Hiring a chemical engineer in Boston, MA

Do Boston residents in architecture and engineering work earn more than employers in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH area pay?

Boston residents working in architecture and engineering occupations earn a median of $92,820 (Census ACS 5-year 2023, tables S2401 and B24011), against $93,245 as the median of the 32 wages BLS publishes for that same occupation group in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH area (BLS OEWS, May 2025), the same figure to the nearest percent.

Both sides of that figure describe the whole architecture and engineering group, not this one role. In the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH area the group covers 32 occupations BLS publishes a wage for, from surveying and mapping technicians at $59,820 to computer hardware engineers at $167,600 (BLS OEWS, May 2025), with chemical engineers at $109,460 inside it.

That comparison is between two different measures, not a pay gap. The two weight the same occupation group differently: the Census figure is the midpoint across the people who actually hold those jobs, so a group carrying a few very well paid occupations is pulled toward them, while the BLS figure is the midpoint across the 32 published occupation wages, which counts each of those occupations once whatever its headcount. Census also counts where people live and BLS counts where the jobs are, and the two cover different populations, Census the civilian employed population 16 and over, BLS wage-and-salary jobs only. Read the number against other cities, where the same definitional difference applies on both sides, rather than as a shortfall.

The two sit within 10% of each other, so residents of Boston and employers across the metro are priced about the same in this field, and pay alone is unlikely to be what wins or loses this hire.

Is the talent actually in Boston?

This is a job zone four: considerable preparation needed occupation. Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not. O*NET OnLine, SOC 17-2041.

That matters here, because 54.1% of Boston adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher. That is a deep local pool for a degree-requiring role. Census ACS 5-year 2023, table S1501, residents of Boston aged 25 and over.

The average Boston commute runs 30.2 minutes, which is roughly how far your catchment reaches before candidates start saying no. 18.8% of Boston workers already work from home, so a fully onsite requirement here is competing against that. Census ACS 5-year 2023, place-level commuting characteristics for Boston.

How often do these jobs turn over?

In Suffolk County, architectural, engineering and related services employs 10,975 and turns over 4.8% a quarter, with 621 hires against 611 separations. Average earnings in that industry run $11,377 a month. Census LEHD Quarterly Workforce Indicators, 2024 Q1, NAICS 5413.

That figure covers every occupation in the industry, not this role alone, so read it as the local churn rate rather than as a number about chemical engineers. It still tells you what you are hiring into: a low-churn market, where people do not move often and passive candidates are the whole game.

What does the search cost?

The fee is set by the seniority of the role, never by salary and never by location. Across all six tiers it runs $6,240 to $54,340 per search. A contingency firm hiring at this role's $109,460 median in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH area (BLS OEWS, May 2025) would bill roughly $21,892 to $32,838 on the first year salary alone.

One owner runs the search from market map to signed offer. Searches typically fill in 23 to 35 days, which is a typical window rather than a promise, and the replacement guarantee runs 45 days at 50% off.

Questions employers ask about hiring a chemical engineer in Boston

What does it cost to hire a chemical engineer in Boston?

Tier I to Tier VI, $6,240 to $54,340 per search, set by the seniority of the role and never by salary or location. A contingency firm billing 20 to 30% of this role's $109,460 median wage in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH area (BLS OEWS, May 2025) would charge roughly $21,892 to $32,838 on the first year salary alone.

What should an offer for a chemical engineer in Boston look like?

Employers in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH area pay chemical engineers a median of $109,460, with the middle half of the market between $79,110 and $144,030 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). A band set below $79,110 competes for the bottom quarter of that market.

Do Boston residents in architecture and engineering work earn more than employers in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH area pay?

Boston residents working in architecture and engineering occupations earn a median of $92,820 (Census ACS 5-year 2023, tables S2401 and B24011), against $93,245 as the median of the 32 wages BLS publishes for that same occupation group in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH area (BLS OEWS, May 2025), the same figure to the nearest percent. Both figures cover the whole occupation group rather than this one role, and one counts where people live while the other counts where the jobs are, so the percentage is not a pay gap.

Is the talent for this role already in Boston?

This is a job zone 4 occupation, which usually calls for a bachelor's degree, and 54.1% of Boston adults hold one or higher (Census ACS 5-year 2023, table S1501). That is a deep local pool for a degree-requiring role.

Related

• Hiring Chemical Engineers: the role, the pay, the process
• Recruiting services in Boston
• Every Massachusetts city we cover

Boston is the largest of 2 Massachusetts cities in this dataset.