Physicists Salary by City (2026)

Name: Physicists Salary by City - BLS OEWS
Creator: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

50 metro areas · National average: $158,156 · Source: BLS OEWS

The table below shows Physicists salaries across 50 U.S. metropolitan areas, sorted from highest to lowest. Click any city to see the full wage breakdown.

Metro Area	Mean Annual	Median Annual	P10	P90
Nashville, TN	$222,180	$226,750	$223,590	$226,750
Miami, FL	$219,230	$219,070	$135,820	N/A
Minneapolis, MN	$204,660	$215,340	$131,310	N/A
San Jose, CA	$202,760	$214,520	$139,420	N/A
Pittsburgh, PA	$201,050	$211,600	$137,630	N/A
Cleveland, OH	$197,250	$225,930	$102,890	$225,930
Phoenix, AZ	$194,960	$206,070	$117,740	N/A
Richmond, VA	$193,730	$212,950	$111,800	N/A
Houston, TX	$191,970	$212,050	$71,650	N/A
New York, NY	$187,560	$177,490	$84,980	N/A
Portland, OR	$183,360	$155,560	$79,580	N/A
Milwaukee, WI	$181,620	$196,680	$85,000	N/A
Dallas, TX	$180,780	$202,610	$64,330	N/A
Des Moines, IA	$176,470	$129,140	$102,900	N/A
Philadelphia, PA	$172,730	$165,730	$64,520	N/A
Buffalo, NY	$170,770	$175,220	$78,010	N/A
Albuquerque, NM	$169,950	$175,160	$121,120	$221,470
San Antonio, TX	$169,510	$170,130	$104,930	N/A
Washington, DC	$165,950	$168,280	$102,000	$214,330
St. Louis, MO	$164,030	$180,450	$83,770	$234,260
Charlottesville, VA	$163,800	$170,040	$101,750	$216,680
Albany, NY	$163,640	$166,400	$115,320	$226,300
Atlanta, GA	$162,590	$131,560	$77,740	N/A
Detroit, MI	$162,410	$188,400	$67,850	$218,840
Providence, RI	$161,280	$151,860	$79,730	N/A
Riverside, CA	$156,770	$150,490	$93,180	$234,620
Baltimore, MD	$155,570	$162,490	$101,040	$214,260
Denver, CO	$155,520	$151,660	$81,610	$218,770
Los Angeles, CA	$155,280	$133,070	$68,990	N/A
Boston, MA	$153,830	$153,890	$92,350	$216,690
Boulder, CO	$153,390	$144,670	$109,250	$183,170
Memphis, TN	$150,000	$132,250	$62,140	N/A
Austin, TX	$149,060	$129,380	$71,650	N/A
Dayton, OH	$139,120	$134,030	$86,730	$202,750
Columbus, OH	$137,890	$134,260	$52,480	$231,320
Idaho Falls, ID	$137,890	$132,060	$81,010	$210,800
Salt Lake City, UT	$137,790	$133,900	$56,020	N/A
Huntsville, AL	$133,970	$126,770	$77,590	$225,630
Virginia Beach, VA	$133,900	$114,630	$96,890	$189,470
Madison, WI	$131,560	$129,070	$84,480	$199,350
Lexington Park, MD	$130,620	$126,530	$87,710	$163,360
Chicago, IL	$129,980	$131,260	$78,410	$207,880
San Diego, CA	$126,390	$124,710	$40,770	N/A
Seattle, WA	$124,140	$112,790	$67,240	$226,310
Knoxville, TN	$116,940	$126,690	$54,100	$173,660
Sacramento, CA	$115,300	$109,540	$59,550	$216,200
Cincinnati, OH	$113,320	$114,900	$51,630	$173,790
Ann Arbor, MI	$112,960	$79,060	$60,900	$212,530
Champaign, IL	$105,340	$79,610	$47,360	$158,850
Lansing, MI	$87,040	$67,710	$67,710	$135,150