Physicist
Physicist Salary
$39.5K - $56.5K
18% of jobs
$59.9K is the 25th percentile. Wages below this are outliers.
$56.5K - $73.5K
35% of jobs
$73.5K - $90.5K
11% of jobs
$106.4K is the 75th percentile. Wages above this are outliers.
$90.5K - $107.5K
13% of jobs
$107.5K - $124.5K
8% of jobs
$124.5K - $141.5K
5% of jobs
$141.5K - $158.5K
3% of jobs
$158.5K - $175.5K
2% of jobs
$175.5K - $192.5K
2% of jobs
$192.5K - $209.5K
2% of jobs
$209.5K - $226.5K
2% of jobs
$39.5K
$71K
$226.5K
$94,805
/year
$45.58
/hour
Physicist Salary Comparison by Location
Nationwide
United States
$94,805
Columbus
Ohio
$91,572
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How much does a Physicist make?
As of Aug 13, 2026, the average annual pay for a Physicist in the United States is $94,805 a year.
Just in case you need a simple salary calculator, that works out to be approximately $45.58 an hour. This is the equivalent of $1,823/week or $7,900/month.
While ZipRecruiter is seeing annual salaries as high as $226,500 and as low as $39,500, the majority of Physicist salaries currently range between $59,000 (25th percentile) to $112,000 (75th percentile) with top earners (90th percentile) making $176,000 annually across the United States. The average pay range for a Physicist varies greatly (by as much as 53000), which suggests there may be many opportunities for advancement and increased pay based on skill level, location and years of experience.
A Physicist in your area makes on average $91,572 per year, or $3,233 (3.410%) less than the national average annual salary of $94,805. Ohio ranks number 38 out of 50 states nationwide for Physicist salaries.
To estimate the most accurate annual salary range for Physicist jobs, ZipRecruiter continuously scans its database of millions of active jobs published locally throughout America.
Find your next high paying job as a Physicist on ZipRecruiter today.
What are Top 10 Highest Paying Cities for Physicist Jobs
We've identified 10 cities where the typical salary for a Physicist job is above the national average. Topping the list is Deer Park, CA, , with Kentville, NS, and Whitehorse, YT, close behind in the second and third positions. Whitehorse, YT, beats the national average by $70,271 (74.1%), and Deer Park, CA, furthers that trend with another $78,081 (82.4%) above the $94,805 average.
With these 10 cities having average salaries higher than the national average, the opportunities for economic advancement by changing locations as a Physicist appears to be exceedingly fruitful.
Finally, another factor to consider is the average salary for these top 10 cities varies very little at 7% between Deer Park, CA, and Courtenay, BC, , reinforcing the limited potential for much wage advancement. The possibility of a lower cost of living may be the best factor to use when considering location and salary for a Physicist role.
City | Annual Salary | Hourly Wage |
|---|---|---|
Deer Park, CA | $172,886 | $83.12 |
Kentville, NS | $166,133 | $79.87 |
Whitehorse, YT | $165,076 | $79.36 |
Carcross, YT | $164,980 | $79.32 |
Haines Junction, YT | $164,416 | $79.05 |
Oak Bay, BC | $163,005 | $78.37 |
Lake Marcel-Stillwater, WA | $162,652 | $78.20 |
Victoria, BC | $162,314 | $78.04 |
Alberton, PE | $160,799 | $77.31 |
Courtenay, BC | $160,367 | $77.10 |
What are Top 5 Best Paying Related Physicist Jobs in the U.S.
We found a few related jobs that pay more than jobs in the Physicist category.
For example Algorithms jobs pay as much as $40,377 (42.6%) more than the average Physicist salary of $94,805. If you're qualified, finding work as a Algorithms may help you make more money than that of the average Physicist position.
Job Title | Annual Salary | Hourly Wage |
|---|---|---|
Algorithms | $135,182 | $64.99 |
Machine Learning Research Scientist | $130,117 | $62.56 |
Modeling And Simulation | $101,255 | $48.68 |
Paper Science Engineering | $98,759 | $47.48 |
Undergraduate Research | $52,206 | $25.10 |
About Our Data
ZipRecruiter salary estimates, histograms, trends and comparisons are derived from both employer job postings and third party data sources.
