity Environmental University’s BS in Marine Biology and Sustainable Aquaculture is a 120-credit remote learning program with courses such as Ichthyology, Fish Health, and Field Research in Marine Biology and Aquaculture. Earlier coursework can go a long way here, since up to 90 transfer credits can count toward the degree. Terms start eight times a year, and tuition rates are locked through 2030.
Request information for a look at your transfer credits and earliest start date, or get started on your enrollment today.
Marine Biology Salary FAQs
What Is the Average Marine Scientist Salary?
Marine scientist isn’t its own category in federal labor data, so there’s no single figure for it. Many ocean-focused scientists work as environmental scientists and specialists, an occupation that earned a median of $82,220 in May 2025. Oceanographers fall under a separate geoscience category with its own pay data.
How Much Do Marine Biologists Make per Month?
About $6,400 a month before taxes, based on the $76,780 median annual salary for full-time work. The gap between the bottom and top 10% of earners is more than $6,000 a month, which is why employer and state matter so much.
Do Marine Biologists and Wildlife Biologists Earn the Same?
On paper, yes, since federal data groups them into one occupation.The real differences come down to the employer and location. A biologist at a coastal consulting firm and one at an inland state agency can earn very different amounts doing similar fieldwork.
Where Are Marine Biology Jobs Posted?
Federal positions, including those with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, are posted on USAJOBS. State fish and wildlife agencies list openings on their own career sites, and most consulting firms and aquariums usually post directly.
