Which state pays physics bachelor's graduates the most?

California, where the median program pays its graduates $50,219 in their first year, the highest of 3 state rankings. New York is next, at $48,641.

Which physics bachelor's program pays the most?

UNC Charlotte in North Carolina reports the highest first-year pay of the 67 programs ranked here, $70,150. Its median federal debt is $28,750.

How much debt do physics bachelor's graduates have?

The median program leaves its graduates with $23,000 in federal debt. Across programs, the median debt is 49% of first-year pay.

Highest-Paying Physics (Bachelor's) Programs in the US

67 programs report first-year pay
3 state rankings
Bachelor's in Physics

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median physics bachelor's program in the US pays its graduates $48,374 in their first year and $80,500 five years after. California has the highest state median ($50,219), and Texas the lowest ($39,285). The median program leaves its graduates with $23,000 in federal debt.

Median first-year pay$48,374Across 67 programs

Median pay after 5 years$80,500Across 49 programs

Median federal debt$23,000Across 93 programs

Debt-to-earnings49%Across 59 programs

All 67 programs, ranked by graduate pay

Each program is ranked by the median pay of its graduates one year after they finished, from College Scorecard. This measures what graduates earn, not how good the teaching is. Pay also depends on where graduates live and work. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

#	School	Year 1 pay	After cost of living	Year 5 pay	Debt	Debt to pay
1	UNC CharlotteCharlotte, NC · public	$70,150	Not adjusted	Not reported	$28,750	41%
2	BYUProvo, UT · private nonprofit	$68,664	Not adjusted	$97,503	Not reported	Not reported
3	UPennPhiladelphia, PA · private nonprofit	$68,215	Not adjusted	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
4	Whitworth UniversitySpokane, WA · private nonprofit	$65,316	Not adjusted	Not reported	$23,250	36%
5	Cal Poly PomonaPomona, CA · public	$64,045	$57,844	$74,433	$23,000	36%
6	Portland StatePortland, OR · public	$62,749	$60,709	$84,248	$29,070	46%
7	UNC Chapel HillChapel Hill, NC · public	$62,647	$66,415	Not reported	$19,200	31%
8	Georgia CollegeMilledgeville, GA · public	$62,478	$64,883	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
9	UW-River FallsRiver Falls, WI · public	$62,196	Not adjusted	Not reported	$30,000	48%
10	UCLALos Angeles, CA · public	$60,495	$54,638	$80,500	$21,100	35%
11	RPITroy, NY · private nonprofit	$60,348	Not adjusted	$111,815	$20,270	34%
12	Southern Arkansas UniversityMagnolia, AR · public	$58,870	$67,716	Not reported	$23,625	40%
13	Virginia TechBlacksburg, VA · public	$58,061	Not adjusted	$78,349	$27,000	47%
14	Texas TechLubbock, TX · public	$57,435	$59,177	Not reported	$25,000	44%
15	Cal State San BernardinoSan Bernardino, CA · public	$57,114	Not adjusted	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
16	Cal State San MarcosSan Marcos, CA · public	$56,018	$50,594	$80,480	$19,069	34%
17	UCFOrlando, FL · public	$55,826	Not adjusted	Not reported	$18,138	32%
18	MITCambridge, MA · private nonprofit	$54,773	Not adjusted	$126,258	$18,500	34%
19	Salisbury UniversitySalisbury, MD · public	$54,548	$51,971	$86,468	$23,750	44%
20	UW-La CrosseLa Crosse, WI · public	$54,428	$57,844	$84,403	$26,292	48%
21	University of MinnesotaMinneapolis, MN · public	$54,350	$55,110	$66,489	$23,594	43%
22	UC Santa BarbaraSanta Barbara, CA · public	$53,597	$48,408	$104,149	$15,982	30%
23	Ohio StateColumbus, OH · public	$53,504	$57,671	$80,357	$23,357	44%
24	Texas A&MCollege Station, TX · public	$53,329	$54,946	Not reported	$17,522	33%
25	University of MichiganAnn Arbor, MI · public	$53,019	Not adjusted	$75,644	$22,250	42%
26	University of DelawareNewark, DE · public	$52,741	Not adjusted	Not reported	$26,572	50%
27	Colorado StateFort Collins, CO · public	$51,927	$50,389	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
28	UIUCChampaign, IL · public	$51,019	$51,040	$72,340	$20,500	40%
29	Cornell UniversityIthaca, NY · private nonprofit	$50,933	Not adjusted	Not reported	$15,961	31%
30	UC BerkeleyBerkeley, CA · public	$50,219	$45,357	Not reported	$15,508	31%
31	Northeastern UniversityBoston, MA · private nonprofit	$49,399	$46,710	Not reported	$26,797	54%
32	UC San DiegoLa Jolla, CA · public	$48,951	$44,212	$84,411	$16,800	34%
33	City College of New YorkNew York, NY · public	$48,908	Not adjusted	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
34	RITRochester, NY · private nonprofit	$48,374	Not adjusted	Not reported	$27,000	56%
35	UMass LowellLowell, MA · public	$48,324	Not adjusted	Not reported	$22,177	46%
36	Oregon StateCorvallis, OR · public	$48,169	Not adjusted	Not reported	$25,410	53%
37	University of Nebraska-LincolnLincoln, NE · public	$47,670	Not adjusted	Not reported	$25,209	53%
38	Virginia Military InstituteLexington, VA · public	$46,641	Not adjusted	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
39	USFTampa, FL · public	$46,094	$44,572	$78,010	$22,750	49%
40	Boise StateBoise, ID · public	$45,813	Not adjusted	Not reported	$26,175	57%
41	Stony Brook UniversityStony Brook, NY · public	$44,562	$41,291	$85,544	$21,683	49%
42	NC StateRaleigh, NC · public	$43,740	$46,371	Not reported	$23,490	54%
43	Penn StateUniversity Park, PA · public	$43,461	$44,542	$60,242	$23,830	55%
44	UC IrvineIrvine, CA · public	$43,144	$38,967	Not reported	$15,000	35%
45	Cal State Long BeachLong Beach, CA · public	$42,057	$37,985	$79,330	$23,229	55%
46	CU BoulderBoulder, CO · public	$41,874	$40,634	$69,490	$20,635	49%
47	Texas StateSan Marcos, TX · public	$41,737	Not adjusted	$101,450	$23,500	56%
48	University of WashingtonSeattle, WA · public	$41,474	$38,756	$82,775	$17,113	41%
49	University of MarylandCollege Park, MD · public	$39,825	$37,943	$101,240	$20,194	51%
50	VCURichmond, VA · public	$39,804	$39,369	Not reported	$25,250	63%
51	Montclair StateMontclair, NJ · public	$39,740	Not adjusted	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
52	University of UtahSalt Lake City, UT · public	$38,748	Not adjusted	Not reported	$21,990	57%
53	UC Santa CruzSanta Cruz, CA · public	$37,859	$34,193	Not reported	$16,250	43%
54	UW-MadisonMadison, WI · public	$36,878	$39,192	$69,928	$20,500	56%
55	UT AustinAustin, TX · public	$36,832	$37,949	$92,183	$20,333	55%
56	Rowan UniversityGlassboro, NJ · public	$36,435	$33,487	$84,651	$27,000	74%
57	UTSASan Antonio, TX · public	$36,328	$37,430	Not reported	$27,508	76%
58	RutgersNew Brunswick, NJ · public	$35,689	$32,801	$87,968	$26,974	76%
59	UT ArlingtonArlington, TX · public	$34,611	$35,660	$79,646	$22,314	64%
60	University of Northern ColoradoGreeley, CO · public	$34,373	Not adjusted	Not reported	$27,000	79%
61	Michigan StateEast Lansing, MI · public	$33,400	$34,713	$75,119	$27,000	81%
62	UConnStorrs, CT · public	$32,341	Not adjusted	Not reported	$26,324	81%
63	Georgia StateAtlanta, GA · public	$31,001	$32,194	$57,198	$26,296	85%
64	ASUTempe, AZ · public	$30,503	$30,298	$73,544	$24,700	81%
65	PurdueWest Lafayette, IN · public	$30,203	Not adjusted	Not reported	$21,948	73%
66	NYUNew York, NY · private nonprofit	$24,802	$22,982	Not reported	$22,750	92%
67	UC RiversideRiverside, CA · public	$19,977	$18,043	Not reported	$19,000	95%

Pay after cost of living divides first-year pay by the Bureau of Economic Analysis price level of the school's state, where the US average is 100. It is shown for 41 programs where at least half of the graduates who work are working in the school's state. The other 26, whose graduates mostly work in other states or whose state has no price level, are listed last when you sort by it.

8 programs report pay but not debt, so they are ranked only by pay.

College Scorecard withholds pay for programs with too few graduates, to protect their privacy, so those programs can't be ranked.

Physics (Bachelor's) programs by state

Each row is the median across the state's physics bachelor's programs. State names link to the full ranking of that state's programs.

#	State	Programs	Year 1 pay	Debt
1	California	11	$50,219	$16,800
2	New York	6	$48,641	$20,270
3	Texas	6	$39,285	$23,500

Programs in 24 more states and territories report pay, but too few to rank. A state ranking needs at least five programs that report both pay and debt.

Quick picks nationwide

Lowest median debt

UC Irvine, CA$15,000
UC Berkeley, CA$15,508
Cornell University, NY$15,961
UC Santa Barbara, CA$15,982
UC Santa Cruz, CA$16,250
UC San Diego, CA$16,800
Texas A&M, TX$17,522
UC Riverside, CA$19,000
Cal State San Marcos, CA$19,069
RPI, NY$20,270

Lowest debt for the pay

UC Santa Barbara, CA30%
UC Berkeley, CA31%
Cornell University, NY31%
Texas A&M, TX33%
RPI, NY34%
Cal State San Marcos, CA34%
UC San Diego, CA34%
UC Irvine, CA35%
UCLA, CA35%
Cal Poly Pomona, CA36%

Only the 21 programs with their own page here are included. "Debt for the pay" is median debt divided by first-year pay.

Careers this field leads to

These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to physics, largest first. Pay is the median across the US and all experience levels.

Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education

$72,040

Median pay in the US. 1,065,210 people work in this job in the US. Nationally, jobs are projected to stay about the same in number from 2025 to 2035, with about 63,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $48,780Top 10%: $107,600

Natural Sciences Managers

$167,220

Median pay in the US. 108,690 people work in this job in the US. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 8% from 2025 to 2035, with about 9,200 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $79,710Top 10%: $316,850

Physicists

$172,250

Median pay in the US. 20,430 people work in this job in the US. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 1,300 openings a year. Typical education to start: doctoral or professional degree.

Bottom 10%: $82,110Top 10%: $274,110

Common questions

The median physics bachelor's program in the US pays its graduates $48,374 in their first year and $80,500 five years after.

About this data

Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid, and earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school.
Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
Medians are across programs, not students: each program counts once, however many graduates it has.
National medians include every program in the 50 states, DC, and US territories, including schools that have since closed. Schools with several campuses that report one combined figure are counted once.
Programs are ranked by College Scorecard median pay one year after graduation. Pay after cost of living uses the price level of the school's state.
Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025. Price levels are the Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities for 2024.

Sources

U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk
Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024