Physicist salary in Washington, DC

Based on 54 certified H-1B filings in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area, FY2025–FY2026. Includes College Park, Gaithersburg, Greenbelt, Bethesda, Washington Dc.

Also listed as: Medical Physicist, Assistant Physicist

Median salary$81,382
Middle 50%$73.5k–$113.5k
vs. national median−10%comparison median $90,000
Filings54FY2025–FY2026 · latest two fiscal years

Salary range

Box: middle 50% of filings. Whiskers: 10th–90th percentile. 99% of filings are between $63,473 and $214,834.
PercentileSalary
10th$67,018
25th$73,500
50th (median)$81,382
75th$113,516
90th$169,997

Salary by year

Median salary

$60k $75k $90k FY2020: median $68,500 (45 filings) FY2021: median $77,369 (35 filings) FY2022: median $80,000 (35 filings) FY2023: median $68,814 (25 filings) FY2024: median $81,950 (43 filings) FY2025: median $81,382 (26 filings) FY2026: median $83,000 (28 filings) FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25 FY26

Filings per year

FY2020: 45 filings FY20 FY2021: 35 filings FY21 FY2022: 35 filings FY22 FY2023: 25 filings FY23 FY2024: 43 filings FY24 FY2025: 26 filings FY25 FY2026: 28 filings FY26 45
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$68,500$63,000$85,00045
FY2021$77,369$69,700$90,99435
FY2022$80,000$65,982$102,05335
FY2023$68,814$62,275$79,26025
FY2024$81,950$75,177$91,76343
FY2025$81,382$71,097$120,50026
FY2026$83,000$75,563$107,35028

Cost of living

Washington's median Physicist salary of $81,382 is worth about $74,700 at national average prices.

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024 (U.S. = 100; Washington = 108.9).

Compared with all workers here

All Physicists in the Washington, DC area earned a median of $171,580 in May 2025 (1,520 employed). The H-1B median here is $81,382, 53% lower.

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

Top employers filing

EmployerMedianFilings
University of Maryland College Park$78,59230
The Catholic University of Americatoo few5
George Mason Universitytoo few2
Georgetown Universitytoo few2
Johns Hopkins Universitytoo few2

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

By experience level

Wage levelMedianFilings
Entry-level · Level I $78,796 42
Mid-level · Level II too few 4
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$67,018$78,79642

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.