Salaries

Water Resource Specialist Salary.

Across 81 U.S. cities.

$92,000

estimated national base salary

$73,000 to $115,000. Last updated September 2026.

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Government benchmark for this occupation

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a median annual wage of $96,600 for Hydrologists (SOC 19-2043) across the United States, based on 5,850 employed workers (May 2025 release).

10th percentile

$64,020

25th percentile

$77,210

Median

$96,600

75th percentile

$122,830

90th percentile

$153,130

Workers surveyed

5,850

What BLS published in each release

May 2024 release

$92,060

May 2025 release

$96,600

These are two separate published estimates, not a time series. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not encourage the use of OEWS data for time-series analysis. Differences between releases reflect changes in occupational classification, survey methodology, and the three-year pooled sample as well as any change in pay, so the two figures should not be read as a rate of wage growth.

BLS publishes wages by occupation code, not by job title, so this figure covers every role mapped to Hydrologists (SOC 19-2043) rather than Water Resource Specialist specifically. The national 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 19-2043

Highest Paying

$129,000

San Jose, CA

Best Purchasing Power

$96,000

Anchorage, AK

Lowest Paying

$73,000

Tulsa, OK

The salary figures on this page are computed estimates, not observed wages. Each one is a national role baseline scaled by a Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parity cost-of-living multiplier (2025 index) and rounded to the nearest $1,000. No published wage percentile is consulted and no wage survey response enters the calculation, so an Orbyt estimate must not be cited as a Bureau of Labor Statistics figure or as measured pay. The published wage data Orbyt holds is Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, and Department of Labor H-1B Labor Condition Application filings, which record a filed minimum visa base wage rather than market pay. Where BLS publishes a wage for the occupation a role maps to, it is shown on that role's page as a separate benchmark, labelled with its occupation code, metro area and the number of employed workers it covers. Last updated September 2026. This role maps to BLS occupation code 19-2043. Full methodology.

Orbyt estimates the average Water Resource Specialist salary in the United States at $92,000 in 2026, within a range of $73,000 to $115,000. 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. San Jose is the highest of the 81 cities at $129,000, while Anchorage offers the best purchasing power after cost-of-living adjustments. Expertise in hydrology modeling, stormwater management, or water rights law drives salary variance.

Water Resource Specialist salary by city.

Salary comparison across 81 cities
CityMedianRangeCOLAdjustedRank
San Jose, CA$129,000$103,000 to $162,0001.38x$93,000#3209 of 3445
San Francisco, CA$122,000$97,000 to $152,0001.35x$90,000#3230 of 3445
Honolulu, HI$122,000$97,000 to $152,0001.30x$94,000#3202 of 3445
New York, NY$121,000$96,000 to $152,0001.28x$95,000#3194 of 3445
Washington DC, DC$115,000$91,000 to $144,0001.25x$92,000#3227 of 3445
Seattle, WA$114,000$91,000 to $143,0001.24x$92,000#3220 of 3445
Boston, MA$114,000$91,000 to $143,0001.22x$93,000#3209 of 3445
Los Angeles, CA$112,000$89,000 to $140,0001.18x$95,000#3191 of 3445
Arlington, VA$112,000$89,000 to $140,0001.22x$92,000#3214 of 3445
Anchorage, AK$108,000$86,000 to $135,0001.13x$96,000#3177 of 3445
Jersey City, NJ$108,000$86,000 to $135,0001.20x$90,000#3235 of 3445
Princeton, NJ$108,000$86,000 to $135,0001.15x$94,000#3201 of 3445
Miami, FL$107,000$85,000 to $134,0001.12x$96,000#3183 of 3445
Newark, NJ$106,000$84,000 to $133,0001.18x$90,000#3227 of 3445
Boulder, CO$105,000$83,000 to $131,0001.15x$91,000#3224 of 3445
San Diego, CA$104,000$83,000 to $131,0001.17x$89,000#3238 of 3445
Sacramento, CA$103,000$82,000 to $129,0001.10x$94,000#3198 of 3445
Denver, CO$102,000$81,000 to $128,0001.08x$94,000#3192 of 3445
Chicago, IL$98,000$78,000 to $123,0001.07x$92,000#3217 of 3445
Minneapolis, MN$98,000$77,000 to $122,0001.05x$93,000#3212 of 3445
Portland, OR$97,000$77,000 to $121,0001.10x$88,000#3241 of 3445
Wilmington, DE$97,000$77,000 to $121,0001.02x$95,000#3195 of 3445
Baltimore, MD$97,000$77,000 to $122,0001.08x$90,000#3231 of 3445
Ann Arbor, MI$97,000$77,000 to $121,0001.02x$95,000#3184 of 3445
Austin, TX$96,000$76,000 to $120,0001.03x$93,000#3205 of 3445
Philadelphia, PA$96,000$76,000 to $120,0001.09x$88,000#3245 of 3445
Hartford, CT$96,000$76,000 to $120,0001.08x$89,000#3236 of 3445
Providence, RI$96,000$76,000 to $120,0001.04x$92,000#3217 of 3445
Dallas, TX$95,000$75,000 to $118,0001.01x$94,000#3196 of 3445
Portland, ME$95,000$75,000 to $118,0001.05x$90,000#3231 of 3445
Burlington, VT$95,000$75,000 to $118,0001.06x$90,000#3232 of 3445
Atlanta, GA$94,000$74,000 to $117,0001.02x$92,000#3214 of 3445
Manchester, NH$94,000$74,000 to $117,0001.06x$89,000#3241 of 3445
Richmond, VA$93,000$74,000 to $116,0001.01x$92,000#3220 of 3445
Virginia Beach, VA$93,000$74,000 to $116,0000.98x$95,000#3181 of 3445
Phoenix, AZ$92,000$73,000 to $115,0000.96x$96,000#3186 of 3445
Nashville, TN$92,000$73,000 to $115,0001.00x$92,000#3224 of 3445
Charlotte, NC$91,000$72,000 to $114,0000.97x$94,000#3201 of 3445
Charleston, SC$90,000$72,000 to $113,0000.98x$92,000#3217 of 3445
Houston, TX$89,000$71,000 to $112,0000.97x$92,000#3215 of 3445
Tampa, FL$89,000$71,000 to $112,0000.96x$93,000#3210 of 3445
Las Vegas, NV$89,000$71,000 to $112,0000.96x$93,000#3211 of 3445
Reno, NV$89,000$71,000 to $112,0000.96x$93,000#3206 of 3445
Pittsburgh, PA$88,000$70,000 to $110,0000.92x$96,000#3174 of 3445
Spokane, WA$88,000$70,000 to $110,0000.92x$96,000#3185 of 3445
Raleigh, NC$87,000$69,000 to $109,0000.99x$88,000#3241 of 3445
Salt Lake City, UT$87,000$69,000 to $108,0000.98x$89,000#3239 of 3445
Boise, ID$87,000$69,000 to $109,0000.95x$92,000#3223 of 3445
Milwaukee, WI$87,000$69,000 to $109,0000.91x$96,000#3171 of 3445
Albany, NY$87,000$69,000 to $109,0000.96x$91,000#3231 of 3445
Kansas City, MO$86,000$68,000 to $107,0000.93x$92,000#3219 of 3445
New Orleans, LA$86,000$69,000 to $108,0000.92x$93,000#3209 of 3445
Columbia, SC$86,000$68,000 to $108,0000.90x$96,000#3175 of 3445
St. Louis, MO$85,000$68,000 to $107,0000.90x$94,000#3194 of 3445
Columbus, OH$85,000$67,000 to $106,0000.93x$91,000#3228 of 3445
Cincinnati, OH$85,000$68,000 to $107,0000.90x$94,000#3196 of 3445
San Antonio, TX$85,000$68,000 to $107,0000.91x$93,000#3210 of 3445
Columbus, OH$84,000$67,000 to $105,0000.93x$90,000#3228 of 3445
Orlando, FL$84,000$67,000 to $105,0000.95x$88,000#3235 of 3445
Madison, WI$84,000$67,000 to $105,0000.95x$88,000#3239 of 3445
Detroit, MI$83,000$66,000 to $104,0000.90x$92,000#3219 of 3445
Indianapolis, IN$83,000$66,000 to $104,0000.91x$91,000#3229 of 3445
Louisville, KY$83,000$66,000 to $103,0000.88x$94,000#3195 of 3445
Baton Rouge, LA$83,000$66,000 to $103,0000.88x$94,000#3198 of 3445
North Charleston, SC$83,000$66,000 to $104,0000.94x$88,000#3243 of 3445
Knoxville, TN$82,000$65,000 to $102,0000.89x$92,000#3218 of 3445
Albuquerque, NM$81,000$64,000 to $101,0000.88x$92,000#3224 of 3445
Lexington, KY$81,000$64,000 to $101,0000.86x$94,000#3199 of 3445
Des Moines, IA$80,000$63,000 to $100,0000.86x$93,000#3208 of 3445
Cheyenne, WY$80,000$64,000 to $100,0000.87x$92,000#3217 of 3445
Des Moines, IA$80,000$63,000 to $100,0000.86x$93,000#3212 of 3445
Omaha, NE$79,000$62,000 to $98,0000.88x$90,000#3233 of 3445
Little Rock, AR$77,000$61,000 to $96,0000.82x$94,000#3200 of 3445
Oklahoma City, OK$77,000$61,000 to $96,0000.84x$92,000#3216 of 3445
Birmingham, AL$76,000$60,000 to $95,0000.84x$90,000#3229 of 3445
Fargo, ND$76,000$60,000 to $95,0000.85x$89,000#3236 of 3445
Sioux Falls, SD$75,000$60,000 to $94,0000.85x$88,000#3240 of 3445
Jackson, MS$74,000$59,000 to $93,0000.79x$94,000#3199 of 3445
Wichita, KS$73,000$58,000 to $91,0000.82x$89,000#3241 of 3445
Charleston, WV$73,000$58,000 to $91,0000.78x$94,000#3197 of 3445
Tulsa, OK$73,000$58,000 to $92,0000.83x$88,000#3239 of 3445

Skills that increase Water Resource Specialist pay.

The premiums below are Orbyt's modelled scenarios for Water Resource Specialists, not effects measured from job postings: each is a fixed percentage applied to the estimated base. At the top premium that works out to $12,880 a year.

LLM Fine-Tuning+14%

≈ +$12,880 per year

Reinforcement Learning+13%

≈ +$11,960 per year

CUDA+12%

≈ +$11,040 per year

RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation)+11%

≈ +$10,120 per year

Kubernetes+11%

≈ +$10,120 per year

Transformers+10%

≈ +$9,200 per year

Rust+10%

≈ +$9,200 per year

PyTorch+9%

≈ +$8,280 per year

What you should know.

Expertise in hydrology modeling, stormwater management, or water rights law drives salary variance. Specialists working in water-stressed regions like the Southwest or on large infrastructure projects earn 15 to 25% more. PE licensure adds significant value in consulting roles.

Entry-level Water Resource Specialists earn $60,000 to $68,000. Mid-career professionals with modeling expertise reach $74,000 to $88,000. Senior Specialists and Project Managers command $90,000 to $110,000, while Water Resource Directors at utilities or firms exceed $125,000.

Government roles offer pension benefits and strong job security but trend 10 to 15% below consulting salaries. Consulting firms provide annual bonuses of 5 to 12% and billable-hour incentives. Field work per diem can add $5,000 to $10,000 annually.

Total compensation breakdown.

Base Salary
$92,000
Equity / Year
$6,000
Annual Bonus
5%
$5,000
Total Comp
$103,000

Salary by company size

Startup
< 50 employees
$78,000
Growth
50-500 employees
$86,000
Scale-up
500-5K employees
$92,000
Public
5K+ employees
$109,000

Remote salary adjustment

Remote Water Resource Specialists typically earn $78,000 (15% less than on-site). This reflects location-adjusted pay policies at companies using geographic salary bands. Some companies pay flat national rates regardless of location.

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Related.

Common questions about Water Resource Specialist pay.

Orbyt estimates the national median Water Resource Specialist salary at $92,000 in 2026, within a range of $73,000 to $115,000. This is a computed estimate, not a measured wage. Where you land depends on your experience, skills, the company's size, and your location.

Entry level Water Resource Specialists (0 to 2 years) typically earn $60,000 to $74,000. Mid level (3 to 5 years) run $78,000 to $97,000. Senior (6 to 9 years) reach $101,000 to $120,000, and lead level (10 plus years) $115,000 to $143,000.

Government roles offer pension benefits and strong job security but trend 10 to 15% below consulting salaries. Consulting firms provide annual bonuses of 5 to 12% and billable-hour incentives. Field work per diem can add $5,000 to $10,000 annually.

With a national median of $92,000 and senior pay reaching $120,000 to $143,000, Water Resource Specialist is a well compensated field. Pay varies by city, so compare cost of living adjusted numbers before judging any single offer.

Entry level Water Resource Specialist roles start around $60,000 to $74,000. Candidates with strong internships, certifications, or portfolio work often negotiate toward the national median of $92,000.

Anchor your ask near the top of the range at $115,000 so you have room to settle around the $92,000 median. Bring specific data about your impact, and never accept the first number without a conversation.

You have the data.

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