Highest-paying Cities for Postsecondary Physics Teachers

The top 100 highest paying cities for postsecondary physics teachers (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 postsecondary physics teachers in those cities are also shown in the table. As shown in the table, with a annual salary of $166,740, San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, California is the highest paying city for postsecondary physics teachers. It is followed by College Station-Bryan, Texas (average annual salary $152,860). 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 postsecondary physics teachers in a specific city, use the links in the table.

Table 1. 100 Highest-paying cities/areas for Postsecondary Physics Teachers

Rank	City/Area	Average Salary i	Entry Level Salary i	# of Empl. i
1	San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, California	$166,740	$68,420	100
2	College Station-Bryan, Texas	$152,860	$20,290	120
3	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, California	$149,360	$64,840	160
4	Ann Arbor, Michigan	$137,710	$85,180	70
5	Knoxville, Tennessee	$131,120	$55,260	50
6	San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, California	$129,400	$64,710	130
7	Rochester, New York	$127,760	$53,480	140
8	Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville, California	$127,030	$62,970	30
9	Baton Rouge, Louisiana	$120,910	$70,190	90
10	Trenton-Ewing, New Jersey	$119,920	$50,280	110
11	Edison-New Brunswick, New Jersey	$119,380	$66,180	70
12	Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Massachusetts	$117,280	$56,920	260
13	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California	$115,470	$67,200	100
14	Ithaca, New York	$115,450	$60,190	80
15	Tampa-St Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida	$113,630	$58,000	30
16	Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, Florida	$112,800	$47,070	30
17	Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, California	$106,900	$75,300	30
18	New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, New York	$106,530	$58,810	990
19	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, Washington	$106,120	$62,650	80
20	Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Massachusetts	$105,780	$64,180	330
21	Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, Wisconsin	$104,210	$60,960	50
22	Minneapolis-St Paul-Bloomington, Wisconsin	$104,070	$58,000	160
23	New York-White Plains-Wayne, New York	$104,050	$55,930	720
24	Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale, Arizona	$103,550	$62,850	80
25	Worcester, Massachusetts	$103,380	$62,600	40
26	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, California	$103,060	$47,090	340
27	Nassau-Suffolk, New York	$102,650	$51,220	160
28	Salt Lake City, Utah	$102,560	$45,790	60
29	Columbus, Ohio	$102,340	$49,800	100
30	Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, Connecticut	$102,140	$62,060	60
31	Durham-Chapel Hill, North Carolina	$101,850	$49,570	110
32	Tucson, Arizona	$101,660	$50,490	50
33	Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, Texas	$100,950	$50,820	240
34	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas	$100,770	$50,190	270
35	Southwestern Montana nonmetropolitan area, Montana	$100,170	$59,350	40
36	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, District of Columbia	$100,120	$58,820	320
37	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, California	$99,910	$59,530	260
38	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, West Virginia	$99,740	$43,300	370
39	Huntsville, Alabama	$99,600	$74,560	n/a
40	Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, South Carolina	$99,040	$61,040	50
41	Buffalo-Niagara Falls, New York	$99,040	$40,250	70
42	Syracuse, New York	$99,020	$62,460	70
43	Madison, Wisconsin	$98,930	$61,810	100
44	Lexington-Fayette, Kentucky	$98,850	$50,900	50
45	South Bend-Mishawaka, Michigan	$98,810	$60,860	100
46	Tallahassee, Florida	$98,800	$67,940	70
47	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	$98,270	$51,190	230
48	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, California	$97,590	$51,150	380
49	Lansing-East Lansing, Michigan	$97,170	$62,770	90
50	North Central West Virginia nonmetropolitan area, West Virginia	$96,790	$52,690	30
51	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Pennsylvania	$96,700	$58,950	500
52	Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, California	$96,290	$49,970	60
53	Springfield, Massachusetts	$95,630	$61,040	70
54	San Antonio-New Braunfels, Texas	$95,420	$59,870	50
55	Greenville-Mauldin-Easley, South Carolina	$95,210	$59,530	50
56	Denver-Aurora-Broomfield, Colorado	$94,650	$54,470	100
57	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	$94,020	$59,780	130
58	Richmond, Virginia	$93,350	$52,140	80
59	West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Boynton Beach, Florida	$92,630	$66,850	60
60	Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, Pennsylvania	$92,340	$51,850	40
61	Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania	$92,010	$53,740	40
62	Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, Texas	$91,980	$58,630	220
63	Honolulu, Hawaii	$91,910	$52,410	50
64	Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, Michigan	$91,690	$42,020	70
65	Lincoln, Nebraska	$91,180	$53,570	50
66	Providence-Fall River-Warwick, Rhode Island	$90,920	$54,220	100
67	Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, Florida	$90,840	$54,810	40
68	Oakland-Fremont-Hayward, California	$90,470	$42,040	70
69	Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, Virginia	$90,370	$51,100	60
70	Louisville-Jefferson County, Kentucky	$89,880	$55,570	50
71	Columbia, Missouri	$89,340	$62,570	50
72	Newark-Union, Pennsylvania	$89,280	$51,540	90
73	San Juan-Caguas-Guaynabo, Puerto Rico	$86,400	$49,450	60
74	Southern Ohio nonmetropolitan area, Ohio	$85,990	$54,380	40
75	Other Ohio nonmetropolitan area, Ohio	$85,740	$57,360	30
76	Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Michigan	$85,640	$57,780	140
77	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Washington	$85,080	$57,790	190
78	Southeast Minnesota nonmetropolitan area, Minnesota	$84,810	$62,550	30
79	Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, Virginia	$84,740	$51,670	100
80	Balance of Lower Peninsula of Michigan nonmetropolitan area, Michigan	$84,280	$45,190	60
81	St Louis, Missouri	$84,230	$46,480	110
82	Dallas-Plano-Irving, Texas	$84,150	$45,670	160
83	Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown, New York	$84,140	$41,130	60
84	Kansas City, Missouri	$82,800	$50,960	50
85	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma	$82,460	$47,990	30
86	Baltimore-Towson, Maryland	$82,360	$49,400	250
87	Albany-Schenectady-Troy, New York	$82,290	$62,710	100
88	Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, Missouri	$81,520	$49,330	40
89	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, Tennessee	$81,440	$50,270	90
90	Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, Washington	$81,330	$48,560	240
91	Camden, New Jersey	$81,080	$45,050	80
92	Kalamazoo-Portage, Michigan	$80,980	$36,080	40
93	Birmingham-Hoover, Alabama	$80,170	$49,250	30
94	Chicago-Joliet-Naperville (IL-IN-WI Area), Illinois	$80,030	$51,800	360
95	Grand Rapids-Wyoming, Michigan	$80,020	$50,140	40
96	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, Georgia	$79,510	$49,260	140
97	Tuscaloosa, Alabama	$79,240	$50,750	30
98	Chicago-Joliet-Naperville (IL Metropolitan Division), Illinois	$79,110	$39,730	340
99	Omaha-Council Bluffs, Nebraska	$78,730	$60,480	40
100	Harrisonburg, Virginia	$78,440	$42,990	40

See also: 💰 Highest paying industries for postsecondary physics teachers.