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The national median salary for Physicists is $172,245 per year ($82.81/hr) according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025. The middle 50% of earners make between $111,717 and $222,768 annually. Top earners at the 90th percentile reach $274,123 per year. There are approximately 20,430 physicists employed in the United States.
About This Role
BLS Standard Occupational Classification 2018
Conduct research into physical phenomena, develop theories on the basis of observation and experiments, and devise methods to apply physical laws and theories.
Career Outlook
BLS Employment Projections · 2024-2034
10-year growth
+4.0%
Faster than average
Annual openings
2K
per year, on avg
Workforce today
25K
as of 2024
Why those openings exist
6% from new growth94% from people leaving the role
Most openings come from replacement, not growth. Retention matters more than recruiting here.
Typical entry requirements
Education
Doctoral or professional degree
Experience
None
On-the-job training
None
Industry Wage Breakdown
Top 5 industries by employment · median annual wage, sector-specific
Industry
Workforce
Median Pay
Scientific Research and Development Services
NAICS 541700
9K
$176,170
Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools
NAICS 611300
3K
$103,590
Federal Executive Branch (OEWS Designation)
NAICS 999100
3K
$146,900
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
NAICS 622100
2K
$237,010
Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services
NAICS 541300
750
$170,680
Wage range across top 5 industries: $103,590 to $237,010 (129% spread)
Wage Percentiles
Hourly & annualized (2,080 hours)
Percentile
Hourly Rate
Annual Salary
P10
$39.48
$82,118
P25
$53.71
$111,717
P50MEDIAN
$82.81
$172,245
P75
$107.10
$222,768
P90
$131.79
$274,123
Market Context Signal
JOLTS · professional sector
Cooling
Openings Rate
4.2%
Quits Rate
2.0%
Professional & Business Services openings tumbled 318K in March -- the largest single-sector drop in this release. Openings rate fell from 5.5% to 4.2%. Layoffs jumped to 527K (+99K). White-collar demand has cooled abruptly.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the average physicists salary?
The national median salary for Physicists is $172,245 per year ($82.81/hr) according to BLS OEWS May 2025 data. The middle 50% earn between $111,717 and $222,768 annually.
How much do top-earning physicists make?
The 90th percentile salary for Physicists is $274,123 per year ($131.79/hr). The 75th percentile is $222,768 per year.
What is the entry-level salary for physicists?
Entry-level Physicists (10th percentile) earn approximately $82,118 per year ($39.48/hr). The 25th percentile is $111,717 per year.
Wage figures on this page come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025 release. OEWS surveys roughly 1.1 million establishments annually. It is the most comprehensive employer-reported wage dataset in the United States.
P10 through P90 percentiles represent the wage distribution across all surveyed employers (not self-reported by workers). Geographic adjustments use BLS-derived cost multipliers calibrated from regional wage variation.
Wages are estimates. Individual compensation depends on experience, education, employer size, industry, and negotiation. Use this as benchmark context, not absolute ground truth.
CompSignal is a free labor market intelligence tool built for HR, compensation, and talent acquisition teams. We make BLS data, the same primary source Mercer and Radford cross-reference in their paid surveys, searchable and actionable without an enterprise subscription.
Built and maintained by Falcon Incentives, a compensation strategy and incentive design consultancy.