Life, Physical, and Social Science Salaries

The BLS classifies 48 detailed occupations in this group, all with a published median. Across the whole group the BLS reports a median of $82,530 a year and about 1.47 million jobs.

Occupations48

Group median$82,530

Total employment1.47 million

Highest median$193,950

The spread inside the group runs from $49,630 for Agricultural Technicians to $193,950 for Industrial-Organizational Psychologists. Ranking occupations by median is the fastest way to see which roles the market pays most within this field.

All life, physical, and social science occupations by median pay

Medians are annual, from the BLS May 2025 national estimates. Employment shows the number of jobs in each occupation.

Life, Physical, and Social Science occupations by median annual pay, May 2025
Occupation	Median pay	Employment
Industrial-Organizational Psychologists	$193,950	790
Physicists	$172,250	20,430
Political Scientists	$142,080	5,540
Astronomers	$128,820	2,120
Biochemists and Biophysicists	$127,410	33,830
Economists	$124,720	17,790
Physical Scientists, All Other	$122,570	22,300
Materials Scientists	$117,790	8,470
Psychologists, All Other	$110,840	18,820
Nuclear Technicians	$110,240	6,470
Sociologists	$106,030	2,260
Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists	$103,410	172,340
Geographers	$102,040	1,400
Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and Geographers	$101,920	23,470
Social Scientists and Related Workers, All Other	$101,110	37,100
Clinical and Counseling Psychologists	$100,580	75,990
Atmospheric and Space Scientists	$99,070	10,000
Biological Scientists, All Other	$98,920	55,850
Hydrologists	$96,600	5,850
School Psychologists	$95,990	63,940
Life Scientists, All Other	$93,750	7,460
Chemists	$91,240	82,770
Occupational Health and Safety Specialists	$90,150	140,610
Urban and Regional Planners	$89,320	44,230
Food Scientists and Technologists	$88,720	13,060
Microbiologists	$87,990	18,940
Epidemiologists	$87,220	12,090
Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health	$82,220	89,250
Soil and Plant Scientists	$78,850	15,730
Zoologists and Wildlife Biologists	$76,780	18,120
Historians	$76,750	3,450
Foresters	$76,400	10,430
Conservation Scientists	$73,010	25,950
Forensic Science Technicians	$72,060	19,120
Anthropologists and Archeologists	$70,770	8,990
Survey Researchers	$69,460	8,290
Animal Scientists	$68,940	3,100
Hydrologic Technicians	$64,790	2,840
Life, Physical, and Social Science Technicians, All Other	$62,280	73,910
Social Science Research Assistants	$61,990	30,640
Occupational Health and Safety Technicians	$61,560	30,590
Chemical Technicians	$60,390	57,540
Biological Technicians	$57,510	69,620
Environmental Science and Protection Technicians, Including Health	$55,090	34,670
Forest and Conservation Technicians	$54,560	30,410
Geological Technicians, Except Hydrologic Technicians	$53,350	6,980
Food Science Technicians	$52,130	14,600
Agricultural Technicians	$49,630	15,130

How to read this table

A high median can reflect scarce skills, union coverage, licensing requirements or simply a small, senior workforce. A low median can reflect part-time schedules or a large entry-level tier. Neither is a verdict on the work itself.

Employment matters as much as pay when comparing occupations: a role with 500,000 jobs and a $82,530 median offers far more openings than a niche role paying twice as much.

← All fields and occupations