The salary statistics of physicists in the industry sector of professional, scientific, and technical services are shown in Table 1. In Table 2 we compare physicist salaries in different industries within the professional, scientific, and technical services sector.
| Percentile Bracket | Average Annual Salary |
|---|---|
| 10th Percentile Wage | $76,070 |
| 25th Percentile Wage | $107,800 |
| 50th Percentile Wage | $132,270 |
| 75th Percentile Wage | $162,400 |
| 90th Percentile Wage | $194,950 |
Table 1 shows the average annual salary for physicists in the industry sector of professional, scientific, and technical services. 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 $194,950. The median annual salary (50th percentile) is $132,270. The average annual salary for the bottom 10 percent paid physicists is $76,070.
The table and chart below show the trend of the median salary of physicists in the industry sector of professional, scientific, and technical services from 2012 to 2018.
| Year | Median Salary | Yearly Growth | 6-Year Growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | $132,270 | 1.63% | 17.63% |
| 2017 | $130,120 | -0.43% | - |
| 2016 | $130,680 | 4.57% | - |
| 2015 | $124,710 | 6.20% | - |
| 2014 | $116,980 | 1.54% | - |
| 2013 | $115,180 | 5.41% | - |
| 2012 | $108,950 | - | - |
The average salaries of physicists in one industries in the professional, scientific, and technical services sector are shown below. For detailed physicist salary information in a particular industry, use the links provided below.
| Industry Name | Median Annual Salary |
|---|---|
| Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities | |
Data source: The national compensation survey conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in 2018 and published in April 2019 [1].