Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages Wide pay band SOC 19-2099

Physical Scientists, All Other

The published band from $67,000 to $195,190 is the distinctive signal for this role, not a twin of Industrial-Organizational Psychologists.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Physical Scientists, All Other: Industrial-Organizational Psychologists ($194K) , Clinical and Counseling Psychologists ($101K) , Sociologists ($106K) , Physicists ($172K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

Highest-pay states for Physical Scientists, All Other

State names lead when O*NET tasks are absent for this SOC, geography mass differs by occupation even when peer titles overlap.

  1. 1. Alabama $135,350
  2. 2. North Dakota $147,650
  3. 3. Pennsylvania $134,780
  4. 4. South Carolina $141,130
  5. 5. District of Columbia $156,730
  6. 6. Minnesota $147,890
  7. 7. Colorado $134,440
  8. 8. Georgia $137,680
  9. 9. Maryland $141,290
  10. 10. Massachusetts $138,380

Other Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations careers next to Physical Scientists, All Other

Same BLS major group, ordered by national median.

  1. 1. Sociologists $106,030
  2. 2. Physicists $172,250
  3. 3. Social Scientists and Related Workers, All Other $101,110
  4. 4. Biochemists and Biophysicists $127,410
  5. 5. Economists $124,720
  6. 6. Geographers $102,040
  7. 7. Psychologists, All Other $110,840
  8. 8. Industrial-Organizational Psychologists $193,950
  9. 9. Clinical and Counseling Psychologists $100,580
  10. 10. Political Scientists $142,080
  11. 11. Materials Scientists $117,790
  12. 12. Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists $103,410
Published pay band (10th to 90th)
$67,000 to $195,190
median $122,570 · ~2.9× spread
$123K
National median
↑ +1%
Growth 2024-2034
2,000
Annual openings
22,300
Estimated US jobs
Industrial-Organizational Psychologists
Highest-pay peer · $194K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education Bachelor's degree

Peer ladder above lists 12 other Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations titles , led here by Industrial-Organizational Psychologists.

The OEWS band for Physical Scientists, All Other runs from $67,000 (10th) to $195,190 (90th), about 2.9× wide, with median $122,570. That spread, not the midpoint alone, is the distinctive published fact.

Employment Projections expect +1% change between 2024 and 2034 (slower than average vs baseline 3.1%). About 2,000 annual openings are projected. BLS assigns Bachelor's degree as typical education needed for entry. These are occupation-level assignments, not universal requirements. BLS does not publish a separate occupation-specific safety rate for this role; its broad SOC-group rate is excluded from this career card's grade.

Highest published state median in this ranking: Alabama at $135,350. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Industrial-Organizational Psychologists at $193,950. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Where Physical Scientists, All Other sits in Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations

Among 48 detailed Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations with a published OEWS median, Physical Scientists, All Other is pay-rank #7, the upper third of that major group. The order is ROW_NUMBER on national median (title as tiebreak), not a worker-level percentile.

Other upper-third titles · closest medians

Full Salary Details Compare this role

Data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Projections from BLS Employment Projections program, 2024–2034.

Dive into Physical Scientists, All Other in more depth or explore nearby career data.

Full Salary Details

State, metro, and percentile breakdown

Jobs in Alabama

Top-paying state for this role

Jobs in North Dakota

Second-highest state pay

Industrial-Organizational Psychologists

Highest-pay peer · $194K

Clinical and Counseling Psychologists

Lower-pay peer · $101K

Compare Side-by-Side

Head-to-head with another role
Compare Physical Scientists, All Other with another occupation →

Pay-band next reads

Entry-Level vs Experienced Pay

What percentile bands reveal

Using Salary Data for Negotiation

Leverage BLS percentiles

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations titles sit near Physical Scientists, All Other at the top of the pay table? ▼
Physical Scientists, All Other is pay-rank #7 of 48 detailed Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations with an OEWS median, upper third. Nearest upper-third titles: Economists ($125K), Materials Scientists ($118K), Biochemists and Biophysicists ($127K), Astronomers ($129K). Rank is ROW_NUMBER on national median.
How wide is the published pay band for Physical Scientists, All Other? ▼
OEWS places the 10th percentile at $67,000 and the 90th at $195,190 for Physical Scientists, All Other (2.9× spread). The national median is $122,570. OEWS does not isolate experience, employer, or geography as the cause of that spread.
What employment change does BLS publish for Physical Scientists, All Other? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Physical Scientists, All Other is +1%. Projected annual openings: about 2,000. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: slower than average.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Physical Scientists, All Other? ▼
BLS assigns Bachelor's degree as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Physical Scientists, All Other. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Physical Scientists, All Other? ▼
Alabama ($135,350), North Dakota ($147,650), Pennsylvania ($134,780) lead this ranking. The table does not identify why those state estimates differ.

Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. Wage and state figures use BLS OEWS May 2025; growth and education use BLS Employment Projections for 2024–2034; safety fields cite BLS CFOI/SOII; task statements cite O*NET where shown. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

Disclaimer: Wage and outlook figures on this page are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute career, financial, or salary-negotiation advice. Actual pay varies by employer, experience, and local conditions; consult a career counselor or the hiring employer for guidance specific to your situation.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OES Occupational wage estimates by area and industry · 2025

Federal sources on this Physical Scientists, All Other card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 19-2099. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Physical Scientists, All Other. onetcenter.org
  • BLS Employment Projections - 2024-2034 change and openings for this occupation. bls.gov/emp
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - demographic and labor-force context for state and metro geography. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) - payroll-tax aggregate context for wage comparisons. irs.gov/statistics