Physicists · SOC 19-2012

Highest-Paying Metro Areas for Physicistss

Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025U.S. metropolitan areas

Metro areas ranked by published median annual wage for physicists. Areas where BLS suppressed the median are not ranked. Higher medians often track higher living costs — this is a pay comparison, not a ranking of where the job is “best”.

Top 25 of 60 metro areas

Physicists: metro areas with the highest published median annual wages, May 2025
#	Metro area	Median annual	Employment	Per 1,000 jobs
1	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	$272,480	100	0.0
2	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL	$266,260	70	0.0
3	Cleveland, OH	$239,360	240	0.2
4	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN	$236,920	Not published	Not published
5	Pittsburgh, PA	$224,160	80	0.1
6	Richmond, VA	$218,290	40	0.1
7	Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX	$199,770	140	0.0
8	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI	$199,170	140	0.1
9	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX	$194,290	100	0.1
10	New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	$181,970	1,070	0.1
11	Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA	$178,110	50	0.1
12	Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY	$175,060	40	0.1
13	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	$173,450	440	0.4
14	Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI	$173,160	50	0.1
15	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA	$172,080	50	0.0
16	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	$171,580	1,520	0.5
17	Tucson, AZ	$171,190	30	0.1
18	Columbus, OH	$170,400	70	0.1
19	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	$168,450	80	0.0
20	Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO	$166,140	120	0.1
21	Albuquerque, NM	$165,340	330	0.8
22	Knoxville, TN	$165,010	120	0.3
23	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	$164,850	150	0.1
24	Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA	$163,990	Not published	Not published
25	Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA	$163,210	50	0.2

Full state and metro tables, the national distribution, and the pay map are on the Physicists overview.

About this data. Estimates are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, May 2025 release, retrieved from bls.gov/oes/tables.htm on July 24, 2026. OEWS estimates describe metropolitan/nonmetropolitan areas and states — not city limits — and are not designed for year-over-year comparisons. See BLS methodology, our plain-English methodology, and sources. CitySalaryData is independent and not affiliated with BLS.