Physics
Contains Stem Majors
Add ComparisonIn 2024, the locations with the highest concentration of Physics degree recipients are New York, NY, Los Angeles, CA, and Chicago, IL. In 2024, the locations with a relatively high number of Physics degree recipients are Haverford College, PA, Monmouth, IL, and Grinnell, IA. The most common degree awarded to students studying Physics is a bachelors degree.
Information about the types of higher education institutions that grant degrees in Physics and the types of students that study this field. University of California-Santa Barbara awards the most degrees in Physics in the US, but Harvey Mudd College and California Institute of Technology have the highest percentage of degrees awarded in Physics.
Tuition costs for Physics majors are, on average, $7,894 for in-state public colleges, and $49,195 for out of state private colleges.
The most common sector, by number of institutions, that offers Physics programs are Public, 4-year or above institutions (425 total). The most common sector, by number of degrees awarded, is Public, 4-year or above (7,729 completions).
The most common sector, by number of degrees awarded in Physics, is Public, 4-year or above (7,729 completions in 2024).
The following chart shows the share of universities that offer Physics programs, by the total number of completions, colored and grouped by their sector.
University of California-Santa Barbara has the most Physics degree recipients, with 213 degrees awarded in 2024.
The following bar chart shows the state tuition for the top 5 institutions with the most degrees awarded in Physics.
Out of all institutions that offer Physics programs and have at least 5 graduates in those programs, Harvey Mudd College has the highest percentage of degrees awarded in Physics, with 10%.
This map shows the counties in the United States colored by the highest number of degrees awarded in Physics by year.
Information on the businesses and industries that employ Physical Sciences graduates and on wages and locations for those in the field.
The average salary for Physical Sciences majors is $130,842 and the most common occupations are Postsecondary teachers, Other Physical Scientists, and Physicians.
The industry that employs the most Physical Sciences majors is Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges, though the highest paying industry, by average wage, is Offices of physicians.
The average salary for Physical Sciences majors is $130,842 and the most common occupations are Postsecondary teachers, Other Physical Scientists, and Physicians.
This chart shows the average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Physical Sciences majors.
This map shows the public use micro areas (PUMAs) in the United States colored by the average salary of Physical Sciences majors.
Note that the census collects information tied to where people live, not where they work. It is possible that Physical Sciences majors live and work in the same place, but it is also possible that they live and work in two different places.
The most common occupations for Physical Sciences majors, by number of employees, are Postsecondary teachers, Other Physical Scientists, and Physicians.
Compared to other majors, there are an unusually high number of Physical Sciences majors working as Astronomers & physicists, Chemists & materials scientists, and Environmental scientists & geoscientists.
The highest paid occupations by median income for Physical Sciences majors are Surgeons, Physicians, and Securities, commodities, & financial services sales agents.
The number of Physical Sciences graduates in the workforce has been growing at a rate of 2.38%, from 1.2M in 2023 to 1.23M in 2024.
The largest single share of Physical Sciences graduates go on to work as Postsecondary teachers (7.13%). This chart shows the various jobs filled by those with a major in Physical Sciences by share of the total number of graduates.
The most common industries that employ Physical Sciences majors, by number of employees, are Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges, General medical and surgical hospitals, and specialty (except psychiatric and substance abuse) hospitals, and Scientific research & development services.
The highest paying industries of Physical Sciences majors, by average wage, are Offices of physicians, Internet publishing, broadcasting & web search portals, and Securities, commodities, funds, trusts & other financial investments.
The number of Physical Sciences graduates in the workforce has been growing at a rate of 2.38%, from 1.2M in 2023 to 1.23M in 2024.
The industry which employs the most Physical Sciences graduates by share is Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges, followed by General medical and surgical hospitals, and specialty (except psychiatric and substance abuse) hospitals. This visualization shows the industries that hire those who major in Physical Sciences.
This map shows the public use micro areas (PUMAs) in the United States where there are a relatively high population of Physical Sciences majors.
Note that the census collects information tied to where people live, not where they work. It is possible that Physical Sciences majors live and work in the same place, but it is also possible that they live and work in two different places.
Demographic information for those who earn a degree in Physical Sciences in the United States.
The average age of a person in the workforce with a degree in Physical Sciences is 44.5.
The most common degree type these workers hold is a Bachelors Degree. Male employees are more likely to hold Physical Sciences degrees, and White students are the most common race/ethnicty group awarded degrees in Physical Sciences (6,057 students).
This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Physical Sciences. The most common ages of employees with this major are 30 and 32 years old, which represent 2.9% and 2.84% of the population, respectively.
The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Physics are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Research Doctorate.
The most common degree types held by the working population in Physical Sciences are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Doctorate degree.
This chart shows the granted degrees by sex at the 5 institutions that graduate the most students in Physics.
This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Physics for each race & ethnicity.
In 2024, White students earned the largest share of the degrees with this major.
This chart illustrates the differences by sex for each race & ethnicity of Bachelors Degree recipients in Physics.
White Male students, who earn most of the degrees in this field, are the most common combination of race/ethnicity and sex.
There are a relatively high number of people that were born in Sri Lanka that hold Physical Sciences degrees (5.23 times more than expected), and the most common country of origin by total numbers for non-US students earning a degree in this field is India (57,996 degree recipients).
Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Physics field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Physics majors need many skills, but most especially Learning Strategies. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Physics majors need more than the average amount of Instructing, Learning Strategies, and Social Perceptiveness.
These two visualizations, one a radial chart and one a bar chart, show the same information, a rating of how necessary the following skills are for Physics majors. Toggle between "value" and "RCA" to see the absolute rating of that skill (value) and the revealed comparative advantage (RCA), or how much greater or lesser that skill's rating is than the average. The longer the bar or the closer the line comes to the circumference of the circle, the more important that skill is. The importance of Instructing is very distinctive for majors, but the Learning Strategies, Speaking, and Instructing are the three most important skills for people in the field.
