Best Metro Areas for Natural Sciences Managers: Boston Tops List as Coastal Hubs Offer Above‑National Pay

Across the top 10 metros for natural sciences managers, LaborCove’s data shows that no single location dominates on every metric. The highest‑ranked metros do not always have the highest salaries or the largest employment counts, and several areas combine national‑level context with distinct local advantages in different ways.

For national context, natural sciences managers have a median annual salary of $167,220 and national employment of 108,690. LaborCove’s evidence also includes a national projected employment growth rate of 3.7% for this occupation, which describes the occupation’s expected change nationally and does not provide metro‑level projections. These national benchmarks provide a reference point when interpreting the metro‑level salaries and employment counts that follow. Several of the top‑ranked metros have median salaries above the national figure, and the largest reported metro employment count in this top‑10 list is smaller than national employment, reflecting the geographic spread of roles across many areas beyond just the leading metros.

Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH ranks #1 among metros in LaborCove’s results for natural sciences managers, with a LaborCove Geography Score of 83.11. Its median salary of $291,000 is higher than the national median of $167,220. Boston’s employment count of 9,570 natural sciences managers is also below the national employment total of 108,690 but is one of the larger counts among the top‑ranked metros. Within the top 10, Boston’s Geography Score of 83.11 is higher than the scores reported for the other nine metros, distinguishing it in LaborCove’s composite view even before considering the national context. Boston’s combination of a median salary above the national level and a five‑figure employment count relative to most entries in the top‑10 list helps explain why it appears at the top of these rankings, based on the available data and scoring methodology.

New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ holds the #2 spot with a LaborCove Geography Score of 70.29. It has the largest reported employment count in this top‑10 set at 10,100 natural sciences managers, which is higher than Boston’s 9,570 but still below the national total of 108,690. New York’s median salary of $180,460 is higher than the national median of $167,220. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA ranks #3 with a Geography Score of 62.36 and an employment count of 5,530 natural sciences managers. Nationally, that count is smaller than the 108,690 natural sciences managers reported across the country. San Francisco’s median salary of $225,230 is higher than both the national median of $167,220 and New York’s median of $180,460. Together, these numbers show that New York has a larger reported employment count than San Francisco among the top metros, while San Francisco has a higher median salary. Both metros report median pay above the national benchmark, and both have LaborCove Geography Scores below Boston’s top score of 83.11.

San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ranks #4 with a LaborCove Geography Score of 57.71. Its median salary of $263,810 is higher than the national median of $167,220 and also higher than New York’s median of $180,460. San Jose’s reported employment count of 1,160 natural sciences managers is smaller than the national count of 108,690 and smaller than New York’s 10,100 and Boston’s 9,570. San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA holds the #7 rank with a Geography Score of 48.88 and a median salary of $207,200, which is above the national median of $167,220. Its employment count of 2,890 is below the national employment figure and is also smaller than the counts reported for Boston (9,570), New York (10,100), San Francisco (5,530), Philadelphia (5,510), and Washington (5,890). Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA ranks #9 with a Geography Score of 45.19 and a median salary of $203,150, again above the national median. Seattle’s employment count of 1,730 natural sciences managers is below the national total and smaller than the employment counts in Boston, New York, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Washington, San Diego, and Los Angeles (2,530). These figures illustrate that several West Coast metros combine above‑national salaries with a range of employment scales within the top‑10 set.

Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD is ranked #5 with a LaborCove Geography Score of 51.19. Its median salary of $172,900 is higher than the national median of $167,220. The employment count for natural sciences managers in this metro is 5,510, which is below the national employment total but close to San Francisco’s 5,530 and below New York’s 10,100. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV ranks #6 with a Geography Score of 50.95 and a median salary of $169,060, which is also above the national median. Its employment count of 5,890 is below national employment and larger than the counts for San Francisco (5,530) and Philadelphia (5,510) while remaining smaller than New York’s 10,100 and Boston’s 9,570. These Mid‑Atlantic metros have Geography Scores above 50 and median pay modestly above the national level within the top‑10 group. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA, ranked #8 with a Geography Score of 46.59, has a median salary of $193,340, which is higher than the national median of $167,220 and above Washington’s median of $169,060 and Philadelphia’s $172,900. Its employment count of 2,530 natural sciences managers is smaller than the counts reported for Boston, New York, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Washington, and San Diego but remains below the national total of 108,690.

Salt Lake City-Murray, UT rounds out the top 10 with a LaborCove Geography Score of 41.93. Its median salary of $128,650 is below the national median of $167,220 and below every other reported metro median in this top‑10 list. Employment for Salt Lake City is not supplied in the evidence, so no comparisons can be made using employment counts for this metro. Compared with the rest of the top 10, Salt Lake City’s ranking is based on its Geography Score of 41.93 and the supplied salary data. While its median salary is lower than those of the other listed metros and below the national benchmark, its inclusion in the top 10 indicates that, within LaborCove’s scoring framework, it still performs competitively enough on the available metrics to appear alongside much larger and higher‑paying markets.

LaborCove builds its metro rankings for natural sciences managers using authoritative U.S. labor‑market data and its proprietary LaborCove Geography Score. For this article, national median salary, national employment, and metro‑level salary and employment statistics are based on Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) observations with a reference period of May 2025. The reported national projected employment growth rate is a separate national occupational projection, not an OEWS observation and not a state or metro forecast. The LaborCove Geography Score synthesizes multiple metrics into a single value for each metro so that locations can be ranked. In this article, we report the Geography Score and the supplied rank for each top metro but do not break down how individual metrics contribute to the score, because that level of detail is not included in the evidence. Rankings and scores are designed as decision support, not one‑size‑fits‑all advice. Natural sciences managers should weigh LaborCove’s salary, employment, and ranking information against their own career goals, industry segment, and personal circumstances when evaluating potential moves.