Is JPL government or private?
JPL is federally funded by NASA and managed by Caltech. Nestled at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains in Southern California, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory – JPL for short – is a federally funded research and development center managed by Caltech.Managed by the California Institute of Technology and based in Pasadena, JPL is NASA’s only federally-funded research and development center. JPL is the result of a Caltech graduate student’s research into rocket propulsion in the late 1930s.
What are the highest salaries of JPL?
Annual salaries typically range from $52,626 (or $25) for a Research Intern to $212,717 (or $102) for a Principal Engineer. This is based on 3402 salaries submitted on Glassdoor by NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory employees in United States as of November 2025. The top 5 highest paying jobs at NASA with reported salaries are: software engineering manager – $181k per year.The estimated total pay range for a Scientist at NASA is $140K–$191K per year, which includes base salary and additional pay. The average Scientist base salary at NASA is $157K per year.How much does a Scientist Nasa make? As of Nov 16, 2025, the average hourly pay for a Scientist Nasa in the United States is $45.Aerospace engineer positions at SpaceX begin at $95,000 per year, dwarfing NASA’s offering which must adhere to the federal government’s General Schedule pay scales. Here, salaries begin at around $55,000 for engineers with bachelor’s degrees working at the Kennedy Space Center, based in Florida.Nasa pay faqs the average salary for a chief executive officer is $3,17,309 per year (estimate) in washington, dc , united states, which is 21% higher than the average nasa salary of $2,63,067 per year (estimate) for this job.
How much do JPL rocket scientists make?
The estimated average salary for a Rocket Scientist at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory is $170,004 per year or $82 per hour, but some professionals have reported earning up to roughly $268,824 per year (90th percentile). The typical pay range is between $135,148 (25th percentile) and $217,367 (75th percentile) annually. How much does a Nasa Jpl make in Pasadena, California? As of Nov 23, 2025, the average annual pay for a Nasa Jpl in Pasadena is $108,784 a year. Just in case you need a simple salary calculator, that works out to be approximately $52. This is the equivalent of $2,092/week or $9,065/month.