Chemical Technicians
SOC 19-4031 · 2024-2034
Conduct chemical and physical laboratory tests to assist scientists in making qualitative and quantitative analyses of solids, liquids, and gaseous materials for research and development of new products or processes, quality control, maintenance of environmental standards, and other work involving experimental, theoretical, or practical application of chemistry and related sciences.
How the U.S. Department of Labor describes this work. Published in English only.
What California expects of this job
- Typical pay in California
- $61,176per year
- Projected openings
- 8,370
- Projected change
- +4.3%
- Usually needs
- Associate's degree
Skills this work uses most
O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupation database, rates how important each of these is to this work, and they are listed in that order, most important first. The ratings themselves are not shown, because the data carries the number without the scale it was measured on. The names are as published, in English.
- Science
- Reading Comprehension
- Critical Thinking
- Active Listening
- Writing
- Monitoring
Pay by region
| Region | Typical pay in California | Projected openings |
|---|---|---|
| Oakland-Fremont-Berkeley MD (Alameda and Contra Costa Counties) | $71,633 | 870 |
| San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City MD (San Francisco and San Mateo Counties) | $67,965 | 590 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA (San Benito and Santa Clara Counties) | $63,346 | 630 |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom MSA (El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, and Yolo Counties) | $60,285 | 290 |
| Vallejo MSA (Solano County) | $59,905 | 90 |
| Santa Maria-Santa Barbara MSA (Santa Barbara County) | $57,686 | 90 |
| Napa MSA (Napa County) | $55,170 | 120 |
| Santa Rosa-Petaluma MSA (Sonoma County) | $54,872 | 130 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad MSA (San Diego County) | $54,533 | 1,080 |
| Merced MSA (Merced County) | $53,968 | 30 |
| Modesto MSA (Stanislaus County) | $53,968 | 200 |
| Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine MD (Orange County) | $52,711 | 860 |
| North Coast Region (Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, and Mendocino Counties) | $52,571 | 40 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale MD (Los Angeles County) | $52,534 | 1,650 |
| Bakersfield-Delano MSA (Kern County) | $52,335 | 180 |
| San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles MSA (San Luis Obispo County) | $52,181 | 50 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario MSA (Riverside and San Bernardino Counties) | $50,558 | 490 |
| Stockton-Lodi MSA (San Joaquin County) | $49,325 | 100 |
| Visalia MSA (Tulare County) | $49,171 | 70 |
| Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura MSA (Ventura County) | $48,575 | 160 |
| Fresno MSA (Fresno and Madera Counties) | $47,240 | 160 |
| San Rafael MD (Marin County) | Not reported | 60 |
What the pay actually ranges across
- The lowest-paid tenth earn under
- $45,304
- A quarter earn under
- $51,204
- Half earn under
- $61,176
- Three quarters earn under
- $75,743
- The highest-paid tenth earn over
- $91,389
A median is one point. These are the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics' 2026 figures for California, and they say how far apart the people doing this job actually are. Read them as the spread across everyone already in the work — not as a starting wage and not as a promise about where anyone lands.
Similar work
O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupation database, names these as occupations involving work similar to this one — its own reading of the job, not a grouping by code. They keep O*NET's order, and only those California publishes a projection for are shown.
| Occupation | Typical pay in California | Projected openings | Projected change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calibration Technologists and Technicians | $81,222 | 1,070 | 0% |
| Industrial Engineering Technologists and Technicians | $81,283 | 5,290 | +7% |
| Life, Physical, and Social Science Technicians, All Other | $80,543 | 16,040 | +6.6% |
| Food Science Technicians | $55,717 | 7,950 | +3.9% |
| Mechanical Engineering Technologists and Technicians | $89,836 | 3,330 | +5.4% |
Programs that train for this job — 1
Chemical Technician Training
Pasadena Bio Collaborative Incubator · Pasadena · $1,000