Entry-level Physicist salary in Los Angeles, CA

Based on 21 certified H-1B filings at DOL wage level I in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA metro area, FY2025–FY2026. Includes Pasadena, Irvine, Orange, Santa Monica, Duarte.

Also listed as: Medical Physicist, Assistant Physicist

Median salary$86,880
Middle 50%$78.1k–$135.7k
vs. all levels here+2%comparison median $85,180
Filings21FY2025–FY2026 · latest two fiscal years

Salary range

Box: middle 50% of filings. Whiskers: 10th–90th percentile. 99% of filings are between $78,042 and $151,382.
PercentileSalary
10th$78,058
25th$78,125
50th (median)$86,880
75th$135,725
90th$143,936

Salary by year

Median salary

$60k $80k $100k FY2020: median $73,500 (15 filings) FY2021: median $72,000 (11 filings) FY2022: median $94,000 (10 filings) FY2023: median $82,180 (21 filings) FY2024: median $81,421 (16 filings) FY2025: median $88,440 (18 filings) FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25 FY26

Filings per year

FY2020: 15 filings FY20 FY2021: 11 filings FY21 FY2022: 10 filings FY22 FY2023: 21 filings FY23 FY2024: 16 filings FY24 FY2025: 18 filings FY25 FY2026: 3 filings FY26 21
Shaded: FY2025–FY2026, the years behind the figures above. Median shown for years with at least 10 filings. FY2026 covers Q1–Q3 only.
Show as table
Fiscal yearMedianP25P75Filings
FY2020$73,500$65,160$80,54115
FY2021$72,000$61,892$88,75011
FY2022$94,000$72,488$107,12010
FY2023$82,180$75,000$94,05021
FY2024$81,421$71,940$106,49016
FY2025$88,440$79,534$126,79418
FY2026–––3

Cost of living

Los Angeles's median entry-level Physicist salary of $86,880 is worth about $76,500 at national average prices.

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024 (U.S. = 100; Los Angeles = 113.6).

Compared with all workers here

All Physicists in the Los Angeles, CA area earned a median of $160,270 in May 2025 (550 employed). The H-1B median here is $86,880, 46% lower.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS metropolitan area estimates. BLS wages include some incentive pay; H-1B figures are base salary.

Employers filing at this level

EmployerMedianFilings
California Institute of Technology/Jet Propulsion Laboratorytoo few7
California Institute of Technologytoo few4
Chapman Universitytoo few3

Employers with at least 2 filings here. Median shown at 10+ filings.

By experience level

Wage levelMedianFilings
Entry-level · Level I $86,880 21
Mid-level · Level II $155,000 11
Senior · Level III – 0
Expert · Level IV – 0

Median shown when a level has at least 10 filings.

Minimum H-1B salary by level

Wage levelPrevailing wage (most common)Median offered salaryFilings
Entry-level · Level I$78,042$86,88021
Mid-level · Level II$118,331$155,00011

The prevailing wage is the minimum an employer must pay for this job and area. Amounts vary by county within a metro and by wage source.