United States · US SOC 19-2012
Physicists salary
Published pay for this occupation, with the area and reference period kept beside each figure.
US SOC 19-2012 · Classification edition 2018
Choose a place to check affordability
Find a place and keep this occupation selected. You can then compare published pay with your own take-home pay and household costs.
Find a place for this profession| Area | Pay | What the figure measures |
|---|---|---|
| United StatesCountry · US | USD 82.81 per hour Median · May 2025 data United States · Country National | Gross employee wages; workplace-based; excludes self-employed workersNational benchmark. |
| United StatesCountry · US | USD 82,110 per year P10 · May 2025 data United States · Country National | Gross employee wages; workplace-based; excludes self-employed workersNational benchmark. |
| United StatesCountry · US | USD 274,110 per year P90 · May 2025 data United States · Country National | Gross employee wages; workplace-based; excludes self-employed workersNational benchmark. |
| United StatesCountry · US | USD 172,250 per year Median · May 2025 data United States · Country National | Gross employee wages; workplace-based; excludes self-employed workersNational benchmark. |
| United StatesCountry · US | USD 171,180 per year Mean · May 2025 data United States · Country National | Gross employee wages; workplace-based; excludes self-employed workersNational benchmark. |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro area · US | USD 144,870 per year Median · May 2025 data Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA · Metro area Area | Gross employee wages; workplace-based; excludes self-employed workersMetropolitan-area benchmark. This is not a city-only wage. |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro area · US | USD 178,430 per year Mean · May 2025 data Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA · Metro area Area | Gross employee wages; workplace-based; excludes self-employed workersMetropolitan-area benchmark. This is not a city-only wage. |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro area · US | USD 69.65 per hour Median · May 2025 data Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA · Metro area Area | Gross employee wages; workplace-based; excludes self-employed workersMetropolitan-area benchmark. This is not a city-only wage. |
| Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TXMetro area · US | USD 107,340 per year Median · May 2025 data Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX · Metro area Area | Gross employee wages; workplace-based; excludes self-employed workersMetropolitan-area benchmark. This is not a city-only wage. |
| Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TXMetro area · US | USD 152,630 per year Mean · May 2025 data Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX · Metro area Area | Gross employee wages; workplace-based; excludes self-employed workersMetropolitan-area benchmark. This is not a city-only wage. |
| Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TXMetro area · US | USD 51.61 per hour Median · May 2025 data Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX · Metro area Area | Gross employee wages; workplace-based; excludes self-employed workersMetropolitan-area benchmark. This is not a city-only wage. |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-INMetro area · US | USD 137,140 per year Median · May 2025 data Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN · Metro area Area | Gross employee wages; workplace-based; excludes self-employed workersMetropolitan-area benchmark. This is not a city-only wage. |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-INMetro area · US | USD 138,950 per year Mean · May 2025 data Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN · Metro area Area | Gross employee wages; workplace-based; excludes self-employed workersMetropolitan-area benchmark. This is not a city-only wage. |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-INMetro area · US | USD 65.93 per hour Median · May 2025 data Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN · Metro area Area | Gross employee wages; workplace-based; excludes self-employed workersMetropolitan-area benchmark. This is not a city-only wage. |
| Denver-Aurora-Centennial, COMetro area · US | USD 166,140 per year Median · May 2025 data Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO · Metro area Area | Gross employee wages; workplace-based; excludes self-employed workersMetropolitan-area benchmark. This is not a city-only wage. |
| Denver-Aurora-Centennial, COMetro area · US | USD 165,840 per year Mean · May 2025 data Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO · Metro area Area | Gross employee wages; workplace-based; excludes self-employed workersMetropolitan-area benchmark. This is not a city-only wage. |
| Denver-Aurora-Centennial, COMetro area · US | USD 79.88 per hour Median · May 2025 data Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO · Metro area Area | Gross employee wages; workplace-based; excludes self-employed workersMetropolitan-area benchmark. This is not a city-only wage. |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro area · US | USD 160,270 per year Median · May 2025 data Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA · Metro area Area | Gross employee wages; workplace-based; excludes self-employed workersMetropolitan-area benchmark. This is not a city-only wage. |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro area · US | USD 165,380 per year Mean · May 2025 data Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA · Metro area Area | Gross employee wages; workplace-based; excludes self-employed workersMetropolitan-area benchmark. This is not a city-only wage. |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro area · US | USD 77.05 per hour Median · May 2025 data Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA · Metro area Area | Gross employee wages; workplace-based; excludes self-employed workersMetropolitan-area benchmark. This is not a city-only wage. |
| Madison, WIMetro area · US | USD 136,450 per year Median · May 2025 data Madison, WI · Metro area Area | Gross employee wages; workplace-based; excludes self-employed workersMetropolitan-area benchmark. This is not a city-only wage. |
| Madison, WIMetro area · US | USD 137,180 per year Mean · May 2025 data Madison, WI · Metro area Area | Gross employee wages; workplace-based; excludes self-employed workersMetropolitan-area benchmark. This is not a city-only wage. |
| Madison, WIMetro area · US | USD 65.6 per hour Median · May 2025 data Madison, WI · Metro area Area | Gross employee wages; workplace-based; excludes self-employed workersMetropolitan-area benchmark. This is not a city-only wage. |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJMetro area · US | USD 181,970 per year Median · May 2025 data New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ · Metro area Area | Gross employee wages; workplace-based; excludes self-employed workersMetropolitan-area benchmark. This is not a city-only wage. |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJMetro area · US | USD 191,320 per year Mean · May 2025 data New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ · Metro area Area | Gross employee wages; workplace-based; excludes self-employed workersMetropolitan-area benchmark. This is not a city-only wage. |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJMetro area · US | USD 87.48 per hour Median · May 2025 data New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ · Metro area Area | Gross employee wages; workplace-based; excludes self-employed workersMetropolitan-area benchmark. This is not a city-only wage. |
| Portland-South Portland, MEMetro area · US | USD 57,780 per year Median · May 2025 data Portland-South Portland, ME · Metro area Area | Gross employee wages; workplace-based; excludes self-employed workersMetropolitan-area benchmark. This is not a city-only wage. |
| Portland-South Portland, MEMetro area · US | USD 84,480 per year Mean · May 2025 data Portland-South Portland, ME · Metro area Area | Gross employee wages; workplace-based; excludes self-employed workersMetropolitan-area benchmark. This is not a city-only wage. |
| Portland-South Portland, MEMetro area · US | USD 27.78 per hour Median · May 2025 data Portland-South Portland, ME · Metro area Area | Gross employee wages; workplace-based; excludes self-employed workersMetropolitan-area benchmark. This is not a city-only wage. |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro area · US | USD 140,370 per year Median · May 2025 data Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA · Metro area Area | Gross employee wages; workplace-based; excludes self-employed workersMetropolitan-area benchmark. This is not a city-only wage. |
Before you compare pay
Mean and median differ
The mean is an average. The median is the midpoint. Compare the same measure wherever possible.
Gross is before deductions
A gross wage is not take-home pay. Tax and employee deductions depend on your circumstances.
Hours need an assumption
An hourly figure cannot tell you monthly pay without your working hours. No full-time schedule is assumed here.