Physicists · SOC 19-2012

Physicists Salary in the Dayton Metro Area

Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek, OH metro area

Figures describe the Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek, OH metropolitan statistical area as defined by BLS/OMB — the whole multi-county metro region, not Dayton city limits.

Median annual wage$151,050
Median hourly wage$72.62

Physicists in the Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek, OH metro area earned a median of $151,050 per year ($72.62 per hour) as of the May 2025 BLS OEWS estimates. Pay ranged from $100,300 at the 10th percentile to $235,090 at the 90th. BLS estimates 130 people work in this occupation in the area.

Pay distribution

Half of Physicists in the Dayton metro area earn more than $151,050 per year, half earn less; the middle half earn between $125,150 and $171,790.

Wage percentiles (BLS OEWS)
Wage10th25thMedian75th90th
Annual$100,300$125,150$151,050$171,790$235,090
Hourly$48.22$60.17$72.62$82.59$113.03

A percentile is a cut point: 25% of workers in this occupation and area earn less than the 25th-percentile wage. The median is the 50th percentile — half earn less, half earn more.

Download CSV

How this area compares

  • Dayton metro areathis metro area
    $151,050 median for Dayton metro area; middle half earns $125,150 to $171,790
  • Ohiostate (OH)
    $162,900 median for Ohio; middle half earns $118,060 to $239,360
  • $172,250 median for United States; middle half earns $111,720 to $222,760

Bars span the 25th–75th percentile (the middle half of workers); the tick marks the median.

The median here is −7% vs Ohio overall and −12% vs the U.S. median for this occupation.

Compare with other areas

Where this metro sits nationally

$57,780$129,347$200,913$272,480Portland-South Portland, ME — $57,780Ann Arbor, MI — $64,380Lansing-East Lansing, MI — $71,580Boulder, CO — $104,580Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN — $105,940Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH — $106,000Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX — $107,340Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC — $110,930Las Cruces, NM — $112,400Urban Honolulu, HI — $117,190Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA — $120,490Greenville-Anderson-Greer, SC — $128,040Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ — $130,500Lexington Park, MD — $132,770Trenton-Princeton, NJ — $135,030Idaho Falls, ID — $135,150Bakersfield-Delano, CA — $135,260Madison, WI — $136,450Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN — $137,140Memphis, TN-MS-AR — $139,810Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA — $140,370Kansas City, MO-KS — $141,200Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN — $142,180Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA — $144,870Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL — $146,350Charlottesville, VA — $148,950Huntsville, AL — $149,990Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek, OH — $151,050Worcester, MA — $153,990Providence-Warwick, RI-MA — $155,150San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA — $156,480Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX — $156,750Colorado Springs, CO — $158,070Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY — $159,240Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA — $160,270Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA — $163,210Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA — $163,990Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD — $164,850Knoxville, TN — $165,010Albuquerque, NM — $165,340Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO — $166,140Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI — $168,450Columbus, OH — $170,400Tucson, AZ — $171,190Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV — $171,580Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA — $172,080Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI — $173,160San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA — $173,450Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY — $175,060Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA — $178,110New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ — $181,970San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX — $194,290Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI — $199,170Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX — $199,770Richmond, VA — $218,290Pittsburgh, PA — $224,160Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN — $236,920Cleveland, OH — $239,360Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL — $266,260Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL — $272,480

Each dot is one metro area with a published median — hover any dot for the name and figure. Metros without published estimates are not drawn.

The Dayton metro area has the 33rd-highest published median for this occupation among the 60 metro areas where BLS publishes it. Higher medians often track higher living costs — this is a pay comparison, not a ranking of where the job is “best”.

Other metro areas in Ohio

Metro areas in the same state with published May 2025 medians for physicists, highest first. Areas without published estimates are not listed.

  • Dayton metro areathis page
    $151,050 median for Dayton metro area; middle half earns $125,150 to $171,790
  • $239,360 median for Cleveland metro area; middle half earns $184,170 to $239,360
  • $170,400 median for Columbus metro area; middle half earns $106,830 to $218,520
  • $142,180 median for Cincinnati metro area; middle half earns $63,180 to $175,180

Bars span the 25th–75th percentile (the middle half of workers); the tick marks the median.

Keep exploring

Other occupations in the same SOC group with published medians here, largest employment first:

Highest-paying metro areas for physicistss · Highest-paying occupations in Dayton Metro

About this estimate

These figures are survey estimates from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program — modeled from employer reports collected over three years and benchmarked to May 2025. They describe what employers in this area currently pay across all industries, not what any individual worker will be offered.

Employment counts wage-and-salary jobs in the occupation (self-employed workers are excluded). Estimates carry sampling error; percentile wages are rounded by BLS. Some values are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality or quality — suppressed values appear here as “not published”, never as zero. Read the full methodology.

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.