Astronomers & physicists

Detailed Occupation

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2023 Workforce

18.7k

Average Age

46.7

Average Salary

$136,106

Average Male Salary

$141,412

Average Female Salary

$112,825

About

Astronomers & physicists are most often employed by the Scientific research & development services industry. The average yearly wage for Astronomers & physicists was $136,106 in 2023.

The locations that employ the most Astronomers & physicists are Hawaii County PUMA, HI, Los Angeles County (Central)--Pasadena City PUMA, CA, and North Central New Mexico PUMA, NM. The locations with a relatively high concentration of Astronomers & physicists are North Central New Mexico PUMA, NM, Carbon & Lehigh (North) Counties PUMA, PA, and Hawaii County PUMA, HI.

Photo by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center

Management, business, science, & arts occupations Computer, engineering, & science occupations Life, physical, & social science occupations

Employment and salary information for the Astronomers & physicists workforce. Astronomers & physicists workforce in N/A was N/A people, of which N/A% were women and N/A% were men. Astronomers & physicists are paid most in Middlesex County--Watertown, Arlington & Belmont PUMA, MA but are relatively concentrated in North Central New Mexico PUMA, NM.

Employment Over Time

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Grouping

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Male Workforce

± N/A

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Female Workforce

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The Astronomers & physicists workforce in N/A was N/A people (N/A% women and N/A% men). This implies an average annual growth of N/A% between N/A (N/A) and N/A (N/A).

Employment by Location

Level

Metric

This map shows the states in the United States shaded by average wage for Astronomers & physicists.

During 2023, the states that concentrated the best average annual wage were Kentucky ($255,619), Alabama ($198,886), and South Carolina ($161,108).

Yearly Wage Ranking

$136,106

AVERAGE WAGE

#22 in the ranking (2023)

$67,727

NATIONAL AVERAGE WAGE

For all occupations across the US

In 2023, Astronomers & physicists earned an average of $136,106, $68,379 more than the average national salary of $67,727

The graph shows the ranking of Astronomers & physicists in relation to all Detailed Occupation in 2023.

Wage Distribution

Gender

0.308

WAGE GINI

In 2023, Astronomers & physicists had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.308, which is lower than the national average of 0.476. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly for Astronomers & physicists (shown in red) than for the overall labor force (shown in gray).

The graphic shows the distribution of average salaries by buckets for Astronomers & physicists compared to the entire workforce in the country.

Industry

Information on the industries that employ Astronomers & physicists and on wages for those in the field. Scientific research & development services is the industry that employs the most Astronomers & physicists, both by share and by number, though the highest paid industry for Astronomers & physicists, by average wage, is Aircraft & parts manufacturing ($237,612).

Occupations by Industries

Metric

Value

18.7k

2023 Workforce

± 3,360

15.8%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 22.7%

This graphic shows the share of Astronomers & physicists employed by various industries. Scientific research & development services employs the largest share of Astronomers & physicists at 49.3%, followed by Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges with 27.7% and General medical and surgical hospitals, and specialty (except psychiatric and substance abuse) hospitals with 12.4%.

Diversity

Demographic information on Astronomers & physicists in the US. The workforce of Astronomers & physicists in N/A was N/A people, with N/A% woman, and N/A% men. The average age of male Astronomers & physicists in the workforce is 47.9 and of female Astronomers & physicists is 41.5, and the most common race/ethnicity for Astronomers & physicists is White.

Gender and Age

Metric

The workforce of Astronomers & physicists in N/A was N/A people, with N/A% woman, and N/A% men.

The age ranges that concentrated the largest workforce were 35 to 39 years (2,585 people), 30 to 34 years (2,463 people), and 60 to 64 years (2,169 people). Among them they concentrated 39.5% of the total workforce.

Ethnicity

Gender

In 2023, 7.22% of Astronomers & physicists workers were Hispanic and 92.8% non-Hispanic.

The treemap shows the distribution of Hispanic workers according to their origin, highlighting Mexican (47.7%), Spaniard (41.9)%, and All Other Spanish/Hispanic/Latino (10.4)%

You can review this information by gender using the selectors above.

Races

In 2023, 74.7% of the Astronomers & physicists workforce were White, of which 16.7% were women and 83.3% men. Other races that concentrated a significant number of workers were Asian (14.2%) and Two or More Races (7.59%).

Education & Skills

Data on higher education choices for Astronomers & physicists from The Department of Education and Census Bureau. The most common major for Astronomers & physicists is Physical Sciences but the most specialized major according to RCA in 2023 were Physical Sciences.

Among the necessary skills for Astronomers & physicists, Reading Comprehension stands, but the revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Astronomers & physicists need more than the average amount of Science.

Majors

ACS PUMS data only shows the major for bachelor's degrees. However, we can filter the data based on highest degree obtained.

Type of Majors

Degree

The most common majors achieved by Astronomers & physicists in 2023 (counting all academic degrees) were Physical Sciences (10,717 people), Engineering (2,334 people), and Biology (1,404 people).

You can review this information for different academic grades by modifying the option selected in the selector above.

Education Levels

Metric

The main educational levels achieved by the Astronomers & physicists workers were Graduate Degree (14,193 people), Bachelors Degree (4,539 people), and false (0 people).

The graphic shows the Astronomers & physicists workforce by gender and educational level.

Skills

Chart

Value

Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for Astronomers & physicists from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Astronomers & physicists need many skills, but most especially Reading Comprehension, Science, Writing.