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Health physicist salary
Average health physicist salary
$74,942
Health Physicist Salary Overview
Health physicists are essential in protecting public health by managing radiation exposure in various settings, including medical facilities and research labs. As of October 2025, the average salary for a health physicist stands at $74,942 annually, which translates to about $36 per hour. This figure can fluctuate based on several factors, including geographic location, years of experience, and the specific industry of employment.
Salary by State
Different states offer varying salaries for health physicists. For instance, states with high demand for radiation safety professionals, such as California and Texas, often provide higher compensation packages. Understanding these dynamics can help prospective health physicists gauge potential earnings in their desired locations.
Job Opportunities
Health physicists have opportunities in diverse sectors, including healthcare, government, and academic institutions. The demand for skilled professionals in this field continues to grow, particularly with advancements in technology and increasing regulatory requirements.
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Where can a Health Physicist earn more?
Health physicist salary estimates from across the web
Average health physicist salary by state
The highest-paying states for health physicists are New York, Connecticut, and Maryland. The lowest average health physicist salary states are Idaho, Hawaii, and Iowa.
- State view
- County view
Highest paying states for health physicists
| Rank | State | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Massachusetts | $91,962 | $44.21 |
| 2 | Ohio | $88,700 | $42.64 |
| 3 | Maryland | $105,334 | $50.64 |
| 4 | New Hampshire | $101,492 | $48.79 |
| 5 | Connecticut | $106,877 | $51.38 |
| 6 | Rhode Island | $90,536 | $43.53 |
| 7 | New York | $109,106 | $52.45 |
| 8 | Nevada | $91,692 | $44.08 |
| 9 | Wisconsin | $83,500 | $40.14 |
| 10 | New Mexico | $93,192 | $44.80 |
| 11 | Delaware | $91,011 | $43.76 |
| 12 | Vermont | $81,682 | $39.27 |
| 13 | Arizona | $83,026 | $39.92 |
| 14 | Oklahoma | $81,339 | $39.11 |
| 15 | Louisiana | $82,338 | $39.59 |
| 16 | Minnesota | $83,236 | $40.02 |
| 17 | Alaska | $91,888 | $44.18 |
| 18 | District of Columbia | $92,956 | $44.69 |
| 19 | California | $87,588 | $42.11 |
| 20 | Pennsylvania | $85,165 | $40.94 |
| 21 | Alabama | $77,730 | $37.37 |
| 22 | South Carolina | $75,646 | $36.37 |
| 23 | Tennessee | $74,404 | $35.77 |
| 24 | Wyoming | $76,279 | $36.67 |
| 25 | Colorado | $81,716 | $39.29 |
| 26 | West Virginia | $78,085 | $37.54 |
| 27 | Florida | $82,297 | $39.57 |
| 28 | Michigan | $79,369 | $38.16 |
| 29 | Washington | $75,418 | $36.26 |
| 30 | North Carolina | $73,936 | $35.55 |
| 31 | New Jersey | $84,752 | $40.75 |
| 32 | Nebraska | $75,596 | $36.34 |
| 33 | North Dakota | $72,865 | $35.03 |
| 34 | Kentucky | $70,704 | $33.99 |
| 35 | Missouri | $69,809 | $33.56 |
| 36 | Utah | $73,382 | $35.28 |
| 37 | Indiana | $61,889 | $29.75 |
| 38 | Maine | $74,459 | $35.80 |
| 39 | Idaho | $60,039 | $28.86 |
| 40 | Montana | $72,330 | $34.77 |
| 41 | Arkansas | $51,576 | $24.80 |
| 42 | Illinois | $72,306 | $34.76 |
| 43 | Texas | $67,034 | $32.23 |
| 44 | Kansas | $64,926 | $31.21 |
| 45 | Virginia | $63,781 | $30.66 |
| 46 | Hawaii | $56,823 | $27.32 |
| 47 | Iowa | $55,205 | $26.54 |
| 48 | Oregon | $69,855 | $33.58 |
| 49 | Georgia | $63,632 | $30.59 |
| 50 | Mississippi | $49,897 | $23.99 |
| 51 | South Dakota | $46,620 | $22.41 |
Highest paying cities for health physicists
The highest-paying cities for health physicists are New York, NY, Baltimore, MD, and Albuquerque, NM.
| Rank | City | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York, NY | $109,683 | $52.73 |
| 2 | Baltimore, MD | $105,941 | $50.93 |
| 3 | Albuquerque, NM | $93,265 | $44.84 |
| 4 | Washington, DC | $92,964 | $44.69 |
| 5 | Berkeley, CA | $91,239 | $43.86 |
| 6 | Columbus, OH | $87,438 | $42.04 |
| 7 | Bethlehem, PA | $85,687 | $41.20 |
| 8 | Phoenix, AZ | $83,172 | $39.99 |
| 9 | Rochester, MN | $82,447 | $39.64 |
| 10 | Madison, WI | $82,324 | $39.58 |
| 11 | Ann Arbor, MI | $78,899 | $37.93 |
| 12 | Oak Ridge, TN | $76,537 | $36.80 |
| 13 | Omaha, NE | $76,135 | $36.60 |
| 14 | Bremerton, WA | $76,069 | $36.57 |
| 15 | Raleigh, NC | $75,959 | $36.52 |
| 16 | Aiken, SC | $74,640 | $35.88 |
| 17 | Chicago, IL | $72,835 | $35.02 |
| 18 | Salt Lake City, UT | $72,572 | $34.89 |
| 19 | College Station, TX | $67,474 | $32.44 |
| 20 | Arlington, VA | $65,526 | $31.50 |
Health physicist salary details
A health physicist's salary ranges from $41,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $134,000 at the 90th percentile.
What is a health physicist's salary?
| Percentile | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90th Percentile | $134,000 | $11,167 | $64 |
| 75th Percentile | $102,000 | $8,500 | $49 |
| Average | $74,942 | $6,245 | $36 |
| 25th Percentile | $55,000 | $4,583 | $26 |
| 10th Percentile | $41,000 | $3,417 | $20 |
Highest paying health physicist jobs
The highest paying types of health physicists are medical physicist, nuclear scientist, and physicist.
| Job title | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Research Fellow | $53,823 | $4,485 | $25.88 | 59,746 |
| Research Laboratory Technician | $38,308 | $3,192 | $18.42 | 86,476 |
| Research Scientist | $89,998 | $7,500 | $43.27 | 93,013 |
| Computational Physicist | $61,519 | $5,127 | $29.58 | 865 |
| Physicist | $110,869 | $9,239 | $53.30 | 803 |
| Research Physicist | $74,663 | $6,222 | $35.90 | 46,060 |
Which companies pay health physicists the most?
Health physicist salaries at UCI Health and Northwestern Medicine are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average health physicist salary at companies like St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory are highly competitive.
| Rank | Company | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | UCI Health | $172,040 | $82.71 |
| 2 | Northwestern Medicine | $123,248 | $59.25 |
| 3 | St. Jude Children's Research Hospital | $107,220 | $51.55 |
| 4 | Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory | $104,629 | $50.30 |
| 5 | Sandia National Labs | $103,612 | $49.81 |
| 6 | Arizona Public Service | $102,882 | $49.46 |
| 7 | St. Luke's Hospital | $101,297 | $48.70 |
| 8 | Los Alamos National Security LLC | $100,692 | $48.41 |
| 9 | Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory | $96,276 | $46.29 |
| 10 | Los Alamos National Laboratory | $96,210 | $46.25 |
| 11 | Energy Northwest | $95,651 | $45.99 |
| 12 | Plexus Scientific | $94,914 | $45.63 |
| 13 | Pinnacle West Capital | $94,138 | $45.26 |
| 14 | Oak Ridge Associated Universities, Inc. | $94,038 | $45.21 |
| 15 | Mayo Clinic | $93,701 | $45.05 |
| 16 | University of California | $92,165 | $44.31 |
| 17 | Stanford University | $88,538 | $42.57 |
| 18 | University of Michigan | $87,467 | $42.05 |
| 19 | University of California-Berkeley | $86,638 | $41.65 |
| 20 | NRC | $86,611 | $41.64 |
Wage gap by gender, race and education
Health Physicist salary by industry
The average health physicist salary varies across industries:
- The average health physicist salary in the energy industry is $101,563, the highest of any industry.
- The average health physicist salary in the finance industry is $87,265.
- Health physicists in the utilities industry earn an average salary of $61,517, the lowest of any industry.
Highest paying industries for health physicists
| Rank | Industry | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Energy | $101,563 | $48.83 |
| 2 | Technology | $87,265 | $41.95 |
| 3 | Manufacturing | $76,986 | $37.01 |
| 4 | Government | $68,269 | $32.82 |
| 5 | Utilities | $61,517 | $29.58 |
High paying health physicist jobs
Health physicist salary trends
The average health physicist salary has risen by $13,557 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average health physicist earned $61,385 annually, but today, they earn $74,942 a year. That works out to a 12% change in pay for health physicists over the last decade.
Compare health physicist salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.
Average health physicist salary over time
Compare health physicist salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.
Health physicist salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $74,900 | $36.03 | +5.4% |
| 2024 | $70,900 | $34.09 | +1.5% |
| 2023 | $69,800 | $33.56 | +1.8% |
| 2022 | $68,600 | $32.97 | +2.5% |
| 2021 | $66,900 | $32.15 | +3.7% |
Recently added health physicist salaries
| Company | Job | Location | Date added | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montana Office of Public Instruction | Health Enhancement | Bozeman, MT | 06/19/2025 | $41,613 |
| Washington State University | Radiation Health Physicist | Pullman, WA | 06/13/2025 | $66,012 |
| WSU | Radiation Health Physicist | Pullman, WA | 06/11/2025 | $66,012 |
| Oak Ridge Associated Universities | Health Physicist 3 | Oak Ridge, TN | 06/10/2025 | $101,816 |
| University of Michigan (The Regents @ Ann Arbor | Health Physicist | Ann Arbor, MI | 05/29/2025 | $72,650 |
| Dasstateoh | Senior Health Physicist | Columbus, OH | 05/28/2025 | $66,951 |
| State of Ohio | Senior Health Physicist | Columbus, OH | 05/26/2025 | $66,951 |
| UEC Ameren Missouri | Nuclear Health Physicist | Noel, MO | 05/25/2025 | $82,400 |
| Us Department of Transportation | Health Physicist-Direct | Washington, DC | 05/24/2025 | $84,601 |
| State of Kansas | Health Physicist | Shawnee, KS | 05/23/2025 | $58,937 |
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