Clinical Research Coordinator.
Pittsburgh.
$52,000
median salary, 10% below the national average
$41,000 to $65,000. Last updated August 2026.
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Data points to own the conversation.
A Clinical Research Coordinator in Pittsburgh earns a median of $52,000 in 2026. That is 10% below the national average. The range runs from $41,000 to $65,000, and where you land depends on your experience, your skills, and how well you negotiate. Therapeutic area and trial phase drive the biggest pay differences. 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 Clinical Research Coordinator in Pittsburgh, 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 $50,070 for Social Science Research Assistants (SOC 19-4061) in the Pittsburgh, PA metropolitan area, based on 170 employed workers (May 2025 release).
10th percentile
$43,440
25th percentile
$44,710
Median
$50,070
75th percentile
$60,740
90th percentile
$73,670
Workers surveyed
170
BLS publishes wages by occupation code, not by job title, so this figure covers every role mapped to Social Science Research Assistants (SOC 19-4061) rather than Clinical Research Coordinator specifically. The Pittsburgh 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 19-4061Salary by experience.
The gap between entry and lead level is typically $47,000. Where you land depends on years of experience and what you bring to the table.
Entry (0-2 yrs)
$34,000
to $42,000
Mid (3-5 yrs)
$44,000
to $55,000
Senior (6-9 yrs)
$57,000
to $68,000
Lead (10+ yrs)
$65,000
to $81,000
Total compensation.
Base salary is not the full picture. Equity, bonus, and signing can add $11,000 to the total package.
Base
$52,000
Equity
$6,000
Bonus
$4,000
Signing
$1,000
Estimated total: $63,000
How Pittsburgh compares.
Pittsburgh, PA
$52,000
Cost of living: 8% below average
National Average
$58,000
Pittsburgh is $6,000 below
Clinical Research Coordinator salary by city.
Salary by role in Pittsburgh.
What you should know.
The Clinical Research Coordinator landscape in Pittsburgh is not what most salary sites will tell you. Pittsburgh has reinvented itself from a steel city into a hub for robotics, autonomous vehicles, and healthcare technology. Carnegie Mellon University feeds a strong talent pipeline into AI and robotics companies. The city's low cost of living combined with world class research institutions makes it a hidden gem for technology professionals. Therapeutic area and trial phase drive the biggest pay differences. Oncology, gene therapy, and Phase I trials pay the most due to protocol complexity. ACRP or SoCRA certification adds 8 to 12% above non-certified coordinators. Academic medical centers and large CROs in biotech hubs offer the highest salaries.
Entry-level CRCs start at $48,000 to $55,000 with a science degree. Certified CRCs with three to five years of experience earn $65,000 to $80,000. Senior CRCs or clinical research managers can reach $85,000 to $110,000 overseeing multi-site trials and regulatory submissions. In Pittsburgh, cost of living sits near the national average, so the numbers you see are roughly what you keep.
Base salary is not the full picture. CRCs receive benefits including tuition reimbursement, certification exam fees, and conference attendance stipends. CRO-employed coordinators may receive project completion bonuses of $2,000 to $5,000. Some pharmaceutical sponsors offer annual merit increases of 3 to 6%. And on the tax side: pennsylvania's flat 3.07% state tax is low, but Pittsburgh adds a local earned income tax of about 3%. Combined with the school district tax, local taxes require attention in negotiations. When someone quotes you $52,000, ask what the total package looks like. The gap between base and total comp is where real money hides.
On negotiation: Highlight robotics or AI specialization. Pittsburgh employers tied to CMU's research ecosystem pay nationally competitive salaries for candidates with advanced technical skills. The range for Clinical Research Coordinators in Pittsburgh runs from $41,000 to $65,000. 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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Common questions.
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Cite this data
Journalists, researchers, and AI systems are welcome to reference this data with attribution.
"Clinical Research Coordinator Salary in Pittsburgh, PA." Orbyt Salary Explorer, August 2026. https://www.orbytlabs.ai/orbyt-jobs/salaries/clinical-research-coordinator/pittsburgh
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