Bioinformatics Scientists Career, Salary and Skills
Bioinformatics Scientists have a BLS-reported national median annual wage of $98,920 based on the 2025 OEWS dataset, with reported national employment of 55,850. Wage data is published for 208 locations.
Occupation description
Conduct research using bioinformatics theory and methods in areas such as pharmaceuticals, medical technology, biotechnology, computational biology, proteomics, computer information science, biology and medical informatics. May design databases and develop algorithms for processing and analyzing genomic information, or other biological information.
O*NET code
19-1029.01
Job zone
5
Typical education
Master's Degree
Experience
Over 2 years, up to and including 4 years
National salary and employment
Median annual
$98,920
Hourly median
$47.56
Employment
55,850
Data year
2025
National salary distribution
Top skills
| Skill | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Reading Comprehension | 4.38 | 5.12 |
| Writing | 4.00 | 4.88 |
| Complex Problem Solving | 4.00 | 4.38 |
| Speaking | 4.00 | 4.50 |
| Science | 4.00 | 4.25 |
| Critical Thinking | 4.00 | 4.75 |
| Active Listening | 4.00 | 4.50 |
| Mathematics | 3.88 | 4.38 |
| Active Learning | 3.88 | 4.38 |
| Judgment and Decision Making | 3.75 | 4.50 |
Typical tasks
- Consult with researchers to analyze problems, recommend technology-based solutions, or determine computational strategies.
- Provide statistical and computational tools for biologically based activities, such as genetic analysis, measurement of gene expression, or gene function determination.
- Analyze large molecular datasets, such as raw microarray data, genomic sequence data, or proteomics data, for clinical or basic research purposes.
- Create novel computational approaches and analytical tools as required by research goals.
- Compile data for use in activities, such as gene expression profiling, genome annotation, or structural bioinformatics.
- Communicate research results through conference presentations, scientific publications, or project reports.
- Test new and updated bioinformatics tools and software.
- Collaborate with software developers in the development and modification of commercial bioinformatics software.
Technology
- Accelrys Pipeline Pilot
- Amazon Web Services AWS software
- Apache Accumulo
- Apache Groovy
- Apache Hadoop
- Apache HTTP Server
- Bash
- Bioconductor
- Bioconductor software
- Biomatters Geneious
- BioPerl
- BLAT
- Bowtie
- BWA
Bioinformatics Scientists salary by location
Areas with the highest reported employment for this occupation.
- Bioinformatics Scientists Salary in CAMedian $113,530 · Employment 11,880
- Bioinformatics Scientists Salary in Washington, DCMedian $114,920 · Employment 5,720
- Bioinformatics Scientists Salary in MDMedian $121,680 · Employment 4,970
- Bioinformatics Scientists Salary in San Francisco, CAMedian $138,160 · Employment 4,280
- Bioinformatics Scientists Salary in MAMedian $107,100 · Employment 2,930
- Bioinformatics Scientists Salary in NCMedian $100,070 · Employment 2,780
- Bioinformatics Scientists Salary in Boston, MAMedian $110,410 · Employment 2,630
- Bioinformatics Scientists Salary in WAMedian $108,110 · Employment 2,620
- Bioinformatics Scientists Salary in NYMedian $104,120 · Employment 2,520
- Bioinformatics Scientists Salary in TXMedian $80,870 · Employment 2,480
- Bioinformatics Scientists Salary in Los Angeles, CAMedian $96,380 · Employment 2,320
- Bioinformatics Scientists Salary in New York, NYMedian $111,380 · Employment 1,970
Related careers
- Software DevelopersNational median $135,980
- Medical Scientists, Except EpidemiologistsNational median $103,410
- Biological Science Teachers, PostsecondaryNational median $84,620
- Nanosystems EngineersNational median $122,930
- Clinical Data ManagersNational median $120,230
- MathematiciansNational median $126,710
- Natural Sciences ManagersNational median $167,220
- Medical and Clinical Laboratory TechnologistsNational median not published
Career and skills data: O*NET 31.0 (onetcenter.org). Salary and employment data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, 2025 (bls.gov/oes). Figures are published survey estimates, not real-time market data.