H-1B salary guideSOC 19-2012Rank #39Updated Sep 2026
Physicists
H-1B prevailing-wage data for Physicists (SOC 19-2012). Based on 29,090 Labor Condition Applications filed with the US Department of Labor.
Median wage
$132,741
P50 · FY2026
P25 wage
$83,200
lower quartile · FY2026
P75 wage
$200,000
upper quartile · FY2026
Filings
2,128
Rank #39 · FY2026
Wage by DOL prevailing-wage level
P25 / P50 / P75 of offered annual wage at each PW_WAGE_LEVEL. Level I = entry, Level IV = expert — the I-to-IV gap is the career runway.
| Level | N | P25 | Median | P75 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Level I | 3,857 | $61,000 | $71,637 | $85,000 |
| Level II | 4,509 | $71,323 | $91,960 | $149,379 |
| Level III | 2,998 | $90,187 | $130,208 | $160,000 |
| Level IV | 1,780 | $125,541 | $183,150 | $207,140 |
| Level | P25 | Median | P75 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Level I | $61,000 | $71,637 | $85,000 |
| Level II | $71,323 | $91,960 | $149,379 |
| Level III | $90,187 | $130,208 | $160,000 |
| Level IV | $125,541 | $183,150 | $207,140 |
Top hiring states
Worksite states with the most filings for this SOC, with the local median wage.
Top sponsoring employers
Who actually files most for this role.
Massachusetts Institute of…
938
Meta Platforms, Inc
752
Brookhaven National Labora…
506
FACEBOOK, INC.
478
Intel Corporation
393
The University of Virginia
373
UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MI…
362
The Ohio State University
302
THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS M.…
265
Battelle Memorial Institute
249
Median wage by fiscal year
How the typical offered wage for this SOC has drifted across fiscal years.
| Period | Value |
|---|---|
| FY2010 | $65k |
| FY2011 | $67k |
| FY2012 | $67k |
| FY2013 | $69k |
| FY2014 | $70k |
| FY2015 | $70k |
| FY2016 | $73k |
| FY2017 | $73k |
| FY2018 | $80k |
| FY2019 | $81k |
| FY2020 | $95k |
| FY2021 | $93k |
| FY2022 | $100k |
| FY2023 | $97k |
| FY2024 | $85k |
| FY2025 | $89k |
| FY2026 | $133k |
Compare Physicists with another occupation
Side-by-side view of KPIs, outcomes, top breakdowns and yearly trend.
Who actually sponsors this role?
50 employers filed H-1B LCAs for Physicists — ranked, with certification rates and a sponsor-health signal.
Explore by rank
Pre-built leaderboards for the most-asked questions.
Understand the data
Definitions and methodology behind these H-1B figures.