Industrial Ecologists Career, Salary and Skills
Industrial Ecologists have a BLS-reported national median annual wage of $82,220 based on the 2025 OEWS dataset, with reported national employment of 89,250. Wage data is published for 313 locations.
Occupation description
Apply principles and processes of natural ecosystems to develop models for efficient industrial systems. Use knowledge from the physical and social sciences to maximize effective use of natural resources in the production and use of goods and services. Examine societal issues and their relationship with both technical systems and the environment.
O*NET code
19-2041.03
Job zone
5
Typical education
Master's Degree
Experience
Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years
National salary and employment
Median annual
$82,220
Hourly median
$39.53
Employment
89,250
Data year
2025
National salary distribution
Top skills
| Skill | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Reading Comprehension | 4.12 | 4.75 |
| Writing | 4.00 | 4.62 |
| Active Listening | 4.00 | 4.00 |
| Speaking | 4.00 | 4.00 |
| Critical Thinking | 3.88 | 4.25 |
| Complex Problem Solving | 3.75 | 4.00 |
| Judgment and Decision Making | 3.75 | 4.62 |
| Systems Analysis | 3.75 | 4.12 |
| Science | 3.62 | 4.12 |
| Active Learning | 3.62 | 4.00 |
Typical tasks
- Identify environmental impacts caused by products, systems, or projects.
- Identify or develop strategies or methods to minimize the environmental impact of industrial production processes.
- Analyze changes designed to improve the environmental performance of complex systems and avoid unintended negative consequences.
- Conduct environmental sustainability assessments, using material flow analysis (MFA) or substance flow analysis (SFA) techniques.
- Identify sustainable alternatives to industrial or waste-management practices.
- Review research literature to maintain knowledge on topics related to industrial ecology, such as physical science, technology, economy, and public policy.
- Redesign linear, or open-loop, systems into cyclical, or closed-loop, systems so that waste products become inputs for new processes, modeling natural ecosystems.
- Investigate accidents affecting the environment to assess ecological impact.
Technology
- Adobe Acrobat
- Adobe Illustrator
- Adobe Photoshop
- Apache Hadoop
- Atlassian JIRA
- Autodesk AutoCAD
- C#
- Dassault Systemes CATIA
- Debugging software
- Economic Input-Output Life Cycle Assessment EIO-LCA
- Email software
- ESRI ArcGIS software
- Git
- Linux
Industrial Ecologists salary by location
Areas with the highest reported employment for this occupation.
- Industrial Ecologists Salary in CAMedian $106,510 · Employment 12,490
- Industrial Ecologists Salary in FLMedian $60,830 · Employment 5,950
- Industrial Ecologists Salary in TXMedian $92,000 · Employment 5,630
- Industrial Ecologists Salary in WAMedian $98,300 · Employment 4,470
- Industrial Ecologists Salary in NCMedian $74,130 · Employment 4,150
- Industrial Ecologists Salary in NYMedian $82,160 · Employment 3,700
- Industrial Ecologists Salary in Sacramento, CAMedian $108,430 · Employment 3,520
- Industrial Ecologists Salary in New York, NYMedian $85,510 · Employment 3,350
- Industrial Ecologists Salary in NJMedian $79,210 · Employment 3,150
- Industrial Ecologists Salary in MIMedian $76,080 · Employment 3,100
- Industrial Ecologists Salary in PAMedian $76,110 · Employment 3,020
- Industrial Ecologists Salary in MAMedian $100,640 · Employment 2,930
Related careers
- Range ManagersNational median $73,010
- Environmental Engineering Technologists and TechniciansNational median $59,920
- Water/Wastewater EngineersNational median $100,840
- Environmental EconomistsNational median $124,720
- Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and GeographersNational median $101,920
- Chief Sustainability OfficersNational median $213,990
- Agricultural EngineersNational median $98,590
- Sustainability SpecialistsNational median $83,050
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.