How Much Money Does a Forensic Technology Employee Make?

By Business & Finance Last updated Tuesday, January/14/2025

Country Crime Scene

Forensic science technicians numbered approximately 12,390 as of May 2010, earning median salaries of $51,570, as reported in the Occupational Employment and Wages report conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The bureau noted a pay scale for members of this profession of $32,900 at the 10th percentile, and $82,990 in the 90th percentile of earners.

More forensic science technicians were employed by the government than all other areas of industry combined, with local government hiring the most in the profession. Local government paid an above-average annual mean wage of $54,660 to its forensic workers and was rated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics as the fifth-highest salary for the profession. State government, the second-largest employer of forensic technology workers, paid $53,610. The federal executive branch of the government paid the highest salaries at $96,290 and employed the fourth-largest group of these professionals. Medical and diagnostic laboratories earned third place on both the number of forensic workers employed and on the highest-paying salary lists.

The states paying the highest salaries for forensic employees were scattered across the country. Illinois topped the list, with annual mean wages of $72,990. Virginia placed second, with forensic science technicians who earned $69,860. Employers in California paid the third-highest wages, at $67,720, followed closely by those in Connecticut, with wages of $67,570. In Michigan, forensic technology employees received the fifth-highest salaries, at $63,440.

In some states, but not all, a high salary showed a correlation with high levels of employment in the field. California, the third-highest paying state for forensic worker salaries, came in first on the highest employment-level list. Florida, in second place for employment, paid below-average wages of $47,270. Texas paid even lower, at $45,510, though it placed third on the employment level list. Arizona beat the national median at $54,580 and had the fourth-highest employment level. Illinois, with the country’s highest salary for the profession, offered the fifth-highest level of employment.