National Salary Info » Physical Scientists

Highest Paying Industries for Physical Scientists

The top 100 highest paying industries for physical scientists (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 in those industries are also shown. As shown in the table, with an average annual salary of $170,950, other information services is the highest paying industry for physical scientists. It is followed by offices of physicians industry (average annual salary $144,820). The salary and employment information is computed from data published by U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in May 2015 [1]. For more information about salaries of physical scientists in a specific industry, use the links in the table.

Table 1. 100 Highest Paying Industries for Physical Scientists

Rank	Industry	Average Salary i	Entry Level Salary i	# of Empl. i
1	Other Information Services	$170,950	$131,160	110
2	Offices of Physicians	$144,820	$81,220	630
3	Oil and Gas Extraction	$125,870	$53,080	9,550
4	Mining	$120,110	$53,630	12,000
5	Support Activities for Mining	$117,400	$54,260	1,700
6	Semiconductor and Other Electronic Component Manufacturing	$113,800	$56,540	480
7	Offices of All Other Health Practitioners	$111,380	$99,800	n/a
8	Offices of Other Health Practitioners	$111,380	$99,800	n/a
9	Pipeline Transportation of Crude Oil	$110,170	$49,170	230
10	Computer and Peripheral Equipment Manufacturing	$108,990	$57,300	70
11	Agriculture, Construction, and Mining Machinery Manufacturing	$105,500	$56,660	440
12	Petroleum and Petroleum Products Merchant Wholesalers	$104,540	$47,230	70
13	Specialty hospitals - Privately owned	$104,370	$51,530	200
14	Specialty (except Psychiatric and Substance Abuse) Hospitals	$104,050	$49,830	230
15	Pipeline Transportation	$102,750	$48,270	410
16	Management of Companies and Enterprises	$102,020	$52,840	6,440
17	Federal government, including USPS	$101,930	$66,270	29,320
18	Federal Executive Branch (OES Designation)	$101,930	$66,270	29,300
19	Repair and Maintenance	$99,270	$49,140	60
20	Other Support Services	$99,170	$47,890	60
21	Natural Gas Distribution	$96,830	$59,820	530
22	Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences	$94,100	$51,510	33,860
23	Scientific Research and Development Services	$94,030	$51,320	34,140
24	Machinery Manufacturing	$92,980	$51,950	780
25	Other Pipeline Transportation	$92,830	$67,950	50
26	Ambulatory Health Care Services	$92,350	$44,920	1,570
27	Information	$91,780	$40,680	920
28	Petroleum and Coal Products Manufacturing	$90,550	$50,030	1,920
29	Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing	$90,530	$43,410	2,370
30	Resin, Synthetic Rubber, and Artificial Synthetic Fibers and Filaments Manufacturing	$90,300	$51,810	2,610
31	Utilities	$90,110	$57,490	3,070
32	Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution	$89,560	$57,610	2,360
33	Outpatient Care Centers	$89,440	$55,490	310
34	Transportation and Warehousing	$88,890	$44,980	660
35	Other Electrical Equipment and Component Manufacturing	$88,860	$50,880	100
36	Computer Systems Design and Related Services	$88,620	$48,660	890
37	Other Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing	$88,240	$61,170	290
38	Electrical Equipment, Appliance, and Component Manufacturing	$87,360	$50,150	150
39	Industrial Machinery Manufacturing	$87,070	$46,250	60
40	Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing	$86,610	$49,920	750
41	Metal Ore Mining	$86,440	$58,070	600
42	Household Appliances and Electrical and Electronic Goods Merchant Wholesalers	$86,140	$62,330	40
43	Converted Paper Product Manufacturing	$85,740	$53,480	240
44	Television Broadcasting	$84,860	$38,050	660
45	Radio and Television Broadcasting	$84,770	$37,960	680
46	Coal Mining	$84,760	$49,060	50
47	Mining (except Oil and Gas)	$84,690	$55,880	750
48	Broadcasting (except Internet)	$84,650	$37,880	720
49	Navigational, Measuring, Electromedical, and Control Instruments Manufacturing	$84,500	$40,860	1,810
50	Pesticide, Fertilizer, and Other Agricultural Chemical Manufacturing	$83,740	$45,230	490
51	Transportation Equipment Manufacturing	$83,390	$48,620	980
52	Other Nonmetallic Mineral Product Manufacturing	$82,990	$47,600	60
53	Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing	$82,830	$51,050	570
54	Medical Equipment and Supplies Manufacturing	$82,640	$47,710	550
55	Nonmetallic Mineral Product Manufacturing	$82,230	$45,130	190
56	Water, Sewage and Other Systems	$81,990	$51,030	180
57	Cement and Concrete Product Manufacturing	$81,860	$43,260	80
58	Plastics Product Manufacturing	$81,620	$42,760	610
59	Paper Manufacturing	$80,940	$49,640	330
60	Miscellaneous Manufacturing	$80,850	$48,680	730
61	Pipeline Transportation of Natural Gas	$80,470	$42,850	130
62	Health Care and Social Assistance	$80,240	$36,560	4,510
63	Commercial and Service Industry Machinery Manufacturing	$80,090	$43,550	80
64	Commercial and Industrial Machinery Equipment (except Auto and Electronic) Repair and Maintenance	$79,850	$44,610	n/a
65	Other General Purpose Machinery Manufacturing	$79,400	$50,010	150
66	Professional and Commercial Equipment and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers	$79,190	$49,340	130
67	Air Transportation	$79,000	$52,490	70
68	Scheduled Air Transportation	$78,610	$52,390	70
69	Plastics and Rubber Products Manufacturing	$78,520	$44,040	810
70	Colleges, universities, and professional schools - Local government owned	$76,970	$51,110	40
71	Boiler, Tank, and Shipping Container Manufacturing	$76,900	$40,920	n/a
72	Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities	$76,600	$35,400	280
73	Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services	$76,450	$41,730	101,160
74	Nonmetallic Mineral Mining and Quarrying	$76,150	$49,440	100
75	Textile and Fabric Finishing and Fabric Coating Mills	$76,130	$49,250	90
76	Manufacturing	$76,060	$43,850	39,550
77	Paint, Coating, and Adhesive Manufacturing	$76,020	$46,830	2,140
78	Other Miscellaneous Manufacturing	$75,760	$51,200	180
79	Merchant Wholesalers, Durable Goods	$75,260	$48,480	320
80	Federal, State, and Local Government (OES Designation)	$75,090	$42,740	72,790
81	Federal, State, and Local Government	$75,090	$42,740	72,790
82	General Medical and Surgical Hospitals - State government owned	$74,590	$41,900	60
83	Chemical and Allied Products Merchant Wholesalers	$74,540	$42,090	900
84	Motor Vehicle Parts Manufacturing	$74,150	$45,220	140
85	Chemical Manufacturing	$74,140	$43,490	28,800
86	Engineering Services	$73,870	$43,990	18,540
87	Rubber Product Manufacturing	$73,410	$50,920	200
88	Pharmaceutical and Medicine Manufacturing	$73,220	$43,080	15,080
89	Printing and Related Support Activities	$73,130	$49,360	40
90	Tobacco Manufacturing	$73,030	$44,660	120
91	Facilities Support Services	$72,790	$41,160	40
92	Data Processing, Hosting, and Related Services	$72,750	$44,820	40
93	Machinery, Equipment, and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers	$72,660	$38,500	100
94	Public sector -- Federal, state, and local government, including government owned schools and hospit	$72,430	$42,190	89,790
95	Hospitals - Privately owned	$72,020	$35,300	2,450
96	Basic Chemical Manufacturing	$71,950	$42,460	5,000
97	Iron and Steel Mills and Ferroalloy Manufacturing	$71,900	$44,260	60
98	Other Chemical Product and Preparation Manufacturing	$71,660	$44,020	1,260
99	Administrative and Support Services	$71,650	$38,460	5,260
100	Remediation and Other Waste Management Services	$71,590	$34,820	1,110