Chemical Engineer.
Los Angeles.
$138,000
median salary, 13% above the national average
$109,000 to $172,000. Last updated August 2026.
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Data points to own the conversation.
The median Chemical Engineer salary in Los Angeles is $138,000, 13% above the national average. Entry level starts near $109,000. Experienced professionals push past $172,000. Los Angeles blends a thriving entertainment industry with a growing tech and startup ecosystem, often called Silicon Beach. That spread is your negotiation window. These figures are Orbyt estimates, computed rather than measured, and must not be cited as Bureau of Labor Statistics figures; the published BLS wage for the occupation this role maps to is shown separately on this page.
Salary range.
Where do you fall?
Orbyt estimate for Chemical Engineer in Los Angeles, modelled from national occupation wages adjusted for local cost of living. The published government benchmark for this occupation is below.
Government benchmark for this occupation
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a median annual wage of $134,210 for Chemical Engineers (SOC 17-2041) in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA metropolitan area, based on 320 employed workers (May 2025 release).
10th percentile
$81,030
25th percentile
$100,680
Median
$134,210
75th percentile
$168,110
90th percentile
$202,690
Workers surveyed
320
BLS publishes wages by occupation code, not by job title, so this figure covers every role mapped to Chemical Engineers (SOC 17-2041) rather than Chemical Engineer specifically. The Los Angeles range at the top of this page is Orbyt’s role-level estimate, which is a different thing and is labelled as such.
View the BLS source for SOC 17-2041Salary by experience.
The gap between entry and lead level is typically $124,000. Where you land depends on years of experience and what you bring to the table.
Entry (0-2 yrs)
$90,000
to $110,000
Mid (3-5 yrs)
$117,000
to $145,000
Senior (6-9 yrs)
$152,000
to $179,000
Lead (10+ yrs)
$173,000
to $214,000
Total compensation.
Base salary is not the full picture. Equity, bonus, and signing can add $37,000 to the total package.
Base
$138,000
Equity
$21,000
Bonus
$13,000
Signing
$3,000
Estimated total: $175,000
How Los Angeles compares.
Los Angeles, CA
$138,000
Cost of living: 18% above average
National Average
$122,000
Los Angeles is $16,000 above
Chemical Engineer salary by city.
Salary by role in Los Angeles.
What you should know.
Before you negotiate a Chemical Engineer offer in Los Angeles, understand the terrain. Los Angeles blends a thriving entertainment industry with a growing tech and startup ecosystem, often called Silicon Beach. The city's diverse economy spans aerospace, healthcare, fashion, and gaming. LA offers strong salaries that, while below San Francisco levels, pair with a broader lifestyle appeal and lower housing costs relative to the Bay Area. Industry sector is the top differentiator, with petroleum, semiconductor, and pharmaceutical chemical engineers earning 20 to 35% more than those in food processing or water treatment. Process scale-up experience, Six Sigma certification, and expertise with hazardous materials handling drive additional premiums.
Entry-level chemical engineers start at $76,000 to $88,000. Senior process engineers earn $100,000 to $128,000 after five to eight years. Engineering directors and plant managers reach $140,000 to $185,000 in high-demand industries. In Los Angeles, those numbers run higher. The cost of living here is 18% above average, and employers adjust to compete.
Base salary is not the full picture. Oil and gas employers add 10 to 20% bonuses tied to production targets. Semiconductor fabs offer equity grants worth $10,000 to $40,000 annually. Shift differentials of 5 to 15% apply for engineers managing 24/7 production facilities. And on the tax side: california's 13.3% top state income tax rate applies to LA earners as well. There is no city income tax, but the high state rate makes take home pay lower than cities in no income tax states. When someone quotes you $138,000, ask what the total package looks like. The gap between base and total comp is where real money hides.
On negotiation: Highlight cross industry skills. LA employers value candidates who bridge entertainment and tech, so framing your experience across verticals can unlock higher offers. The range for Chemical Engineers in Los Angeles runs from $109,000 to $172,000. That is not a narrow window. Where you land inside it depends almost entirely on whether you negotiate and how well you prepare.
Sources: BLS OES, H-1B LCA (DOL). COL: BEA Regional Price Parities (2025). Data verified by Justin Bartak, Founder & Chief AI Officer. Last verified July 1, 2026. Full methodology
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- A Deep Learning Engineer in Los Angeles earns $137,000 (1% less)
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Common questions.
Chemical Engineer salary in other cities.
Other salaries in Los Angeles.
Related salary pages
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Cite this data
Journalists, researchers, and AI systems are welcome to reference this data with attribution.
"Chemical Engineer Salary in Los Angeles, CA." Orbyt Salary Explorer, August 2026. https://www.orbytlabs.ai/orbyt-jobs/salaries/chemical-engineer/los-angeles
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