Physicists salary

SOC 19-2012 · BLS OEWS May 2025

Median

$172,250

per year, nationally

Middle half

$111,720–$222,760

25th to 75th percentile

Employed

20,430

in the U.S.

Growth 2024–34

+4.0%

1,700 openings/yr

What the range looks like

A single median hides most of what a job pays. The bar below is the full national range: the wash spans the 10th to 90th percentile, the solid bar is the middle half, and the tick is the median.

$82,110$274,110

10th: $82,110
25th: $111,720
Median: $172,250
75th: $222,760
90th: $274,110

Getting in

Typical education to enter: Doctoral or professional degree
Related work experience: None
On-the-job training: None

Entry requirements describe what is typical, not mandatory. Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34.

Where physicists earn the most

Nominal pay and pay adjusted for local prices rank states differently — a high-wage state with high costs can be worse off in real terms than a middling one. Switch between the two below.

The median wage as published, before local prices are taken into account.

#	State	Median	Cost of living	Employed	Concentrationvs. national
1	Florida	$225,390	103.4	340	0.26×
2	New Hampshire	$214,030	104.2	30	0.38×
3	Pennsylvania	$210,990	97.6	230	0.28×
4	California	$207,490	110.7	5,930	2.48×
5	Oregon	$200,320	103.4	90	0.33×
6	Oklahoma	$200,050	87.8	40	0.19×
7	Texas	$184,040	97.1	580	0.31×
8	New York	$181,970	107.9	1,140	0.90×
9	Kentucky	$180,910	90.2	50	0.18×
10	Connecticut	$180,300	103.6	60	0.28×
11	Iowa	$178,110	87.8	110	0.55×
12	Maryland	$174,390	105.0	1,200	3.30×
13	North Carolina	$174,180	94.3	150	0.23×
14	Wisconsin	$173,120	94.1	180	0.47×
15	Minnesota	$171,220	98.6	110	0.29×
16	Louisiana	$166,240	88.2	40	0.15×
17	New Mexico	$165,340	92.2	580	5.07×
18	Tennessee	$165,010	91.9	240	0.55×
19	New Jersey	$163,270	108.8	470	0.83×
20	Ohio	$162,900	92.8	630	0.87×
21	District of Columbia	$157,040	109.9	480	5.24×
22	Utah	$156,760	98.9	30	0.14×
23	Rhode Island	$155,150	102.3	—	—
24	Nevada	$154,030	100.0	50	0.27×
25	Virginia	$145,040	101.1	940	1.74×
26	Georgia	$144,870	96.3	160	0.25×
27	Missouri	$140,460	90.8	90	0.22×
28	Alabama	$139,330	88.8	280	1.00×
29	South Carolina	$138,400	93.7	420	1.38×
30	Illinois	$137,140	100.0	1,590	1.99×
31	Arkansas	$135,820	86.9	60	0.36×
32	Idaho	$135,150	95.5	—	—
33	Washington	$134,790	107.0	450	0.96×
34	Arizona	$130,500	100.7	120	0.29×
35	Mississippi	$129,970	87.0	80	0.55×
36	Hawaii	$117,190	110.0	40	0.46×
37	Massachusetts	$106,410	105.8	1,150	2.41×
38	Indiana	$105,940	93.3	230	0.54×
39	Colorado	$104,580	103.1	1,050	2.77×
40	Montana	$103,800	94.6	30	0.51×
41	Michigan	$94,520	96.2	510	0.89×
42	South Dakota	$83,050	88.6	30	0.58×
43	Delaware	$82,590	99.8	50	0.72×

Cost of living is the BEA regional price parity for all items, where 100 is the national average. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: how much more of the local workforce does this job than the national average, so 2.00× means twice the national share. It is often the reason wages differ — a place that concentrates an occupation has the employers and the competition for it. States where physicists wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.

Best paying metro areas for physicists

The 40 highest-paying metros with a published estimate. BLS suppresses roughly half of all occupation-by-metro cells, so a metro absent here has no local figure rather than a low one.

The median wage as published, before local prices are taken into account.

#	Metro area	Median	Cost of living	Employed	Concentrationvs. national
1	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	$272,480	114.2	100	0.27×
2	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL	$266,260	100.9	70	0.35×
3	Cleveland, OH	$239,360	93.9	240	1.75×
4	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN	$236,920	96.3	—	—
5	Pittsburgh, PA	$224,160	94.7	80	0.54×
6	Richmond, VA	$218,290	97.9	40	0.45×
7	Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX	$199,770	98.6	140	0.31×
8	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI	$199,170	100.3	140	0.56×
9	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX	$194,290	94.7	100	0.66×
10	New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	$181,970	112.6	1,070	0.86×
11	Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA	$178,110	91.7	50	0.85×
12	Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY	$175,060	95.8	40	0.54×
13	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	$173,450	110.4	440	2.98×
14	Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI	$173,160	96.9	50	0.44×
15	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA	$172,080	105.4	50	0.33×
16	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	$171,580	108.9	1,520	3.69×
17	Tucson, AZ	$171,190	96.9	30	0.66×
18	Columbus, OH	$170,400	95.5	70	0.50×
19	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	$168,450	104.8	80	0.30×
20	Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO	$166,140	105.8	120	0.57×
21	Albuquerque, NM	$165,340	95.5	330	6.17×
22	Knoxville, TN	$165,010	92.6	120	2.17×
23	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	$164,850	102.6	150	0.38×
24	Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA	$163,990	106.4	—	—
25	Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA	$163,210	110.5	50	1.15×
26	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	$160,270	113.6	550	0.67×
27	Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY	$159,240	99.6	50	0.90×
28	Colorado Springs, CO	$158,070	100.7	40	0.86×
29	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	$156,750	103.1	80	0.15×
30	San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA	$156,480	111.9	290	1.46×
31	Providence-Warwick, RI-MA	$155,150	101.8	—	—
32	Worcester, MA	$153,990	102.5	40	0.92×
33	Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek, OH	$151,050	92.7	130	2.75×
34	Huntsville, AL	$149,990	93.1	180	5.18×
35	Charlottesville, VA	$148,950	99.1	50	3.62×
36	Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL	$146,350	100.0	30	1.00×
37	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	$144,870	100.1	100	0.25×
38	Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN	$142,180	95.4	60	0.45×
39	Kansas City, MO-KS	$141,200	92.5	40	0.27×
40	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	$140,370	111.1	150	0.53×

Cost of living is the BEA regional price parity for all items, where 100 is the national average. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: how much more of the local workforce does this job than the national average, so 2.00× means twice the national share. It is often the reason wages differ — a place that concentrates an occupation has the employers and the competition for it. Metro areas where physicists wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.

Similar occupations

Other jobs in the same field, with what each pays nationally.

Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health$82,220
Chemists$91,240
Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and Geographers$101,920
Physical Scientists, All Other$122,570
Atmospheric and Space Scientists$99,070
Materials Scientists$117,790
Hydrologists$96,600
Astronomers$128,820