California · 2025 pay · 1,668 people
How much does a lab assistant make in California?
$20,301typical pay for a lab assistant in 2025
$6,601 – $48,165what most people earned
Includes everyone paid during 2025, including part-year workers. Typical pay fell 3.1% from 2024.
✓ Official data from California State Controller's Office · Matches the agency's latest release · sco.ca.gov ↗✓ Official data from California State Controller's Office · Matches the agency's latest release · sco.ca.gov ↗
Where lab assistants work
Typical pay at each employer, 2025 (everyone paid).
- University of California, Los Angeles314 people$23,397
- University of California, San Diego303 people$17,930
- University of California, Davis251 people$21,538
- University of California, Irvine161 people$23,391
- University of California, Riverside156 people$15,000
- University of California, Berkeley137 people$22,235
- University of California, San Francisco134 people$29,198
- University of California, Santa Barbara97 people$14,862
- University of California, Santa Cruz37 people$5,875
- Tri-City Healthcare District36 people$28,663
- Palomar Health District23 people$44,318
- University of California, Merced14 people$21,291
- Orange County Mosquito and Vector Control District2 people$73,306
- Eastside Mosquito Abatement1 person$71,902
- Merced County Mosquito Abatement1 person$17,995
- Northwest Mosquito and Vector Control District1 person$19,389
No employers match.
Pay by level
Levels with 5 or more people.
- Lab Assistant 1543 people$11,560
- Lab Assistant 2737 people$21,753
- Lab Assistant I42 people$25,768
- Lab Assistant 3281 people$37,984
- Lab Assistant II12 people$45,929
- Lab Assistant III6 people$59,603
- Lab Assistant 443 people$70,850
Related jobs and the next step up
Same line of work at a different rank, by typical pay (full-year employees where we can tell).
- Lab Assistant (this page)$20,301 (everyone)
- Lab Manager$166,676 (everyone)
Highest-paid lab assistants, 2025
Common questions
How much does a lab assistant make in California?
The typical lab assistant was paid $20,301 in 2025; most earned between $6,601 and $48,165. This counts all 1,668 people paid, including part-year workers.
How much of the pay is overtime?
Overtime made up 1.4% of all pay for lab assistants in 2025.
Which job titles are included?
Everyone whose payroll title is Lab Assistant, at any level (for example "Lab Assistant 1"). Part-time-schedule titles (such as "20 hours") are left out. Senior, supervising and trainee titles have their own pages.
Job titles are written out in full from the payroll's abbreviations (for example "SR CRRECTNL POLC OFCR" → "Senior Correctional Police Officer"). "Typical pay" is the median; "most earned" is the middle half. How we calculate this