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Physicists in California

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Physicists in California

Want to work in California as a Physicist? Read this first!

16.7% Jobs Projection
$112,980 Median Salary
300 Job Openings

You’re in luck! Jobs for Physicists in California are projected to grow and these jobs tend to pay higher than average.

  • Projected employment for Physicists in California is growing faster than average.

  • Physicists in California earn higher salaries than the typical U.S. wage earner.

How Many Physicists Work in California?

In 2018, there were 3,200 Physicists working in the state.

There were 2,920 Physicists employed in this state in 2017.

That’s growth of 280 jobs between 2017 and 2018.

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The typical state has 220 Physicists working in it, which means California has more Physicists than average.

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Job Projections for California

Jobs for Physicists in this state are growing at a rate of 16.7% which is faster than the nationwide estimated projection of 14.5%.

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California Annual Job Openings

The BLS is projecting 300 annual Physicists job openings in California, and 3,500 total jobs in the year 2026.

Nationwide, the prediction is 1,700 annual jobs and 20,500 total jobs in 2026.

What do Physicists Make in California?

In 2018 wages for Physicists ranged from $59,600 to $169,060 with $112,980 being the median annual salary.

Broken down to an hourly rate, workers in this field made anywhere from $28.65 to $81.28. The median hourly rate was $54.32.

In 2017 the median pay for this field was $54.3 an hour.

The hourly rate grew by $0.02.

The median salary in California is higher than the nationwide median salary.

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Top California Metros for Physicists

The table below shows some of the metros in this state with the most Physicists.

Metro Number Employed Annual Median Salary
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA 1,350 $125,180
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 500 $90,570
San Diego-Carlsbad, CA 380 $112,730
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 220 $120,820
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA 90 $62,550
Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA 60 $71,160

Top States for Physicists Employment

View the list below to see where most Physicists work.

State Number Employed Annual Median Salary
California 3,200 $112,980
Maryland 1,950 $125,660
New Mexico 1,770 $148,620
Texas 1,000 $112,420
New York 950 $126,740
Colorado 930 $100,850
Illinois 810 $111,160
Virginia 750 $102,220
District of Columbia 670 $146,890
Michigan 510 $81,650
Washington 500 $103,900
Tennessee 440 $126,500
Ohio 440 $117,870
New Jersey 370 $119,930
Massachusetts 360 $145,570
North Carolina 330 $133,650
Pennsylvania 320 $132,410
Indiana 260 $0
Florida 240 $124,070
South Carolina 200 $104,700

Below are the states where Physicists get paid the most:

State Annual Median Salary
Oklahoma $170,280
Wisconsin $154,070
New Mexico $148,620
District of Columbia $146,890
Massachusetts $145,570
Utah $138,100
North Carolina $133,650
Pennsylvania $132,410
Minnesota $128,110
Louisiana $127,630

You may also be interested in the following careers:

Occupation CA Employment Total

References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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