Does Charles River Laboratories pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, Charles River Laboratories employees rate their compensation and benefits as 3.0 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at Charles River Laboratories. This rating has been stable over the past 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at Charles River Laboratories?

49% of Charles River Laboratories employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated Charles River Laboratories 3.2 out of 5 for work life balance, 3.2 for culture and values and 3.1 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at Charles River Laboratories?

Lab Technician (78) , Scientist (69) , Animal Care Technician (65) , Research Technician (55) , Technician (52) , Analyst (51) , Research Associate (46) , Research Scientist (42) , Supervisor (37) , Research Assistant (36) , Laboratory Technician (31) , Study Director (27) , Project Manager (25) , Manager (22) , Associate Scientist (20)

What are the pros of working at Charles River Laboratories according to real employee reviews?

"The ability to move around within the company is relatively good and the benefits are good." ((in 236 reviews)); "Great people you work with and a relatively easy job with very easy to understand ladder to climb." ((in 170 reviews)); "Very interesting place to work and colleagues are great" ((in 44 reviews)); "Great people and team to work with" ((in 42 reviews)); "Flexible hours and shifts day" ((in 41 reviews))

What are the cons of working at Charles River Laboratories according to real employee reviews?

"sites are disorganized and pay is low" ((in 177 reviews)); "Management is poor and people who are in charge lack knowledge of CDMO" ((in 166 reviews)); "The low salary also makes it hard to subsequently ask for more at another company." ((in 111 reviews)); "upper management is awful, lots of work to do which overwhelms people easily." ((in 33 reviews)); "A lot of managers don't know what actually occurs in their department." ((in 30 reviews))

What are employees saying about Charles River Laboratories layoffs in 2026?

Explore Glassdoor’s employee reviews to understand what current and former employees are saying about Charles River Laboratories layoffs and their outlook for job security at Charles River Laboratories in 2026.

What are the top reviewed Charles River Laboratories locations?

Wilmington , Mattawan , Reno , Ashland , Horsham , Shrewsbury , Memphis , Boston , Charleston , Worcester , Chicago , Bethesda , Raleigh , South San Francisco , Malvern , Wayne , Cambridge , Skokie , San Diego , Rockville , Morrisville , Newark , Frederick , Philadelphia , Spencerville , Kalamazoo , Wilmington , Durham , Kingston , Catskill

Skip to content Skip to footer

Notifications

Charles River Laboratories

Charles River Laboratories reviews

3.2

49% would recommend to a friend

(2,376 total reviews)

Birgit Girshick

64% approve of CEO

32% positive business outlook

Ratings by category

3.7

Diversity & inclusion

3.2

Culture & values

3.2

Work/Life balance

3.1

Career opportunities

3.0

Compensation and benefits

2.7

Senior management

Charles River Laboratories has an employee rating of 3.2 out of 5 stars, based on 2,376 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Charles River Laboratories employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology industry (3.5 stars).

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

Reviews by job title

2K reviews

4.0

Jun 27, 2025

CRL

Microbiologist ii

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

good work life balance overall

Cons

low pay versus competitors in industry

3.0

Jun 25, 2025

In Vivo Technician

In vivo technician

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

-Decent entry level pay -Straight forward technician promotions (e.g. Tech I to Tech II)

Cons

-Hard physical labor with feisty animals -Inconsistent hours -Difficult to transfer departments -Terrible health insurance -Layoffs always possible due to political climate -Deceptive promises for career growth

1.0

Jun 24, 2025

Worst Company Ever

Former supervisor

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Remote work since the pandemic

Cons

Steer clear of this company if you’d like to maintain your sanity! The CEO, executives, supervisors and management only care about themselves and the bottom line! The workload is absolutely atrocious where the work/life balance and the pay is beyond despicable! The company keeps pushing their employees to complete surveys and vote for this employer to be one of the”Boston’s best”… they say these surveys are anonymous, but certainly don’t trust anyone and watch your back! CRL’s acronym is actually “Cheap Ridiculous Labor”!!!

Viewing 151 - 153 of 2,376 Reviews

Jobs at Charles River Laboratories

Clinical Veterinarian I

Immunopathology Analyst I

Research Scientist I - Bioanalytical Science (Method Development/Validation)

Cagewash Attendant I (50)

Charles River Laboratories reviews FAQs

Reviews Charles River Laboratories reviews

Charles River Laboratories

Charles River Laboratories reviews

Ratings by category

Ratings by demographic groups

Reviews by job title

CRL

In Vivo Technician

Worst Company Ever

Jobs at Charles River Laboratories

Charles River Laboratories reviews FAQs

Want the inside scoop on your own company?

Bowls

Followed companies

Job searches

Charles River Laboratories reviews FAQs

Jobs at Charles River Laboratories