Astronomers & physicists

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Total Workforce

10.3k

Average Age

42.2

Average Salary

$98,070

Average Male Salary

$97,377

Average Female Salary

$100,346

About

Employment

Diversity

Education

Skills

About

Astronomers & physicists are most often employed by the Scientific research & development services industry. The average yearly wage for Astronomers & physicists was $98,070 in 2016. The top 3 most similar occupations to Astronomers & physicists by wage are Firstline supervisors of fire fighting & prevention workers, Nurse practitioners & nurse midwives, and Marketing managers.

Astronomers & physicists are part of the Life, physical, & social science occupations, along with Agricultural & food scientists, Biological scientists, Conservation scientists & foresters, Medical scientists, & life scientists, all other, Astronomers & physicists, and 17 more.

The top 3 locations that employ the most Astronomers & physicists are . The top 3 locations with a relatively high concentration of Astronomers & physicists are .

Photo by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center

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

Information on the businesses and industries that employ Astronomers & physicists and on wages and locations 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 General medical and surgical hospitals, and specialty (except psychiatric and substance abuse) hospitals. Astronomers & physicists are paid most in Livermore, Pleasanton & Dublin Cities PUMA, CA but are relatively concentrated in false.

Wages

Yearly Wage

$98,070

AVERAGE SALARY

± $16,785

In 2018, Astronomers & physicists earned an average of $98,070, $44,181 more than than the average national salary of $53,888.

Firstline supervisors of fire fighting & prevention workers make somewhat more than Astronomers & physicists while Marketing managers make somewhat less. This chart shows the various occupations closest to Astronomers & physicists as measured by average annual salary in the US.

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Wage Distribution

0.253

WAGE GINI

In 2018, Astronomers & physicists had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.253, which is lower than than the national average of 0.479. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly for Astronomers & physicists (shown in red) than for the overall labor force (shown in gray).

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Wage by Location

HIGHEST PAYING PUMAS

This map shows the Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States shaded by average annual wage for Astronomers & physicists.

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Spatial Concentration

This map displays which Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States have a relatively high population of Astronomers & physicists.

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Industries

Most Common

The most common industries employing Astronomers & physicists, by number of employees, are Scientific research & development services, Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges, and General medical and surgical hospitals, and specialty (except psychiatric and substance abuse) hospitals.

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Highest Paying

The highest paying industries for Astronomers & physicists, by average wage, are Hospitals, General medical and surgical hospitals, and specialty (except psychiatric and substance abuse) hospitals, Administration of economic programs & space research, Scientific research & development services, Scientific research & development services, and Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges.

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Industries by Share

10.3k

2018 Workforce

± 2,491

0.117%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 34.2%

The number of people employed as Astronomers & physicists has been growing at a rate of 0.117%, from 10,282 people in 2017 to 10,294 people in 2018.

This graphic shows the share of Astronomers & physicists employed by various industries. Scientific research & development services employs the largest share of Astronomers & physicists at 29.5%, followed by Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges with 25.9% and General medical and surgical hospitals, and specialty (except psychiatric and substance abuse) hospitals with 7.61%.

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Diversity

Demographic information on Astronomers & physicists in the US. The average age of male Astronomers & physicists in the workforce is 43.2 and of female Astronomers & physicists is 38.9, and the most common race/ethnicity for Astronomers & physicists is White.

Gender Composition

7.89k

MALE WORKFORCE

± 2,181

2.4k

FEMALE WORKFORCE

± 1,203

76.7% of Astronomers & physicists are Male, making them the more common gender in the occupation. This chart shows the gender breakdown of Astronomers & physicists.

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Race & Ethnicity

Most Common Race or Ethnicity of Astronomers & physicists

White
Asian

88.3% of Astronomers & physicists are White, making that the most common race or ethnicity in the occupation. Representing 11.7% of Astronomers & physicists, Asian is the second most common race or ethnicity in this occupation. This chart shows the racial and ethnic breakdown of Astronomers & physicists.

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Age by Gender

43.2

AVERAGE MALE AGE

± 3.89

38.9

AVERAGE FEMALE AGE

± 5.14

The median age of Astronomers & physicists is 42.2, and Male employees are generally 4.3 years older than than their Female counterparts.

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Education

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 a relatively high number of Astronomers & physicists hold a major in Physical Sciences.

Majors

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

MOST COMMON MAJORS

MOST SPECIALIZED MAJORS

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Skills

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 Science, Mathematics, and Reading Comprehension. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Astronomers & physicists need more than the average amount of Science, Technology Design, and Mathematics.