Free Access No Registration Updated: 2026-06-01

Clinical Research Associate Career Market Report 2026

1,750 active jobs. 169 companies. Median salary $56K. Data from Greenhouse, Lever, Workday, Ashby, SmartRecruiters, Workable, and 14 additional ATS sources. Last computed: 2026-06-01.

1,750
Active Job Openings
169
Companies Hiring
$56K
Median Salary (US)
71%
With Salary Data

About This Report

The Clinical Research Associate market data on this page is updated daily from 800,000+ active job postings across 20 ATS platforms.

Greenhouse Lever Workday Ashby SmartRecruiters Workable + 14 more ATS sources

Salary: Extracted via NLP. Only USD $5K-$3M included. Skills: Named entity recognition, noise-filtered (generic soft skills excluded). Experience: Inferred from title + description. Coverage: 71% of positions include salary data.

Key Findings

Median salary: $56K in the US

Middle 50% of salaries range from $45K to $116K.

Remote roles pay 196% above the US national median

Remote-first employers competing nationally for talent. The premium reflects company quality (remote-first firms tend to be well-funded), not a work-mode bonus.

GCP is the most-demanded skill at 59%

GCP demand rose +9.2pp — fastest-growing skill

Icon leads hiring with 243 open positions

Biggest salary jump: Senior → Staff (+$149K, +147%)

Salary increase: +$149K · Sample: Senior → Staff

AI automation risk: medium-high (score 70/100)

Score: 70/100 · AI/LLM demand: 0% of postings

Salary by Experience Level

LevelJobsP25MedianP90
Junior57$45K$50K$71K
Senior41$72K$102K$115K
Entry-Level34$40K$42K$45K
Director23$156K$206K$277K
Mid-Level18$70K$85K$87K
Manager12$63K$90K$129K
Staff5$186K$251K$282K

What jumps out

Senior → Staff: +$149K (147%) — the biggest single-step increase. The salary curve is back-loaded: the largest raises come at transitions where scope changes from executing tasks to owning outcomes, or from owning outcomes to shaping architecture across teams.

Salary by Country

CountryJobsMedianCurrency
United States148$65KUSD
Canada17$85KUSD
Remote16$192KUSD

Work Mode

ModeShare
On-Site1.0%
Remote10.2%
Hybrid1.9%

~80% of postings do not specify work mode. Figures show only positions where it is explicitly stated.

Top Skills in Demand

GCP
59%
Oncology
20%
PLC Programming
18%
Pharmacy
18%
Patient Care
16%
Patient Safety
15%
Scheduling
10%
Phlebotomy
10%
Data Analysis
8%
Medical Terminology
6%
Mental Health
6%
Vital Signs
6%

Skills on the Rise

GCP ↑+9.2ppData Analysis ↑+8.3ppMedical Terminology ↑+6.4ppMental Health ↑+6.4ppVital Signs ↑+5.7pp

Declining in Demand

Attention to Detail ↓-28.4ppJournalism ↓-27.6ppExcel ↓-12.8ppQuality Control ↓-10.8ppAgile ↓-10.3pp

Top Companies Hiring

CompanyOpeningsShare
Icon24313.9%
Syneoshealth1418.1%
Iqvia1196.8%
Fortrea1106.3%
Umiami442.5%
Wustl362.1%
Uchicago321.8%
Osu231.3%

Top Countries by Job Volume

CountryJobs
United States535
Remote143
China68
Canada35
United Kingdom32
Germany27
France25
Brazil24

Education Requirements

LevelSharePositions
Associate Degree53.0%661
Bachelor's Degree30.7%383
Master's Degree9.0%112
PhD / Doctorate1.7%21
MBA0.1%1

Certifications

BLS Certification (7%)CMA (1%)GCP Certified (1%)

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