Conservation Scientists Salary — Riverside, California

The average Conservation Scientists in Riverside, California earns $80,140 a year.

$80,140 / year, mean
↑ 2.0% above national average 31th percentile in California

Riverside pays below most of California for this role, though still within a normal range for the state. That's close to the national average for conservation scientists — a fairly typical rate for this role. Cost of living here is close to the national average — not a major factor either way. This is a high-confidence estimate, based on a large sample of reported wages.

Percentile within California

0th 50th 100th
Employment (this metro)
100
Estimate confidence
RSE 3.9%
Cost of living 106 #19 most expensive of 188 cities in this dataset 100 = U.S. average · Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024
Crime index 2124 #140 safest of 188 cities in this dataset Per 100k residents · Source: FBI Crime Data Explorer
Median home value $585,378 #18 priciest of 188 cities in this dataset Source: zillow_real
Median household income $86,031 #35 highest of 188 cities in this dataset Source: Census Bureau ACS 5-year

Combining these four figures gives a fuller picture than salary alone: Riverside ranks #19 for cost of living and #18 for home prices among the 188 cities in this pilot dataset, which matters as much as the headline salary number when comparing where to live.

San Jose $118,820 Springfield $105,360 San Francisco $99,130 Portland $97,290 Santa Cruz $96,480 Salem $93,780 Sacramento $92,500 Seattle $92,380 Trenton $90,470 Corvallis $89,970 Bend $88,510 Salinas $88,500 Santa Maria $88,130 Baltimore $86,680 San Diego $85,940 Santa Rosa $85,840 Oxnard $85,140 Charleston $83,560 Ann Arbor $82,790 Champaign $82,690 Medford $81,430 Lubbock $80,980 Olympia $80,210 Riverside $80,140 Los Angeles $80,060 Lansing $79,110 Bellingham $79,080 Mount Vernon $78,800 Fresno $77,450 San Luis Obispo $77,420 Richmond $77,390 Yakima $77,070 Blacksburg $74,980 Spokane $74,980 Bremerton $74,550 New York $74,430 Tampa $72,940 Gainesville $72,900 Grand Rapids $71,350 Austin $70,780 Virginia Beach $70,680 Tyler $70,640 Syracuse $70,430 Dallas $70,290 Orlando $69,220 Sarasota $68,490 Amarillo $68,180 San Antonio $67,510 Beaumont $67,420 Waco $67,240 Brownsville $67,190 Indianapolis $65,790 Allentown $65,440 Eugene $65,410 Chicago $65,170 Detroit $64,300 Houston $63,600 Rochester $63,480 Scranton $61,950 Philadelphia $61,450 Reading $61,100 Miami $60,510 Jacksonville $60,340 Lancaster $58,940 Port St. Lucie $58,840 Pittsburgh $58,470 Tallahassee $55,330
CityMean salaryvs. Riverside
Allentown, Pennsylvania$65,440-18.3%
Amarillo, Texas$68,180-14.9%
Ann Arbor, Michigan$82,790+3.3%
Austin, Texas$70,780-11.7%
Baltimore, Maryland$86,680+8.2%
Beaumont, Texas$67,420-15.9%
Bellingham, Washington$79,080-1.3%
Bend, Oregon$88,510+10.4%
Blacksburg, Virginia$74,980-6.4%
Bremerton, Washington$74,550-7.0%
Brownsville, Texas$67,190-16.2%
Champaign, Illinois$82,690+3.2%
Charleston, West Virginia$83,560+4.3%
Chicago, Illinois$65,170-18.7%
Corvallis, Oregon$89,970+12.3%
Dallas, Texas$70,290-12.3%
Detroit, Michigan$64,300-19.8%
Eugene, Oregon$65,410-18.4%
Fresno, California$77,450-3.4%
Gainesville, Florida$72,900-9.0%
Grand Rapids, Michigan$71,350-11.0%
Houston, Texas$63,600-20.6%
Indianapolis, Indiana$65,790-17.9%
Jacksonville, Florida$60,340-24.7%
Lancaster, Pennsylvania$58,940-26.5%
Lansing, Michigan$79,110-1.3%
Los Angeles, California$80,060-0.1%
Lubbock, Texas$80,980+1.0%
Medford, Oregon$81,430+1.6%
Miami, Florida$60,510-24.5%
Mount Vernon, Washington$78,800-1.7%
New York, New York$74,430-7.1%
Sarasota, Florida$68,490-14.5%
Olympia, Washington$80,210+0.1%
Orlando, Florida$69,220-13.6%
Oxnard, California$85,140+6.2%
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania$61,450-23.3%
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania$58,470-27.0%
Portland, Oregon$97,290+21.4%
Port St. Lucie, Florida$58,840-26.6%
Reading, Pennsylvania$61,100-23.8%
Richmond, Virginia$77,390-3.4%
Rochester, New York$63,480-20.8%
Sacramento, California$92,500+15.4%
Salem, Oregon$93,780+17.0%
Salinas, California$88,500+10.4%
San Antonio, Texas$67,510-15.8%
San Diego, California$85,940+7.2%
San Francisco, California$99,130+23.7%
San Jose, California$118,820+48.3%
San Luis Obispo, California$77,420-3.4%
Santa Cruz, California$96,480+20.4%
Santa Maria, California$88,130+10.0%
Santa Rosa, California$85,840+7.1%
Scranton, Pennsylvania$61,950-22.7%
Seattle, Washington$92,380+15.3%
Spokane, Washington$74,980-6.4%
Springfield, Illinois$105,360+31.5%
Syracuse, New York$70,430-12.1%
Tallahassee, Florida$55,330-31.0%
Tampa, Florida$72,940-9.0%
Trenton, New Jersey$90,470+12.9%
Tyler, Texas$70,640-11.9%
Virginia Beach, Virginia$70,680-11.8%
Waco, Texas$67,240-16.1%
Yakima, Washington$77,070-3.8%
Gross salary
80,140/yr
Estimated take-home
61,847/yr
Est. total withheld
22.8%

Single filer, federal + California state tax + FICA, 2025 rates. Does not include state-specific payroll withholdings beyond income tax (see Data transparency). Not tax advice — verify with a professional for your specific situation.

View cost of living in this state All Conservation Scientists salaries in California → All Conservation Scientists salaries →
Community reality check

Community reality check for Riverside

These notes add local color around Riverside, California: comfort ranges, budget constraints and location trade-offs reported in public discussions.

Relocation gap2.0× calculator gap
City comparison anecdotal

Discussion highlights that calculators may imply roughly 2x gross income for comparable standard of living, while some employers offer only about 10% location premiums. Tech total compensation can be an exception, so the page should distinguish salary from total compensation.

2.0×calculator multiplier10%HCOL premium cited$200KAtlanta TC example$450KBay Area TC example

Anecdotal public-discussion signals, not official salary data, rent data or financial advice. Read this alongside the official figures on the page.

Data transparency

Sources used for this page

Official occupation and area metadata behind the visible salary, cost, housing and safety signals.

Occupation 19-1031 SOC code
Official area Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA BLS metro/geographic area
Area code 40140 Stable geographic key
Reference year 2025 BLS OEWS
Cost: bea_realHousing: zillow_realCrime: latest availableNet-pay source: ca_ftb_verificado 2025
Metro also includes
San BernardinoOntario
No additional caveats are attached to this row.
Methodology

How this page is built

The salary figure is the mean annual wage reported by the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program for this occupation and metro area. Percentile and national-average comparisons are calculated directly from the 188 cities currently in this dataset, not from a fixed external benchmark. Cost of living, crime and housing figures come from BEA, FBI and Zillow respectively — see "Data transparency" above for the exact sources and reference years used on this specific page.

Confidence: the RSE (relative standard error) shown under Overview indicates how reliable the salary estimate is for this metro — a lower RSE means a larger underlying sample.

On this page

Where this is

AK HI

Highlighted: California

Population (metro area)
4,637,725