Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations

Physical Scientists, All Other Salary in the United States

DOL-verified data from 1,459 government filings, with BLS survey comparison.

DOL Median Salary
$64,505
BLS median: $117,960
DOL Median Salary
$64,505
From 1,459 DOL filings
BLS Median Salary
$117,960
BLS OEWS 2024 survey
Total Employers
256
Companies with DOL filings
Total Employment
22,580
Estimated US workers (BLS)

DOL Filings vs BLS Survey

What Employers File with DOL

$64,505
DOL-Filed Salary Range
$30,000$50,000$64,505$85,592$165,000

This figure comes from 1,459 employer filings with the US Department of Labor under legal obligation. Employers file this salary when sponsoring workers for PERM green cards or H-1B visas.

What BLS Says the Market Pays

$117,960
BLS Survey Salary Range
$61,990$82,450$117,960$154,900$191,880

This figure comes from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey of 22,580 establishments. This is an independent survey-based estimate of what all workers in this occupation earn.

DOL-filed salaries are 45.3% lower than BLS survey data, which may reflect that sponsored positions concentrate in high-cost locations or experience-intensive roles.

Salary Distribution

Top Paying Employers for Physical Scientists, All Other

Ranked by median salary from DOL filings
RankEmployerMedian SalaryFilingsvs Market
1University of Rochester$135,0008+14.5%
2KLA-Tencor Corporation$113,94956-3.4%
3CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY/JET PROPULSION$104,8846-11.1%
4California Institute of Technology/Jet Propulsion Laboratory$104,00025-11.8%
5Cymer LLC$100,2778-15%
6STANFORD UNIVERSITY/SLAC NATIONAL ACCELERATOR LABO$98,7607-16.3%
7Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory$97,6806-17.2%
8SLAC NATIONAL ACCELERATOR LABORATORY$95,004105-19.5%
9Stanford University$94,50012-19.9%
10University Corporation for Atmospheric Research$90,54128-23.2%
11Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC$86,6407-26.6%
12UChicago Argonne LLC$82,3466-30.2%
13Advalue Photonics Inc$80,0005-32.2%
14NMC Inc$79,0825-33%
15BATTELLE$78,24014-33.7%
16Northwestern University$78,1005-33.8%
17Science Systems and Applications, Inc.$74,3936-36.9%
18Stanford University/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory$72,828114-38.3%
19Research Corporation of the University of Hawaii$71,98910-39%
20ENVIROMENTAL SYSTEMS RESEARCH INSTITUTE, INC.$70,7205-40.1%
21University of Colorado$70,26920-40.4%
22University of Illinois$70,0005-40.7%
23Universities Space Research Association$68,04616-42.3%
24University of Maryland College Park$66,64220-43.5%
25Environmental Systems Research Institute$66,56310-43.6%
26THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD, JR.$65,0865-44.8%
27University of California at Santa Barbara$62,8316-46.7%
28Trustees of Boston University$62,0006-47.4%
29Virginia Department of Transportation$61,5835-47.8%
30Brookhaven National Laboratory$60,34118-48.9%
31SRI International$59,8007-49.3%
32University of California, San Diego$58,0006-50.8%
33North Carolina State University$56,9957-51.7%
34The University of Iowa$55,42517-53%
35Harvard University$54,50097-53.8%
36South Dakota State University$54,4105-53.9%
37New York University$53,3785-54.8%
38Fermi Research Alliance, LLC$52,08370-55.9%
39Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska$50,00010-57.6%
40Cornell University$50,00017-57.6%
41Columbia University$50,00018-57.6%
42University of California, Davis$49,50667-58%
43New Mexico State University$49,00010-58.5%
44Syracuse University$49,0008-58.5%
45RESEARCH FOUNDATION OF SUNY AT BUFFALO$47,5468-59.7%
46Tergus Pharma$47,07023-60.1%
47University of New Hampshire$46,59010-60.5%
48Carnegie Mellon University$46,33079-60.7%
49Boise State University$45,49013-61.4%
50University of Oregon$44,1967-62.5%

View all companies hiring Physical Scientists, All Other

Salary by Metro Area

Metro AreaMedianvs NationalFilingsEmployers
Milpitas, CA$114,757+77.9%411
Menlo Park, CA$90,000+39.5%18011
College Park, MD$80,059+24.1%123
Boulder, CO$75,000+16.3%426
Houston, TX$70,000+8.5%1410
PASADENA, CA$67,460+4.6%284
Redlands, CA$66,562+3.2%122
College Park, MA$61,509-4.6%101
Upton, NY$60,341-6.5%133
Iowa City, IA$55,425-14.1%141
Boston, MA$55,000-14.7%125
Cambridge, MA$55,000-14.7%751
ITHACA, NY$54,570-15.4%172
Batavia, IL$52,083-19.3%532
New York, NY$50,000-22.5%207
Davis, CA$48,522-24.8%461
Durham, NC$47,070-27%192
Pittsburgh, PA$46,228-28.3%542
Baton Rouge, LA$44,000-31.8%152

Salary by State

StateMedianvs NationalFilings
Utah$100,000-6.4%1
Georgia$87,132-33.9%2
Arkansas$85,000N/A1
California$85,000-33.7%381
Mississippi$81,600-22.7%1
Arizona$81,000-32.5%4
New Mexico$78,000-38.6%15
Wisconsin$77,300-17.7%2
Washington$75,153-44.4%10
Colorado$75,000-42.4%45
Maryland$74,872-47.7%27
Hawaii$70,491-36.7%7
Texas$70,000-28.9%32
Kentucky$67,226-16.9%2
Virginia$64,893-49.3%8
New Jersey$64,875-36.6%8
Connecticut$64,875N/A1
District of Columbia$64,740-59%2
Florida$62,730-48.8%11
Montana$61,547-27.7%2
Tennessee$57,950-49.1%4
Nebraska$57,120-42.6%21
Minnesota$57,000-65.9%3
New York$55,997-51.1%80
Illinois$55,931-48.5%70
Kansas$55,931-51.3%1
Iowa$55,425-30.5%16
South Dakota$55,000N/A5
Massachusetts$55,000-61.7%117
Michigan$55,000-47.9%9
Alaska$53,498-53.1%2
North Carolina$52,666-52.8%25
Oregon$51,324-53%14
Indiana$49,028-23.8%6
Vermont$49,000N/A1
New Hampshire$46,590-45.2%9
Delaware$46,500N/A2
Pennsylvania$46,228-53.2%58
Idaho$45,001-49.9%10
Missouri$45,000-59.5%7
Louisiana$44,949-40.1%17
Nevada$42,308N/A2
Alabama$42,000-68.1%9
Ohio$41,330-59.8%19
Oklahoma$39,500-64.2%6

Salary Trend - DOL Data

Education Requirements

From PERM filings

For Physical Scientists, All Other positions, 0% of PERM filings required a Bachelor's degree, 67% required a Master's degree, and 0% required no formal degree.

Education by Top Employer

Most common minimum education from PERM filings
EmployerMost Common EducationMedian Salary
Stanford University/SLAC National Accelerator LaboratoryNot specified$72,828
SLAC NATIONAL ACCELERATOR LABORATORYNot specified$95,004
Harvard UniversityNot specified$54,500
Carnegie Mellon UniversityNot specified$46,330
Fermi Research Alliance, LLCNot specified$52,083
University of California, DavisNot specified$49,506
KLA-Tencor CorporationNot specified$113,949
University Corporation for Atmospheric ResearchNot specified$90,541
Louisiana State University and A & M CollegeNot specified$44,000
California Institute of Technology/Jet Propulsion LaboratoryNot specified$104,000

Salary by Industry

Same occupation, different industries (NAICS)

The highest-paying industry for Physical Scientists, All Other is Manufacturing at $104,911. The lowest-paying industry with significant hiring is Educational Services at $63,473.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does a Physical Scientists, All Other make?

Based on 1,459 DOL filings, the median salary for a Physical Scientists, All Other is $64,505, ranging from $50,000 to $85,592.

What is the highest salary for a Physical Scientists, All Other?

The 90th percentile salary is $191,880 according to BLS data.

Which city pays the most for Physical Scientists, All Other?

Based on DOL filings, Milpitas, CA offers the highest median at $114,757.

Does this data include all Physical Scientists, All Other salaries or only visa-sponsored workers?

DOL filing data covers positions where the employer filed for PERM green card sponsorship or an H-1B visa. These filings represent a subset of all Physical Scientists, All Other positions. We compare this data against BLS OEWS data which covers all workers in this occupation.

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Source: US Department of Labor, Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) public disclosure files (PERM Form ETA-9089 and LCA Form ETA-9035), and US Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS). Salary figures represent employer filings and government survey estimates, not individual worker pay.