National Salary Info » Highest Paying States for Physicists

Highest-paying States for Physicists

The highest-paying states 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 states are also shown in the table. As shown in the table, with an annual salary of $213,680, Pennsylvania is the highest paying state for physicists. It is followed by Idaho (average annual salary $200,620). 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 state, use the links in the table.

Table 1. Highest-paying States for Physicists (2022 Survey)

Rank	State	Average Salary i	Entry Level Salary i	# of Empl. i
1	Pennsylvania	$213,680	$102,700	320
2	Idaho	$200,620	$93,850	90
3	Kansas	$193,110	$96,040	30
4	South Carolina	$189,030	$57,940	60
5	Oregon	$187,030	$70,840	110
6	Oklahoma	$181,380	$64,100	40
7	New York	$171,070	$78,900	990
8	Connecticut	$170,930	$48,680	60
9	North Carolina	$170,550	$62,100	320
10	California	$170,490	$85,130	5,620
11	Missouri	$169,920	$104,480	180
12	Arizona	$169,590	$64,480	120
13	Louisiana	$167,380	$48,300	40
14	Wisconsin	$165,660	$85,200	150
15	Iowa	$163,890	$51,900	130
16	New Mexico	$161,380	$108,950	730
17	Rhode Island	$143,490	$87,650	50
18	Georgia	$140,830	$68,200	170
19	Maryland	$138,860	$64,990	1,210
20	Illinois	$138,620	$74,640	1,620
21	New Jersey	$136,610	$78,860	210
22	Florida	$135,570	$77,900	170
23	Minnesota	$134,560	$66,050	90
24	Texas	$131,140	$54,680	580
25	Colorado	$130,640	$104,680	1,000
26	Massachusetts	$129,720	$75,970	490
27	Ohio	$127,830	$79,260	540
28	Tennessee	$127,100	$58,780	370
29	District of Columbia	$124,480	$77,340	680
30	Mississippi	$122,910	$55,520	50
31	Indiana	$122,680	$78,850	270
32	Nebraska	$120,150	$55,770	30
33	Virginia	$115,090	$78,140	830
34	Maine	$112,690	$94,760	40
35	New Hampshire	$111,140	$66,490	100
36	Utah	$110,160	$52,930	30
37	North Dakota	$109,330	$50,610	40
38	Kentucky	$108,390	$49,100	60
39	Washington	$108,060	$63,530	480
40	Michigan	$103,920	$62,540	430
41	Nevada	$103,140	$58,560	60
42	Hawaii	$101,420	$56,700	50
43	Arkansas	$97,810	$97,810	50
44	Alabama	$93,230	$68,660	160
45	Vermont	$84,980	$51,560	40
46	Delaware	$80,830	$55,300	30
47	South Dakota	$64,390	$34,330	40

Note: some states are missing from this table because the median salary information of physicists in those states is not available at this time.