The salary statistics of physicists are shown in Table 1. In the next few tables we compare the average salaries of physicists within different industry sectors and in the 50 states of the United States. The physicists annual salary statistics are from the national compensation survey conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2022 and published in April 2023 [1].
| Percentile Bracket | Average Annual Salary |
|---|---|
| 10th Percentile Wage | $74,760 |
| 25th Percentile Wage | $108,050 |
| 50th Percentile Wage | $142,850 |
| 75th Percentile Wage | $176,280 |
| 90th Percentile Wage | $219,760 |
Table 1 shows the average annual salary for physicists. The average annual salary for the 90th percentile (the top 10 percent of the highest paid) physicists is $219,760. The median annual salary (50th percentile) is $142,850. The average annual salary for the bottom 10 percent is $74,760. It is noted that in the United States, the annual salary of the 90th percentile (the top 10 percent of the highest paid) is almost 193% higher than that of the bottom 10 percent.
The table and chart below show the trend of the median salary of physicists from 2012 to 2022.
| Year | Median Salary | Yearly Growth | 10-Year Growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | $142,850 | -6.71% | 25.21% |
| 2021 | $152,430 | 14.81% | - |
| 2020 | $129,850 | 5.39% | - |
| 2019 | $122,850 | 1.55% | - |
| 2018 | $120,950 | 1.75% | - |
| 2017 | $118,830 | 2.49% | - |
| 2016 | $115,870 | 3.70% | - |
| 2015 | $111,580 | 1.77% | - |
| 2014 | $109,600 | -0.47% | - |
| 2013 | $110,110 | 2.97% | - |
| 2012 | $106,840 | - | - |
The average salaries of physicists in 11 major industry sectors are shown in Table 2. We note that the salaries vary considerably within different industry sectors. The highest paying industry sector for physicists occupations is the health care and social assistance sector with an annual salary $213,680. The lowest paying sector is the educational services sector (annual salary $87,620).
From the above tables we note that not only physicists salaries vary considerably based on one's education and experience, and the industry sectors, they also change considerably from state to state. In the following table we compare the median salary of physicists in all 50 states of the United States. We note that the median annual salaries range from $64,390 to $213,680. The highest paying state for physicists is Pennsylvania with a median annual salary of $213,680. The lowest paying state is South Dakota with a median annual salary of $64,390. For more salary information of physicists profession in a specific state, use the links in the table.