Physicists H1B Visa — Salary, Sponsors & Cities

H1B Visa Sponsorship Overview for Physicists

Physicists (SOC code 19-2012) is one of the occupations that U.S. employers sponsor through the H1B visa program. A total of 9,707 labor condition applications have been filed by 958 employers for this occupation across the United States. The H1B visa allows U.S. companies to hire foreign workers in specialty occupations, and Physicists positions represent a significant portion of these filings.

The average salary offered on H1B applications for Physicists positions is $81,340, with a median of N/A. Salaries range from $10,000 to $742,320, reflecting the wide variation across experience levels, geographic locations, and prevailing wage levels. Compared to the national BLS median salary of $148,490 for this occupation, H1B salaries are -45.2% Below Market.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the national annual mean salary for Physicists is $148,140, with approximately 40 workers employed in this role nationwide. The BLS reports salary percentiles ranging from $115,020 (10th percentile) to $158,040 (90th percentile). These benchmarks are essential for understanding H1B salary requirements and prevailing wage determinations.

The top H1B sponsors for Physicists positions include Brookhaven National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Security, LLC, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory among others. These employers actively hire foreign workers for this role and submit LCA applications to the Department of Labor as part of the H1B approval process.

The most popular work locations for H1B Physicists positions include Upton, NY and Los Alamos, NM. Location significantly impacts both salary offers and the applicable prevailing wage, making geographic analysis crucial for H1B applicants and employers.

California leads H1B filings for this occupation with 1,740 applications, followed by New York and Illinois. View Physicists H1B data in California for state-level details.

Top H1B Sponsors for Physicists

These employers have filed the most H1B applications for Physicists positions. Click any employer to view their full H1B sponsorship profile.

#	Employer	State	LCAs	Avg Salary	Market Median	vs Market
1	Brookhaven National Laboratory	NY	643	$95,948	$148,490	-35.4% Below Market
2	Los Alamos National Security, LLC	NM	288	$90,379	$148,490	-39.1% Below Market
3	Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory	CA	255	$86,644	$148,490	-41.7% Below Market
4	UChicago Argonne, LLC	IL	248	$78,700	$148,490	-47.0% Below Market
5	Fermi Research Alliance, LLC	IL	241	$67,980	$148,490	-54.2% Below Market
6	University of Maryland, College Park	MD	224	$66,268	$148,490	-55.4% Below Market
7	UT-BATTELLE, LLC - Oak Ridge National Laboratory	TN	196	$97,116	$148,490	-34.6% Below Market
8	University of Colorado	CO	166	$70,405	$148,490	-52.6% Below Market
9	The Trustees of Princeton University	NJ	158	$72,841	$148,490	-50.9% Below Market
10	Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC	CA	149	$124,343	$148,490	-16.3% Below Market
11	Texas A&M University	TX	132	$53,987	$148,490	-63.6% Below Market
12	Triad National Security, LLC	NM	127	$110,993	$148,490	-25.3% Below Market
13	California Institute of Technology	CA	124	$75,145	$148,490	-49.4% Below Market
14	Oak Ridge Associated Universities	TN	118	$58,990	$148,490	-60.3% Below Market
15	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	MA	111	$70,149	$148,490	-52.8% Below Market
16	The University of Texas at Austin	TX	106	$52,667	$148,490	-64.5% Below Market
17	Jefferson Science Associates, LLC	VA	97	$81,316	$148,490	-45.2% Below Market
18	Michigan State University	MI	90	$83,799	$148,490	-43.6% Below Market
19	Yale University	DC	90	$55,206	$148,490	-62.8% Below Market
20	University of Chicago	IL	82	$61,416	$148,490	-58.6% Below Market

Physicists H1B Salary by City

H1B salaries for Physicists vary significantly by metro area. The table below shows the top cities with their average offered salary and how it compares to the local BLS median.

#	City	LCAs	Employers	Avg Salary	Local BLS Median	vs Local Market
1	Upton, NY	660	12	$95,161	N/A	N/A
2	Los Alamos, NM	402	7	$95,912	N/A	N/A
3	Batavia, IL	378	45	$67,604	N/A	N/A
4	Berkeley, CA	356	12	$82,561	N/A	N/A
5	Oak Ridge, TN	337	7	$80,292	N/A	N/A
6	Houston, TX	289	42	$77,335	N/A	N/A
7	New York, NY	227	16	$108,515	N/A	N/A
8	Cambridge, MA	212	17	$78,524	N/A	N/A
9	Boulder, CO	211	11	$71,513	N/A	N/A
10	Lemont, IL	188	5	$80,405	N/A	N/A
11	Princeton, NJ	184	8	$71,683	N/A	N/A
12	Pasadena, CA	178	10	$89,401	N/A	N/A
13	Newport News, VA	158	19	$73,656	N/A	N/A
14	Livermore, CA	153	9	$119,933	N/A	N/A
15	Chicago, IL	150	11	$69,163	N/A	N/A
16	College Park, MD	146	3	$66,654	N/A	N/A
17	College Station, TX	141	6	$54,843	N/A	N/A
18	Menlo Park, CA	125	13	$91,888	N/A	N/A
19	Austin, TX	117	8	$60,920	N/A	N/A
20	Stanford, CA	112	5	$78,602	N/A	N/A

Physicists H1B Data by State

#	State	LCAs	Employers	Avg Salary	BLS State Median
1	California	1,740	246	$92,322	$180,900
2	New York	1,133	70	$94,587	$174,160
3	Illinois	948	89	$73,508	$131,260
4	Texas	755	101	$71,702	$170,450
5	New Mexico	450	18	$94,197	$175,960
6	Tennessee	434	18	$77,307	$173,660
7	Maryland	412	35	$77,289	$163,950
8	Massachusetts	392	71	$83,829	$153,890
9	New Jersey	314	38	$72,958	$168,610
10	Virginia	301	39	$70,685	$164,180

Prevailing Wage Levels for Physicists

The Department of Labor assigns prevailing wage levels (I through IV) to H1B positions based on experience and skill requirements. Level I represents entry-level positions, while Level IV indicates expert-level roles. Understanding wage levels is critical for both employers and H1B workers.

Wage Level	LCAs	% of Total	Avg Salary	Min Salary	Max Salary
I	1,046	28.0%	$76,744	$36,317	$240,725
II	331	8.9%	$118,049	$50,000	$250,515
III	183	4.9%	$141,889	$71,323	$350,000
IV	91	2.4%	$192,028	$90,000	$367,349
Level I	1,363	36.4%	$64,544	$37,000	$178,210
Level II	444	11.9%	$97,266	$47,000	$491,000
Level III	161	4.3%	$113,197	$48,000	$320,000
Level IV	121	3.2%	$158,090	$54,662	$579,987

BLS National Salary Distribution for Physicists

The Bureau of Labor Statistics provides detailed salary percentile data for Physicists positions across the United States. This data serves as a benchmark for evaluating H1B salary offers.