The top 7 highest paying cities for astronomers (ranked by average annual salary) are listed in Table 1. The entry level salary (as measured by the salary of the lowest 10% paid earners) and the number of employment of astronomers in those cities are also shown in the table. As shown in the table, with a annual salary of $140,890, Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, District of Columbia is the highest paying city for astronomers. It is followed by Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, West Virginia (average annual salary $140,890). The salary and employment information is computed from data published by U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in April 2017 [1]. For more salary information of astronomers in a specific city, use the links in the table.
| Rank | City/Area | Average Salary i | # of Empl. i |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, District of Columbia | $140,890 |
320 |
| 2 | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, West Virginia | $140,890 |
320 |
| 3 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, California | $135,280 |
290 |
| 4 | Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Massachusetts | $113,320 |
140 |
| 5 | Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Massachusetts | $113,320 |
140 |
| 6 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, California | $105,820 |
100 |
| 7 | Hawaii-Maui-Kauai nonmetropolitan area, Hawaii | $82,320 |
40 |
