Physicists Salary

It’s a stretch — at the median salary of $173K, rent takes 35.7% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $3,483/month. The 30% guideline puts the comfortable ceiling at roughly $2,900/month in rent — so roommates or a 1-bedroom would ease the math significantly.

The 10th-percentile wage — what new physicists typically earn — is $123K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $7,370/month. At HUD’s $3,483/month FMR, rent would take 47% of that take-home — above the 30% guideline, so a 1-bedroom or shared housing is likely necessary starting out.

Pay here is roughly in line with the national average — $173K locally vs. $172K nationally, a 1% difference.

San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara pays $173K median vs. the U.S. average of $172K — that’s +1%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 110.42), the purchasing-power equivalent is $157K — below the national median.

The median is $173,450 a year, that works out to about $83 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $122,840, and experienced physicists can clear $302,040. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.

On that salary, you'd take home roughly $9,753/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $3,483/month, which eats 35.7% of your paycheck. That's above the 30% rule of thumb, housing will be a stretch at the median salary, though you can manage with roommates or a smaller place.

San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara has a Regional Price Parity of 110.42 (100 is the national average). Prices are above average here, so your dollar buys less than the same salary would in a cheaper metro. After cost-of-living adjustment, the median physicists salary is worth about $157,082 in national-average purchasing power.

The table above ranks every state by median pay for this role. Keep in mind that the highest-paying states tend to have the highest costs of living, so the top salary doesn't always mean the most money in your pocket.