Bethesda/Rockville Make Best Cities for Pay in STEM Jobs

BETHESDA, MD – Silicon Valley is typically thought of as the go-to place for great jobs in science, technology, engineering and math – commonly called STEM.

Guess again. Nowhere do STEM jobs pay better than in the Bethesda/Rockville area, according to a recent analysis by SmartAsset. The company has released the results of its second nationwide look at the top 25 cities for pay in STEM jobs, and the Maryland tech corridor comes out on top.

Much of the credit lies with the many government affiliated employers in the area, think National Institutes of Health or Lockheed Martin.

Here’s what the study says about Bethesda:

1. Bethesda-Rockville-Frederick, Maryland

Top STEM jobs for pay: mathematicians ($137,440 median annual income), physicists ($131,320), economists ($131,040).

Notable STEM Employers: National Institute of Health, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Human Genome Sciences, Lockheed Martin, Bethesda Softworks, WealthEngine, RainKing.

This is the second year in a row that the Bethesda metro area has ranked as the top U.S. region for pay in STEM professions. Bethesda ranks among the top five metro areas for median STEM income and for income growth in STEM professions. It is the only U.S. metro area to rank in the top five for both of these metrics.

The remaining top 5 cities for STEM pay are:

• San Francisco, CA
• San Diego, CA
• Oakland, CA, and
• Nashville, TN

Neighboring Washington, D.C., ranked 15th in STEM pay.

SEE ALSO:

• Bethesda Ranked Richest Small City in America
• Ranking Maryland School Systems 1 to 24
• 10 ‘Snobbiest’ Cities in Maryland
• Rockville Ranks Among ‘Top 100 Best Places to Live,’ Livability Study Says
• Rockville Makes List of 10 Best Cities for Families

The median pay among STEM workers in 2014 was more than $72,000. That’s more than double the median income among all occupations, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data.