The salary statistics of physical scientists in the industry sector of federal, state, and local government are shown in Table 1. In Table 2 we compare physical scientist salaries in different industries within the federal, state, and local government sector.
| Percentile Bracket | Average Annual Salary |
|---|---|
| 10th Percentile Wage | $46,040 |
| 25th Percentile Wage | $59,660 |
| 50th Percentile Wage | $80,830 |
| 75th Percentile Wage | $109,000 |
| 90th Percentile Wage | $134,660 |
Table 1 shows the average annual salary for physical scientists 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) physical scientists is $134,660. The median annual salary (50th percentile) is $80,830. The average annual salary for the bottom 10 percent paid physical scientists is $46,040.
The table and chart below show the trend of the median salary of physical scientists in the industry sector of federal, state, and local government from 2012 to 2018.
| Year | Median Salary | Yearly Growth | 6-Year Growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | $80,830 | 1.78% | 9.28% |
| 2017 | $79,390 | 1.61% | - |
| 2016 | $78,110 | 2.52% | - |
| 2015 | $76,140 | 1.38% | - |
| 2014 | $75,090 | 2.21% | - |
| 2013 | $73,430 | 0.14% | - |
| 2012 | $73,330 | - | - |
Data source: The national compensation survey conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in 2018 and published in April 2019 [1].