DOL Filings vs BLS Survey
What Employers File with DOL
This figure comes from 7,053 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
This figure comes from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey of 21,340 establishments. This is an independent survey-based estimate of what all workers in this occupation earn.
Salary Distribution
Top Paying Employers for Physicists
Ranked by median salary from DOL filingsSalary by Metro Area
| Metro Area | Median | vs National | Filings | Employers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milpitas, CA | $126,153 | +80.2% | 22 | 8 |
| Santa Clara, CA | $119,225 | +70.3% | 20 | 8 |
| Temple, TX | $117,620 | +68% | 18 | 2 |
| Sunnyvale, CA | $112,403 | +60.6% | 17 | 10 |
| San Jose, CA | $110,000 | +57.1% | 44 | 18 |
| Upton, NE | $109,990 | +57.1% | 59 | 4 |
| Moffett Field, CA | $105,622 | +50.9% | 18 | 4 |
| San Diego, CA | $105,000 | +50% | 45 | 21 |
| Livermore, CA | $102,600 | +46.6% | 85 | 6 |
| Sugar Land, TX | $100,000 | +42.9% | 10 | 3 |
| DALLAS, TX | $98,008 | +40% | 18 | 6 |
| Menlo Park, CA | $95,800 | +36.9% | 121 | 9 |
| Fremont, CA | $95,676 | +36.7% | 27 | 11 |
| Upton, NY | $92,800 | +32.6% | 339 | 6 |
| Foothill Ranch, CA | $92,500 | +32.1% | 14 | 3 |
| New York, NE | $86,000 | +22.9% | 37 | 9 |
| Palo Alto, CA | $85,500 | +22.1% | 20 | 8 |
| Albuquerque, NM | $85,200 | +21.7% | 14 | 4 |
| New York, NY | $85,000 | +21.4% | 80 | 10 |
| Los Alamos, NE | $83,800 | +19.7% | 21 | 1 |
| Vernon Hills, IL | $83,304 | +19% | 10 | 2 |
| Los Alamos, NM | $81,700 | +16.7% | 152 | 5 |
| Rochester, NY | $80,000 | +14.3% | 13 | 3 |
| San Francisco, CA | $79,789 | +14% | 15 | 5 |
| College Park, MA | $79,123 | +13% | 11 | 2 |
| PASADENA, CA | $77,572 | +10.8% | 76 | 8 |
| Lemont, IL | $77,154 | +10.2% | 128 | 4 |
| Newport News, VA | $76,173 | +8.8% | 89 | 15 |
| Richland, WA | $75,500 | +7.9% | 44 | 4 |
| CRANBURY, NJ | $75,000 | +7.1% | 10 | 2 |
Salary by State
| State | Median | vs National | Filings |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Dakota | $220,000 | N/A | 3 |
| Alaska | $214,000 | N/A | 1 |
| Mississippi | $115,000 | -4.7% | 6 |
| Hawaii | $89,820 | N/A | 11 |
| California | $87,848 | -51.4% | 1,022 |
| Idaho | $85,800 | -35% | 14 |
| South Dakota | $85,000 | +8.4% | 9 |
| New York | $83,150 | -52.3% | 520 |
| New Mexico | $81,200 | -53.9% | 175 |
| Rhode Island | $80,000 | N/A | 6 |
| Nebraska | $75,712 | N/A | 219 |
| Massachusetts | $75,361 | -51% | 222 |
| Arkansas | $73,000 | -44.7% | 12 |
| Washington | $70,214 | -41.5% | 74 |
| Ohio | $67,642 | -50.1% | 53 |
| Wisconsin | $67,309 | -61.3% | 69 |
| Illinois | $67,032 | -48.9% | 473 |
| Tennessee | $66,821 | -61.5% | 186 |
| Colorado | $65,570 | -54.7% | 158 |
| Florida | $65,000 | -68.9% | 80 |
| Michigan | $65,000 | -39.6% | 159 |
| New Jersey | $64,000 | -62% | 149 |
| District of Columbia | $62,000 | -59.6% | 28 |
| Maryland | $61,993 | -62.2% | 154 |
| Pennsylvania | $60,000 | -71.2% | 104 |
| Oklahoma | $57,500 | -32% | 14 |
| Virginia | $55,961 | -65.9% | 152 |
| North Carolina | $55,296 | -67.6% | 39 |
| Minnesota | $54,602 | -75.5% | 56 |
| Connecticut | $54,000 | -68.5% | 61 |
| Arizona | $53,250 | -72.1% | 72 |
| Oregon | $53,184 | -71.1% | 15 |
| Vermont | $52,517 | N/A | 4 |
| Texas | $52,367 | -69.3% | 396 |
| West Virginia | $52,250 | N/A | 5 |
| Kansas | $51,248 | N/A | 10 |
| Iowa | $50,625 | -58.1% | 51 |
| Indiana | $50,000 | -54.7% | 63 |
| Georgia | $50,000 | -62% | 32 |
| New Hampshire | $50,000 | -72.1% | 13 |
| Louisiana | $50,000 | N/A | 21 |
| Utah | $49,500 | -63% | 16 |
| Missouri | $49,375 | -72.6% | 23 |
| Delaware | $49,101 | -40.7% | 8 |
| Alabama | $48,996 | -57.3% | 32 |
| Montana | $48,000 | N/A | 3 |
| Wyoming | $47,255 | N/A | 2 |
| Nevada | $47,008 | -59.5% | 11 |
| South Carolina | $46,509 | -64.5% | 9 |
| Kentucky | $45,240 | -73.2% | 6 |
Salary Trend - DOL Data
Education Requirements
From PERM filingsFor Physicists positions, 7% of PERM filings required a Bachelor's degree, 32% required a Master's degree, and 0% required no formal degree.
Education by Top Employer
Most common minimum education from PERM filings| Employer | Most Common Education | Median Salary |
|---|---|---|
| Brookhaven National Laboratory | Not specified | $94,320 |
| LOS ALAMOS NATIONAL SECURITY, LLC | Not specified | $81,900 |
| Fermi Research Alliance, LLC | Doctorate | $67,500 |
| Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory | Doctorate | $72,960 |
| UChicago Argonne LLC | Doctorate | $77,508 |
| University of Maryland College Park | Not specified | $61,627 |
| University of Colorado | Not specified | $68,912 |
| UT-BATTELLE, LLC (OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LABORATORY) | Not specified | $87,000 |
| The Trustees of Princeton University | Not specified | $71,000 |
| Texas A&M University | Not specified | $48,000 |
Salary by Industry
Same occupation, different industries (NAICS)The highest-paying industry for Physicists is Health Care and Social Assistance at $132,945. The lowest-paying industry with significant hiring is Educational Services at $66,568.
Frequently Asked Questions
Based on 7,053 DOL filings, the median salary for a Physicists is $70,000, ranging from $54,000 to $97,290.
The 90th percentile salary is N/A according to BLS data.
Based on DOL filings, Milpitas, CA offers the highest median at $126,153.
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 Physicists positions. We compare this data against BLS OEWS data which covers all workers in this occupation.
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