Food Scientists and Technologists Salary — Lancaster, Pennsylvania

The average Food Scientists and Technologists in Lancaster, Pennsylvania earns $88,120 a year.

$88,120 / year, mean
↓ 11.8% below national average 50th percentile in Pennsylvania

Lancaster sits roughly in the middle of the pack for this role within Pennsylvania — neither a standout nor a laggard. That's noticeably below the national average for food scientists and technologists, worth factoring into any relocation math. 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 Pennsylvania

0th 50th 100th
Employment (this metro)
40
Estimate confidence
RSE 2.1%
Cost of living 98 #73 most expensive of 188 cities in this dataset 100 = U.S. average · Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024
Crime index 1511 #51 safest of 188 cities in this dataset Per 100k residents · Source: FBI Crime Data Explorer
Median home value $388,207 #58 priciest of 188 cities in this dataset Source: zillow_real
Median household income $83,703 #40 highest of 188 cities in this dataset Source: Census Bureau ACS 5-year

Combining these four figures gives a fuller picture than salary alone: Lancaster ranks #73 for cost of living and #58 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 $117,020 San Francisco $110,580 New York $110,190 Chicago $108,070 Seattle $104,290 Austin $103,930 Buffalo $102,230 Merced $102,000 Baltimore $101,320 Ann Arbor $100,270 Philadelphia $98,920 San Antonio $98,000 Dallas $97,480 Los Angeles $96,580 Sacramento $96,510 San Diego $94,460 Santa Rosa $94,240 Salinas $93,080 Stockton $92,850 Visalia $92,300 Rochester $92,250 Harrisburg $92,170 Modesto $92,170 Riverside $92,050 Houston $90,610 Fresno $89,920 Oxnard $89,910 Napa $89,210 Salem $88,720 Lancaster $88,120 Albany $86,590 Bakersfield $86,410 Allentown $85,520 Grand Rapids $84,260 Louisville $84,260 Lansing $84,070 Portland $83,210 Hanford $82,740 Detroit $78,560 Indianapolis $73,260
CityMean salaryvs. Lancaster
Albany, New York$86,590-1.7%
Allentown, Pennsylvania$85,520-3.0%
Ann Arbor, Michigan$100,270+13.8%
Austin, Texas$103,930+17.9%
Bakersfield, California$86,410-1.9%
Baltimore, Maryland$101,320+15.0%
Buffalo, New York$102,230+16.0%
Chicago, Illinois$108,070+22.6%
Dallas, Texas$97,480+10.6%
Detroit, Michigan$78,560-10.8%
Fresno, California$89,920+2.0%
Grand Rapids, Michigan$84,260-4.4%
Hanford, California$82,740-6.1%
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania$92,170+4.6%
Houston, Texas$90,610+2.8%
Indianapolis, Indiana$73,260-16.9%
Lansing, Michigan$84,070-4.6%
Los Angeles, California$96,580+9.6%
Louisville, Kentucky$84,260-4.4%
Merced, California$102,000+15.8%
Modesto, California$92,170+4.6%
Napa, California$89,210+1.2%
New York, New York$110,190+25.0%
Oxnard, California$89,910+2.0%
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania$98,920+12.3%
Portland, Oregon$83,210-5.6%
Riverside, California$92,050+4.5%
Rochester, New York$92,250+4.7%
Sacramento, California$96,510+9.5%
Salem, Oregon$88,720+0.7%
Salinas, California$93,080+5.6%
San Antonio, Texas$98,000+11.2%
San Diego, California$94,460+7.2%
San Francisco, California$110,580+25.5%
San Jose, California$117,020+32.8%
Santa Rosa, California$94,240+6.9%
Seattle, Washington$104,290+18.3%
Stockton, California$92,850+5.4%
Visalia, California$92,300+4.7%
Gross salary
88,120/yr
Estimated take-home
68,117/yr
Est. total withheld
22.7%

Single filer, federal + Pennsylvania 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 Food Scientists and Technologists salaries in Pennsylvania → All Food Scientists and Technologists salaries →
Data transparency

Sources used for this page

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

Occupation 19-1012 SOC code
Official area Lancaster, PA BLS metro/geographic area
Area code 29540 Stable geographic key
Reference year 2025 BLS OEWS
Cost: bea_realHousing: zillow_realCrime: latest availableNet-pay source: pa_dor_verificado 2025
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: Pennsylvania

Population (metro area)
555,151