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Average Environmental Scientist Salary in India for 2026

An environmental scientist in India earns about 615,700 INR a year. That's 60% above the national average of 384,200 INR.

Pay ranges widely from country to country and from role to role. The lowest reported salaries in India sit around 294,700 INR a year, while the very top stretches to 965,800 INR. Everything on this page is in Indian rupee (INR, symbol ₹), which lets you compare numbers like-for-like without worrying about exchange rates.

The numbers here are pulled together from official government wage data, large independent salary surveys, and aggregated worker-reported pay. Most reported salaries include the benefits that are common in India, such as housing or transport allowances, which is worth keeping in mind if you're comparing against a country where those are usually paid on top.

How much does an environmental scientist make in India?

Average salary
615,700 INR
51,308 INR per month
Lowest reported
294,700 INR
24,558 INR per month
Highest reported
965,800 INR
80,483 INR per month

A typical environmental scientist working in India brings home around 51,308 INR a month before tax. Entry-level pay starts near 294,700 INR, and the top of the ladder reaches roughly 965,800 INR for the most experienced and specialised people in the role.

The wide gap between low end and top end reflects how much pay can vary inside the same job title. A junior environmental scientist working at a small local employer earns very different money from a senior at a multinational. Skills, employer, city and years in the seat all push the number around.

How environmental scientist pay ranges in India

A good way to think about salary in India is to look at the distribution rather than the headline average. Half of all environmental scientists in India earn less than 641,900 INR a year, and the other half earn more. That middle number is the median, and it is usually more useful than the average for answering "is my pay normal here".

Looking at the quartiles fills in the picture. A quarter of earners take home less than 420,100 INR (the 25th percentile), and a quarter clear 836,800 INR (the 75th percentile). The middle 50% of environmental scientists sit somewhere inside that band, which is where the typical reader of this page probably lives.

The very lowest reported salaries sit around 294,700 INR. The highest stretch to 965,800 INR, though only a small fraction of earners ever reach that level. If you are deciding whether your own offer or current pay is reasonable, work out which of those four bands you would fall into and use that as your reference point.

294,700
Low
641,900
Median
965,800
High
420,100
25th
836,800
75th
The middle 50% sit between the 25th and 75th percentile Tails are the lowest and highest reported All figures in INR

Environmental scientist pay by experience in India

Years of experience is the single biggest lever on pay for an environmental scientist in India, ahead of education and almost any other single factor. The longer you have been in the role, the more your employer can trust you to handle complexity, mentor others and act independently, all of which command higher pay. The chart below shows how the typical environmental scientist salary changes as you move through the career ladder.

  • 0-2 Years
    344,600 INR
  • 2-5 Years
    +42% from previous
    489,500 INR
  • 5-10 Years
    +32% from previous
    643,800 INR
  • 10-15 Years
    +23% from previous
    790,600 INR
  • 15-20 Years
    +7% from previous
    843,600 INR
  • 20+ Years
    +9% from previous
    922,300 INR

The single largest jump on the ladder is from 0 - 2 Years to 2 - 5 Years, where pay rises by about 42%. That is the point at which a environmental scientist typically goes from "competent in the role" to "the person other people in the team learn from", and the market pays well for that step.

Environmental scientist pay by education in India

Education sits alongside experience as one of the biggest factors driving environmental scientist pay in India. Higher qualifications consistently pull higher salaries, but the size of the gap tends to be smallest at junior levels and widens as people move up. Two people in the same role with the same years of experience but different degrees can end up earning very different money once they reach mid-career.

Below is the average environmental scientist salary in India broken down by the highest level of education a worker has completed.

  • Bachelor's Degree
    483,800 INR
  • Master's Degree
    +28% from previous
    618,800 INR
  • PhD
    +48% from previous
    915,100 INR

Environmental scientist gender pay gap in India

The gender pay gap is a stubborn feature of almost every labour market, and India is no exception. Male environmental scientists in India earn an average of 652,200 INR a year, while female environmental scientists earn around 597,800 INR. That works out to a 9% gap in favour of men, even when comparing people doing the same work.

A pay gap of this size has a real long-term cost. Over a typical thirty-year career it can add up to several years of pay, and it compounds through pensions, retirement contributions and bonus-linked stock. Some of the gap is explained by women being more likely to work part-time, take career breaks, or be steered toward lower-paying specialisations. Some of it is straightforward unequal pay for the same job, which is harder to defend.

Environmental Scientist gender pay gap

8%

Men earn this much more than women on average in India.

Men 652,200 INR
Women 597,800 INR

Pay raises for an environmental scientist in India

Most countries hand out at least some kind of pay raise every year, typically when an employee's contract is reviewed or as a cost-of-living adjustment to keep wages roughly in step with inflation. The rhythm and size of those raises varies hugely between industries.

A typical worker doing this role in India sees a raise of about 12% every 18 months, which works out to roughly 8% on an annual basis. That figure is the typical underlying rate; in years where inflation runs high you can usually expect a bit more, and in flat-economy years a bit less.

Across all jobs in India, the national average raise is around 9% every 16 months.

By industry

Industries with the highest pay raises in India:

  • Banking
    1%
  • Energy
    2%
  • Information Technology
  • Healthcare
  • Travel
  • Construction
  • Education

By experience level

Experienced workers tend to see larger raises. Retaining a senior is cheaper than replacing them, so employers fight harder for them.

  • Junior Level
    3% - 5%
  • Mid-Career
  • Senior Level
  • Top Management

Environmental scientist bonus rates in India

Bonuses are the other half of total compensation, and they vary a lot between jobs and industries. Some roles are paid almost entirely in base salary; others lean heavily on bonus structures tied to revenue, project completion or company performance. Whether a job pays a bonus, how big it is, and how often it lands all factor into whether the headline salary is actually a good offer.

59%

59% of environmental scientists in India reported a bonus of some kind in the past twelve months. That makes an environmental scientist a moderate-bonus role overall, which is useful context when you're weighing up a job offer where the base is below market.

Among those who did receive a bonus, the size of the payment varied substantially. Reported bonuses ranged from 3% to 6% of base salary. The remaining 41% of environmental scientists reported no bonus at all over the same period.

Which careers pay bonuses in India

Revenue-facing roles tend to pay the biggest bonuses. Operational and support roles tend toward smaller, more predictable ones.

  • Finance
  • Architecture
  • Sales
  • Business Development
  • Marketing / Advertising
  • Information Technology
  • Healthcare
  • Insurance
  • Customer Service
  • Human Resources
  • Construction
  • Transport
  • Hospitality

Environmental scientist: public vs private sector pay

Public-sector pay in India is about 6% more than private-sector pay for similar work. The private sector typically offers stronger upside and bigger bonuses; the public sector typically offers better benefits and stability.

Public vs private pay gap

5%

Public-sector workers earn this much more than private-sector workers in India on average.

Public sector 392,300 INR
Private sector 371,100 INR

Environmental scientist salary by city and region in India

Environmental scientist pay is not even across India. The chart below shows the highest-paying cities and regions in the dataset, followed by the full location table.

  • Uttar Pradesh
  • West Bengal
  • Tamil Nadu
  • Maharashtra
  • Bangalore
  • Delhi (city)
  • Gujarat
  • Bihar
  • Madhya Pradesh
  • Karnataka
LocationTypeAverageMedianRange
Uttar PradeshRegion769,500 INR769,500 INR384,500-1,195,600 INR
West BengalRegion745,000 INR717,900 INR389,200-1,141,000 INR
Tamil NaduRegion743,300 INR696,700 INR392,300-1,125,300 INR
MaharashtraRegion732,400 INR718,000 INR372,600-1,125,300 INR
BangaloreCity727,100 INR757,600 INR348,300-1,141,000 INR
Delhi (city)City724,300 INR709,600 INR369,900-1,113,100 INR
GujaratRegion724,000 INR710,500 INR369,900-1,114,700 INR
BiharRegion722,100 INR780,600 INR332,500-1,148,200 INR
Madhya PradeshRegion722,100 INR735,200 INR353,600-1,125,300 INR
KarnatakaRegion714,600 INR683,800 INR369,300-1,091,600 INR
SuratCity696,700 INR739,500 INR327,800-1,102,900 INR
HyderabadCity696,700 INR739,500 INR327,800-1,099,200 INR
PuneCity692,500 INR637,500 INR372,600-1,041,900 INR
ChennaiCity692,500 INR677,100 INR351,200-1,064,100 INR
JharkhandRegion692,500 INR692,500 INR344,600-1,070,600 INR
RajasthanRegion683,400 INR696,700 INR335,100-1,067,300 INR
Andhra PradeshRegion683,400 INR696,700 INR335,100-1,067,300 INR
MumbaiCity677,100 INR649,700 INR351,900-1,037,000 INR
KeralaRegion677,100 INR623,200 INR366,200-1,023,000 INR
KolkataCity672,600 INR684,900 INR327,300-1,045,100 INR
OrissaRegion663,200 INR637,500 INR345,100-1,012,100 INR
Delhi (region)Region663,100 INR704,300 INR311,700-1,048,600 INR
HaryanaRegion660,500 INR619,800 INR352,000-1,004,600 INR
NagpurCity659,200 INR698,200 INR312,400-1,043,700 INR
AhmadabadCity652,200 INR598,600 INR351,200-986,700 INR
AssamRegion649,700 INR610,100 INR345,100-987,200 INR
JaipurCity641,900 INR615,700 INR332,100-983,100 INR
Jammu & KashmirRegion641,900 INR665,300 INR308,900-1,007,400 INR
UttaranchalRegion641,900 INR667,400 INR308,900-1,004,500 INR
LucknowCity639,100 INR650,700 INR314,500-995,200 INR
IndoreCity633,300 INR683,800 INR292,000-1,009,600 INR
KanpurCity633,300 INR674,100 INR297,000-1,004,400 INR
Himachal PradeshRegion633,100 INR681,500 INR288,700-1,004,400 INR
PunjabRegion633,100 INR670,600 INR296,000-996,600 INR
TripuraRegion629,800 INR681,900 INR288,700-1,003,800 INR
VisakhapatnamCity629,800 INR656,800 INR301,600-990,700 INR
Pimpri-ChinchwadCity628,000 INR679,200 INR290,800-999,500 INR
ChhatisgarhRegion627,900 INR627,900 INR315,700-973,800 INR
BhopalCity625,000 INR649,700 INR301,800-983,100 INR
LudhianaCity612,500 INR633,300 INR294,700-958,700 INR
PatnaCity608,500 INR632,400 INR294,700-957,800 INR
CoimbatoreCity607,400 INR571,300 INR322,600-925,900 INR
GoaRegion598,600 INR610,100 INR294,300-934,900 INR
VadodaraCity598,600 INR610,100 INR294,300-934,900 INR
ManipurRegion592,600 INR559,000 INR315,700-903,500 INR
MeghalayaRegion583,000 INR633,100 INR268,900-929,700 INR
SikkimRegion574,200 INR562,600 INR294,300-885,000 INR
Arunachal PradeshRegion572,200 INR559,000 INR292,000-879,700 INR
GhaziabadCity571,300 INR571,300 INR283,700-885,000 INR
NagalandRegion571,300 INR571,300 INR283,700-885,000 INR
MaduraiCity565,100 INR610,100 INR261,300-902,100 INR
agraCity558,300 INR548,800 INR283,700-861,300 INR
PondicherryRegion548,800 INR504,400 INR294,700-825,900 INR
MizoramRegion547,800 INR572,200 INR263,900-862,200 INR
ChandigarhRegion535,900 INR558,300 INR257,700-844,600 INR
Andaman & Nicobar IslandsRegion531,700 INR562,600 INR249,600-840,100 INR
LakshadweepRegion524,700 INR556,000 INR246,500-829,000 INR
Dadra & Nagar HaveliRegion518,900 INR498,000 INR271,300-794,900 INR
Daman & DiuRegion504,300 INR466,300 INR273,300-761,400 INR

Environmental Scientist in India: FAQs

  • How much does an environmental scientist make per month in India?

    An environmental scientist in India earns about 51,308 INR a month before tax, based on an annual average of 615,700 INR.

  • What's the salary range for an environmental scientist in India?

    Entry-level environmental scientists in India start near 294,700 INR. Top-end pay reaches around 965,800 INR. The middle 50% of earners sit between 420,100 and 836,800 INR.

  • Is the median environmental scientist salary in India higher or lower than the average?

    The median is 641,900 INR, higher than the average of 615,700 INR. Half of environmental scientists in India earn below the median, half earn above it.

  • What's the gender pay gap for environmental scientists in India?

    Men working as an environmental scientist in India earn around 9% more than women on average (652,200 vs 597,800 INR a year).

  • Do environmental scientists in India get bonuses?

    About 59% of environmental scientists in India reported a bonus in the past 12 months. Reported bonuses ranged from 3% to 6% of base salary.

  • Do environmental scientists earn more in the public or private sector in India?

    In India, the public sector pays an environmental scientist about 6% more on average. Public-sector pay tends to be steadier; private-sector pay tends to offer bigger upside.

  • How often do environmental scientists in India get a pay raise?

    An environmental scientist in India sees a raise of around 12% every 18 months, equivalent to roughly 8% a year.