Highest-paying Cities for Physicists

The top 100 highest paying cities for physicists (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 physicists in those cities are also shown in the table. As shown in the table, with a annual salary of $209,850, Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Pennsylvania is the highest paying city for physicists. It is followed by Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, South Carolina (average annual salary $196,620). The salary and employment information is computed from data published by U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in April 2023 [1]. For more salary information of physicists in a specific city, use the links in the table.

Table 1. 100 Highest-paying cities/areas for Physicists

Rank	City/Area	Average Salary i	Entry Level Salary i	# of Empl. i
1	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Pennsylvania	$209,850	$62,540	220
2	Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, South Carolina	$196,620	$110,240	50
3	Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale, Arizona	$193,040	$111,260	80
4	Buffalo-Niagara Falls, New York	$181,670	$85,910	30
5	Des Moines-West Des Moines, Iowa	$175,820	$83,050	40
6	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	$175,520	$126,590	50
7	New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, New York	$175,360	$78,900	900
8	Idaho Falls, Idaho	$174,960	$105,890	40
9	Raleigh-Cary, North Carolina	$173,240	$62,100	100
10	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California	$172,270	$96,460	400
11	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, Washington	$171,830	$71,340	70
12	Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, Connecticut	$170,910	$69,530	n/a
13	Memphis, Tennessee	$170,330	$83,880	40
14	St Louis, Missouri	$169,970	$124,950	80
15	Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Michigan	$169,580	$65,500	120
16	Kansas City, Missouri	$167,100	$111,560	70
17	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, Georgia	$166,900	$68,200	120
18	Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, Wisconsin	$165,660	$80,320	60
19	Albuquerque, New Mexico	$163,650	$107,520	360
20	Indianapolis-Carmel, Indiana	$161,450	$92,140	70
21	Northern New Mexico nonmetropolitan area, New Mexico	$161,380	$129,820	1,460
22	Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, Michigan	$157,940	$75,140	40
23	Providence-Fall River-Warwick, Rhode Island	$154,660	$88,070	50
24	Albany-Schenectady-Troy, New York	$154,020	$99,310	100
25	Greensboro-High Point, North Carolina	$151,930	$107,960	30
26	Los Alamos County, New Mexico	$149,100	$111,250	1,380
27	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, West Virginia	$145,630	$99,800	1,030
28	Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills, Michigan	$145,560	$116,780	30
29	Salt Lake City, Utah	$145,550	$90,020	n/a
30	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	$141,220	$57,190	70
31	Durham-Chapel Hill, North Carolina	$141,130	$50,000	90
32	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, California	$140,560	$75,380	300
33	Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, California	$139,650	$103,500	40
34	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, District of Columbia	$138,860	$76,210	1,780
35	Chicago-Joliet-Naperville (IL-IN-WI Area), Illinois	$138,620	$74,640	1,470
36	San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, California	$138,150	$81,480	200
37	Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Massachusetts	$137,680	$86,390	240
38	Winston-Salem, North Carolina	$137,660	$58,600	30
39	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, California	$137,630	$89,620	4,110
40	Tucson, Arizona	$136,990	$64,480	30
41	Denver-Aurora-Broomfield, Colorado	$135,620	$59,950	100
42	Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, Texas	$135,510	$74,130	160
43	San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, California	$135,090	$105,500	730
44	Nassau-Suffolk, New York	$134,260	$67,280	530
45	Cincinnati-Middletown, Ohio	$132,930	$77,420	70
46	Rochester, New York	$132,540	$60,970	40
47	Columbus, Ohio	$132,050	$79,060	80
48	Knoxville, Tennessee	$131,660	$61,350	220
49	Nashua, New Hampshire	$131,480	$82,750	n/a
50	Bethesda-Rockville-Frederick, Maryland	$131,320	$75,610	590
51	San Antonio-New Braunfels, Texas	$131,140	$95,330	100
52	Boulder, Colorado	$130,640	$104,680	860
53	Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, Texas	$130,360	$54,750	110
54	Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Massachusetts	$129,710	$75,970	500
55	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Washington	$129,690	$63,530	160
56	Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, California	$128,340	$80,850	60
57	Bakersfield-Delano, California	$127,770	$74,670	100
58	Toledo, Ohio	$127,610	$81,200	50
59	Baltimore-Towson, Maryland	$125,600	$101,330	300
60	Dayton, Ohio	$125,220	$81,040	210
61	Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor, Ohio	$125,200	$79,260	90
62	Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, Florida	$124,810	$88,180	100
63	Dallas-Plano-Irving, Texas	$123,570	$68,110	70
64	Spartanburg, South Carolina	$121,500	$107,730	30
65	Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas	$120,850	$79,480	50
66	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, Florida	$120,560	$73,530	30
67	Newark-Union, Pennsylvania	$119,860	$80,460	70
68	Other North Carolina nonmetropolitan area, North Carolina	$119,580	$69,780	n/a
69	Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, Florida	$119,410	$64,450	30
70	Eastern New Mexico nonmetropolitan area, New Mexico	$118,590	$62,050	50
71	Chicago-Joliet-Naperville (IL Metropolitan Division), Illinois	$116,680	$65,180	720
72	Camden, New Jersey	$116,400	$75,240	n/a
73	Northeastern North Carolina nonmetropolitan area, North Carolina	$116,260	$67,180	40
74	Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, California	$115,980	$71,390	60
75	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas	$115,670	$23,680	110
76	Northeastern Virginia nonmetropolitan area, Virginia	$115,560	$80,520	250
77	Trenton-Ewing, New Jersey	$115,330	$61,590	40
78	Minneapolis-St Paul-Bloomington, Wisconsin	$114,840	$49,460	60
79	Wilmington, New Jersey	$114,840	$50,290	30
80	Panama City-Lynn Haven-Panama City Beach, Florida	$113,430	$66,210	50
81	Edison-New Brunswick, New Jersey	$112,730	$65,050	170
82	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma	$112,520	$81,020	n/a
83	Southern Indiana nonmetropolitan area, Indiana	$111,760	$78,850	90
84	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, California	$110,240	$74,000	520
85	East Idaho nonmetropolitan area, Idaho	$110,160	$83,350	40
86	Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville, California	$109,530	$71,200	80
87	Kennewick-Pasco-Richland, Washington	$108,880	$64,800	250
88	Baton Rouge, Louisiana	$108,040	$48,200	40
89	Roanoke, Virginia	$107,840	$58,610	n/a
90	Madison, Wisconsin	$107,310	$51,640	40
91	Las Cruces, New Mexico	$105,620	$66,210	40
92	California-Lexington Park, Maryland	$104,870	$73,260	50
93	Akron, Ohio	$104,610	$41,680	40
94	Oakland-Fremont-Hayward, California	$104,130	$61,000	230
95	Gulfport-Biloxi, Mississippi	$103,640	$66,710	30
96	Huntsville, Alabama	$103,630	$80,040	110
97	Eastern Tennessee nonmetropolitan area, Tennessee	$103,310	$82,570	n/a
98	Boise City-Nampa, Idaho	$100,110	$50,460	50
99	Charleston-North Charleston-Summerville, South Carolina	$99,490	$51,220	40
100	Urban Honolulu, Hawaii	$98,680	$56,700	40

See also: 💰 Highest paying industries for physicists.