The salary statistics of physicists in the industry sector of federal, state, and local government are shown in Table 1. In Table 2 we compare physicist salaries in different industries within the federal, state, and local government sector.
| Percentile Bracket | Average Annual Salary |
|---|---|
| 10th Percentile Wage | $71,120 |
| 25th Percentile Wage | $88,670 |
| 50th Percentile Wage | $113,520 |
| 75th Percentile Wage | $143,700 |
| 90th Percentile Wage | $164,210 |
Table 1 shows the average annual salary for physicists in the industry sector of federal, state, and local government. The salaries are shown in 5 percentile scales. The average annual salary for the 90th percentile (the top 10 percent of the highest paid) physicists is $164,210. The median annual salary (50th percentile) is $113,520. The average annual salary for the bottom 10 percent paid physicists is $71,120.
The table and chart below show the trend of the median salary of physicists in the industry sector of federal, state, and local government from 2012 to 2018.
| Year | Median Salary | Yearly Growth | 6-Year Growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | $113,520 | 0.79% | 6.30% |
| 2017 | $112,620 | 1.78% | - |
| 2016 | $110,610 | 1.90% | - |
| 2015 | $108,510 | -0.44% | - |
| 2014 | $108,990 | 2.17% | - |
| 2013 | $106,620 | 0.23% | - |
| 2012 | $106,370 | - | - |
Data source: The national compensation survey conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in 2018 and published in April 2019 [1].