Most salary guides in this sector are a sign-up form with a PDF behind it, and the numbers come with no source. This one is open. Every figure tells you where it came from, how old it is, and what it leaves out.
In this guide
Six things the 2026 data says
1. Chemical manufacturing pays its scientists below the market
Chemical manufacturing employs more chemical engineers than any other US industry, and pays them the least of the top four. The median is $112,300 in chemical manufacturing against $125,040 across all industries, $127,090 in engineering services and $124,540 in R&D. Chemists show the same pattern: $88,890 in chemical manufacturing against $105,930 in scientific R&D. So do materials scientists: $107,190 against $117,790 overall.
The practical consequence: if you benchmark a technical offer only against other chemical manufacturers, you are benchmarking against the lowest-paying employers of that occupation. Your best candidates are being compared with labs and consultancies that pay more.
2. Plant leadership is the exception
Industrial production managers are paid more in chemical manufacturing ($135,530) than across all industries ($126,060), and chemical manufacturing is the highest-paying of the top industries BLS lists for the role. The industry underpays the people who design the chemistry and pays a premium for the people who run the plant.
3. Distribution pays technical salespeople more than manufacturers do
The BLS median for technical and scientific sales representatives is $133,690 at nondurable-goods wholesalers, the category that includes chemical distributors, against $106,650 in manufacturing: 25% more. That category is broader than chemicals alone, so treat the size of the gap as indicative. In distribution the book is the asset, and it is priced accordingly.
4. What our candidates actually earn sits above the government median
Across 15 US sales representatives and account managers we interviewed or placed, the median base salary was $115,000, 8% above the $106,650 BLS manufacturing median for technical sales reps. The BLS figure already includes commission; ours is base salary alone. Those who gave us their full earnings made a median of 21% more on top. At the top of the market, the 10 VP and C-level commercial leaders in our data had a median base of $250,000. Full figures below.
5. In the UK, chartered engineers are paid far more
IChemE's Q4 2025 salary survey gives chartered chemical engineers a median of £93,000 against £49,950 for non-chartered members. Seniority explains part of that, but the gap holds at the same age: £72,000 against £52,000 at 30 to 34, and £110,000 against £69,421 at 45 to 49. Separately, ONS data shows UK chemical scientists earning a median of £39,983, well below production and process engineers at £47,946.
6. Germany froze chemical pay for 2026, which changes the maths of a move
The March 2026 agreement between the chemical employers (BAVC) and IG BCE holds collectively agreed pay flat from March to December 2026, then adds 2.1% from January 2027 and 2.4% from January 2028. It covers about 585,000 employees. For a candidate on the collective scale, an offer is not competing with a pay rise due in the next few months. Staff paid above the scale are a different conversation: the VAA's survey found their fixed salaries rose 4.2% in 2025.
United States: salaries by role
Annual wages from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 data published 15 May 2026, the most recent available. The last column is the median within chemical manufacturing where BLS publishes it, otherwise all manufacturing.
| Role | Low 10th pct | Median | High 90th pct | Median in industry |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chemist BLS 19-2031 | $58,460 | $91,240 | $160,830 | $88,890 chemical mfg |
| Materials scientist BLS 19-2032 | $66,820 | $117,790 | $197,290 | $107,190 chemical mfg |
| Chemical engineer BLS 17-2041 | $79,420 | $125,040 | $182,880 | $112,300 chemical mfg |
| R&D / lab leadership (natural sciences managers) BLS 11-9121 | $79,710 | $167,220 | $316,850 | $185,110 manufacturing |
| Engineering leadership (architectural & engineering managers) BLS 11-9041 | $120,810 | $171,270 | $262,760 | $169,690 manufacturing |
| Plant / production manager BLS 11-3051 | $78,000 | $126,060 | $205,520 | $135,530 chemical mfg |
| EHS specialist BLS 19-5011 | $55,000 | $90,150 | $134,950 | $91,590 manufacturing |
| Technical sales rep / account manager BLS 41-4011 | $52,600 | $104,920 | $200,440 | $106,650 manufacturing |
| Sales engineer BLS 41-9031 | $73,870 | $124,900 | $195,270 | $103,140 manufacturing |
| Sales manager BLS 11-2022 | $73,170 | $148,270 | $290,540 | $156,150 manufacturing |
| General / operations manager BLS 11-1021 | $50,090 | $105,770 | $253,390 | $130,960 manufacturing |
| Chief executive BLS 11-1011 | $75,700 | $213,990 | $507,730 | not published |
| Regulatory / compliance compliance officers, BLS 13-1041 | n/a | $38.81/hr about $80,700/yr | n/a | not published |
Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, via the Occupational Outlook Handbook (updated August 2026). Includes commissions and production bonuses; excludes benefits, equity and most discretionary bonuses, so senior pay is understated.
What the member surveys say
Professional body surveys report higher figures than BLS, because their respondents tend to be more experienced than the workforce as a whole. The American Chemical Society's 2025 survey (2024 salaries, 3,097 responses) found a median of $120,000 across members: $115,000 for chemists and $155,000 for chemical engineers. AIChE's 2025 survey (769 responses) reported a median of $160,000, with $79,000 for new graduates, $147,000 for those with a bachelor's degree and $174,000 with a PhD.
What we actually see: our interviews and placements
Most salary guides publish what candidates hope to earn, or what job ads promise. These figures are what people are actually paid. They come from two sources: the base salary candidates told us in our screening interviews between July and October 2026, and the salary agreed when we placed someone. Each person is counted once. We only publish a figure where at least three people sit behind it, and nothing here identifies a candidate or an employer.
| Role group (US, base salary) | People | Low | Median | High |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sales representatives and account managers territory, key account and technical sales | 15 | $68,000 | $115,000 | $160,000 |
| Sales and business development managers manager-level commercial roles | 4 | $140,400 | $145,800 | $158,000 |
| Sales support and customer service inside sales, customer service, sales operations | 5 | $70,000 | $85,000 | $110,000 |
| Technical process engineers, chemists, technical service, applications | 8 | $89,000 | $134,500 | $150,000 |
| Operations and plant management plant, operations and production management | 4 | $97,500 | $150,500 | $185,000 |
| VP and C-level VP sales, commercial and general management, COO, CCO | 10 | $225,000 | $250,000 | $350,000 |
US base salaries in USD. 46 people in total: 27 from screening interviews (current salary, or last salary for the few who were between roles) and 19 from placements (agreed salary at offer). Excluded: figures the candidate was unsure of, a salary from a role left several years ago, the few non-US salaries, and two roles that did not fit any group.
Base is only part of the package
Sales representatives who gave us both their base and their total earnings made a median of 21% on top of base in commission and bonus, ranging from 17% to 61%. At VP and C-level, the bonus targets candidates described ranged from around 17% to 75% of base. Compare base with base, and total with total, or an offer can look competitive on paper and lose at the kitchen table.
What candidates asked for
Of the 8 employed candidates who gave us both their current base and the base they would move for, 5 set their minimum at, or within 1% of, what they already earn. The other 3 wanted between 17% and 22% more. For the first group, base pay was not what would decide the move. It pays to know which group you are talking to before you write the offer.
Who we spoke to
We held 70 candidate screening conversations in this period, and 57 produced at least one salary figure. 14 of the 70 candidates were between roles when we spoke, several of them after a layoff, restructure or acquisition. The largest groups worked for US chemical distributors and specialty chemical manufacturers.
Our sample is US-weighted and commercial-heavy, because that is where most of our recent work has been, and it is small next to the government data. That is why it sits alongside the official figures rather than replacing them. Its value is that every number came from a real conversation about a real salary.
United Kingdom: salaries by role
Median gross annual pay for full-time employees, ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2025 (provisional, published October 2025). These figures cover all industries, not chemicals alone: the ONS does not publish occupation pay for the chemical industry at this level of detail.
| Role | SOC 2020 | Full-time median |
|---|---|---|
| Chemical scientists | 2111 | £39,983 |
| Production & process engineers (includes chemical engineers) | 2125 | £47,946 |
| Quality assurance & regulatory professionals | 2482 | £50,083 |
| Health & safety managers and officers | 3582 | £46,444 |
| Laboratory technicians | 3111 | £28,210 |
| R&D managers | 2161 | £55,519 |
| Production managers & directors in manufacturing | 1121 | £58,640 |
| Sales accounts & business development managers | 3556 | £57,625 |
| Marketing, sales & advertising directors | 1132 | £94,135 |
| Chief executives & senior officials | 1111 | £99,944 |
| All full-time employees, all occupations | £39,039 |
Source: ONS ASHE 2025 provisional, occupation figures as republished by CareerMetrics; the UK headline figure is from the ONS bulletin. SOC 2020 has no separate code for chemical engineers.
Chemical engineers: IChemE salary survey
IChemE's Q4 2025 survey (2,503 responses) gives a better picture for chemical engineers than the ONS can. Its overall median of £74,358 is 15% higher than in its 2023 survey. IChemE does not state that every respondent is UK-based.
| IChemE respondents | Median salary |
|---|---|
| Graduate / engineer in training | £34,000 |
| Engineer | £47,700 |
| Senior engineer | £74,000 |
| Supervisor / team or process lead | £77,945 |
| Senior manager / director | £110,000 |
| Chartered members | £93,000 |
| Non-chartered members | £49,950 |
| All respondents | £74,358 |
Source: IChemE salary insight. The Royal Society of Chemistry's most recent pay survey (2023) found a median of £50,000 among its members; its replacement survey has not yet published results.
Germany and the Netherlands
There is no reliable, public, role-by-role salary data for the chemical industry in continental Europe. Job-board estimates exist, but none publishes its method, so we have not used them. What is public, and reliable, are the collective agreements that set pay for most employees, and the income survey of the senior staff paid above them.
Germany: collectively agreed pay
| Pay round | Increase | From |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 agreement | 2.0% | 1 September 2024 |
| 2024 agreement | 4.85% | 1 April 2025 |
| 2026 agreement | 0% | March to December 2026 |
| 2026 agreement | 2.1% | 1 January 2027 |
| 2026 agreement | 2.4% | 1 January 2028 (runs to May 2028) |
Source: BAVC, 25 March 2026. Employers less affected by the downturn may bring the 2027 and 2028 increases forward by three months.
Germany: minimum salaries for graduate scientists
The chemical employers and the VAA, the union for graduate and senior staff, set minimum annual salaries for graduates from their second year of employment. First-year pay is negotiated freely.
| Qualification | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Master's / Diplom | €74,050 | €74,950 |
| PhD | €86,075 | €87,125 |
Sources: VAA, October 2025 (2025 figures, unchanged from 2024); PROCESS, 10 October 2026 (2026 figures, agreed 7 October 2026).
Germany: senior staff above the collective scale
The VAA and GDCh income survey covers more than 4,000 graduate and senior employees in chemicals and pharma who are paid above the collective scale. For 2024 it reported a median total income of around €137,000, including bonus. In 2025, fixed salaries in this group rose by around 4.2% and average total income by 6.6%. Pay at companies with more than 10,000 employees was about 13% higher than at those with fewer than 1,000.
Netherlands
Dutch pay is set mainly through sector and company collective agreements (CAOs). The plastics, rubber and adhesives sector agreement adds 2.5% from 1 September 2026 and a further 2.5% from 1 September 2027. Across Dutch chemical company agreements, the average increase in 2025 was 3.57% (AWVN chemicals index, as reported by the CNV union).
Pay growth going into 2027
| Market | Measure | Latest | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | Private-sector wages and salaries (ECI) | 3.1% | 12 months to June 2026 |
| United Kingdom | Regular pay, whole economy | 3.5% | May to July 2026, year on year |
| United Kingdom | Regular pay, manufacturing | 2.9% | May to July 2026, year on year |
| Germany | Chemical collective agreement | 0% | March to December 2026 |
| Germany | Senior staff above the scale, fixed pay | 4.2% | 2025 |
| Netherlands | Plastics, rubber & adhesives CAO | 2.5% | From 1 September 2026 |
Sources: BLS ECI, 31 July 2026; ONS average weekly earnings, September 2026; BAVC; VAA; CNV.
The common thread: pay growth is slowing everywhere. US private-sector wage growth fell from 3.5% to 3.1% over the year. If you are setting 2027 salary budgets on the assumption of a tight, fast-rising market, the data no longer supports that, except in the specific roles where candidates are genuinely scarce. IChemE's 2026 employment survey found 40% of employers cite a lack of mid-career candidates, and that is where offers still need to lead the market.
How to use these numbers
- Read the median, then the spread. The 10th to 90th percentile range is wide for every senior role. Where a candidate sits in it depends on scope, sector and how scarce their experience is, not on job title.
- Know what is in the number. BLS includes commission but not equity or most bonuses. ONS figures are gross pay. Our own figures are base salary only. None of these is total package.
- Adjust for location. These are national figures. A Gulf Coast plant, a Northeast headquarters and a remote site will not pay the same.
- Treat member surveys as the senior end. ACS, AIChE, IChemE and RSC respondents tend to be more experienced than the workforce as a whole, which is why their medians sit above the government figures.
- Check the date. The BLS figures describe May 2025. With pay growing at around 3% a year, allow for well over a year of growth on top for an offer made today.
If a search has run for months without a credible shortlist, the offer is usually the reason. Our guide to hiring technical talent covers what else to check.
Method and sources
MK Search data. 46 US base salaries, one per person. 27 are the current base salary candidates told us in screening interviews held between 28 July and 8 October 2026, recorded in our applicant tracking system; where a candidate was between roles, it is their last salary. 19 are agreed base salaries from permanent placements recorded up to 30 September 2026. Where a placed candidate also appears in our interviews, we count them once. People were assigned to a group by job title before any figures were calculated. Ranges were taken at their midpoint. We excluded figures the candidate was unsure of, a salary from a role left several years ago, non-US salaries (too few to publish) and two roles that did not fit any group. A figure is published only where at least three people sit behind it, and nothing on this page identifies a candidate or employer. Interview figures are self-reported, which is the main limitation; placement figures are confirmed.
Public data. We used the most recent edition of each source available on 14 October 2026, and say where a figure comes from a secondary source rather than the original publisher. Currencies are not converted, because any exchange rate would date the comparison faster than the data itself.
- US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2025 (published 15 May 2026), and the Occupational Outlook Handbook.
- US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Cost Index, June 2026.
- American Chemical Society salary survey 2025, as reported by Chemjobber from C&EN (secondary source).
- AIChE, 2025 salary survey.
- Office for National Statistics, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2025 (provisional); occupation figures via CareerMetrics (secondary source).
- Office for National Statistics, Average weekly earnings, September 2026.
- IChemE, salary survey Q4 2025 and employment survey 2026.
- Royal Society of Chemistry, Pay and Reward Survey 2023.
- BAVC, chemical industry pay agreement, 25 March 2026; 2024 agreement as reported by CHEManager.
- VAA, graduate minimum salaries 2025; 2026 figures via PROCESS.
- GDCh / VAA income survey: 2025 release (2024 incomes) and 2026 results via chemie.de.
- CNV, plastics, rubber and adhesives CAO 2026 to 2028 and AWVN chemicals index.
Questions we get asked
How much does a chemical engineer earn in the US in 2026?
The most recent official figure is a median of $125,040 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025 data, published May 2026). In chemical manufacturing specifically the median is $112,300. The lowest-paid 10 percent earn under $79,420 and the highest-paid 10 percent over $182,880. Member surveys report higher figures: AIChE's 2025 survey gives a median of $160,000, because its respondents skew more senior.
How much does a chemist earn in the UK?
ONS data for 2025 puts the median full-time salary for chemical scientists at £39,983, across all industries. Professional body surveys report more: the Royal Society of Chemistry's most recent pay survey (2023) found a median of £50,000 among its members.
What do sales roles in specialty chemicals pay in the US?
For technical and scientific sales representatives, the BLS median is $104,920 across all industries, $106,650 in manufacturing and $133,690 at nondurable-goods wholesalers, the category that includes chemical distributors. Across 15 US sales representatives and account managers MK Search interviewed or placed, the median base salary was $115,000, and those who gave a full picture earned a median of 21% more again in commission and bonus.
Are chemical industry salaries in Germany rising in 2026?
Not for most employees. Under the March 2026 chemical industry agreement, collectively agreed pay is unchanged from March to December 2026, then rises 2.1% from January 2027 and 2.4% from January 2028. It covers about 585,000 employees. Minimum salaries for graduate scientists did rise in October 2026, to €74,950 with a Master's degree and €87,125 with a PhD, from the second year of employment.
Where does the data in this salary guide come from?
US figures come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS, May 2025) plus ACS and AIChE member surveys. UK figures come from the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2025 plus IChemE and RSC surveys. German and Dutch figures come from published collective pay agreements and the VAA income survey. MK Search figures come from 46 US salaries: base salaries candidates told us in 27 screening interviews between July and October 2026, plus agreed salaries from 19 placements. They are published only for groups of three or more, and never identify anyone.
Can I use or cite this data?
Yes. Please credit MK Search and link to this page. A CSV of every figure on the page, with its source, is free to download.
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