The top five highest paying states for zoologists, from highest to lowest, are Maryland, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Hawaii and New Jersey. Maryland has an average salary of $97,940 per year, while New Jersey pays a mean income of $71,390 per year.s of May 2011, the mean wage for a zoologist is $61,880 per year or $29.75 per hour, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Fifty percent of zoologists exceed the mean annual wage, while 50 percent fall below it. The bottom 10 percent of zoologists earn a mean $17.46 per hour, or $36,310 annually.