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Physicists

Occupation · SOC 2018 19-2012 · United States

SOC 2018 code
19-2012
Share of U.S. applications
0.15%
Applications on record
18,387
FY2025
1,301
Median offered wage
$84,400
Certified (last three years)
99.7%
Main route
H-1B
Median wage$84,400certified LCAs, FY2024–FY2026
Year by year
Data as at 30 Jun 2026
OC<USAPHYSICISTS<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
1920121<N183874<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<6

Applications year by year

Labor condition, PERM and H-2 applications classified as Physicists (SOC 19-2012). Older SOC codes are mapped to SOC 2018.

Applications by fiscal year — Physicists

6511,301FY2008FY2010FY2012FY2014FY2016FY2018FY2020FY2022FY2024FY2026*
6511,301FY2008FY2012FY2016FY2020FY2024FY2026*
Data table
FY200860
FY2009324
FY20101,126
FY20111,049
FY20121,082
FY2013986
FY2014977
FY20151,019
FY2016954
FY2017832
FY20181,042
FY20191,109
FY20201,047
FY20211,006
FY20221,119
FY20231,116
FY20241,208
FY20251,301
FY2026*1,030
Fiscal yearLCAPERM
FY2026*1,00624
FY20251,26932
FY20241,19513
FY20231,1097
FY20221,10712
FY202197828
FY20201,03611
FY20191,09019
FY20181,02616
FY201781220
FY201692826
FY201599524
FY201494532
FY201396224
FY20121,02557
FY20111,00049
FY20101,03294
FY200928737
FY2008060
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Foreign Labor Certification — disclosure data FY2008–FY2026 Q3Data as at 30 Jun 2026

Largest sponsoring employers

Employers with the most applications in this occupation, all years.

Applications by employer
  1. Brookhaven National Laboratory1,056
  2. University of Maryland College Park501
  3. Fermi Research Alliance, LLC492
  4. Uchicago Argonne, LLC416
  5. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory399
  6. Ut-battelle, LLC399
  7. Los Alamos National Security, LLC394
  8. The Leland Stanford, Jr University390
  9. Triad National Security, LLC358
  10. The Trustees of Princeton University339
  11. California Institute of Technology312
  12. University of Colorado295
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Foreign Labor Certification — disclosure data FY2008–FY2026 Q3Data as at 30 Jun 2026

Where the jobs are

Worksite state and metropolitan area (Census CBSA).

Physicists: applications by worksite state

1+31+59+173+509+
1+31+59+173+509+
Data table
StateApplications
CA3,435
NY2,070
IL1,814
TX1,322
MA848
MD830
TN817
NM813
NJ657
MI542
VA513
CO509
PA392
FL295
WA257
AZ248
WI247
OH237
CT231
IN221
NC207
IA173
MN172
MO166
GA130
AL124
LA108
NE105
DC104
KS75
OK70
OR66
UT59
ID48
WV48
HI47
NH46
SC42
DE39
NV38
MS37
SD35
RI31
KY23
AK21
AR18
MT17
VT13
WY9
ND7
ME6
PR3
VI1
Metropolitan areas
  1. New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ2,004
  2. Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN1,582
  3. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA1,389
  4. Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH820
  5. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA741
  6. Los Alamos, NM737
  7. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV726
  8. Knoxville, TN721
  9. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA693
  10. Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX537
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Foreign Labor Certification — disclosure data FY2008–FY2026 Q3Data as at 30 Jun 2026

Pay

Offered annual wages on certified labor condition applications, FY2024–FY2026.

Offered annual wage, 10th to 90th percentile (certified LCAs)

Median $84,400; middle half $69,000 to $122,981 · median prevailing wage $71,769 (marker) · 3,365 applications.

$60k$90k$120k$150k$180k
$60k$90k$120k$150k$180k
Prevailing wage level
  1. Level I1,890
  2. Level II689
  3. Level III322
  4. Level IV161
Job titles on labor condition applications
  1. Research Associate1,366
  2. Postdoctoral Research Associate1,271
  3. Research Scientist734
  4. Postdoctoral Fellow613
  5. Postdoctoral Associate601
  6. Medical Physicist440
  7. Physicist439
  8. Postdoctoral Scholar435
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, OFLC — Labor Condition Application disclosure dataData as at 30 Jun 2026

Pages for this occupation by metropolitan area

Areas with at least 50 LCA and PERM applications since FY2020.

  • Ann Arbor, MI
  • Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta, GA
  • Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX
  • Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD
  • Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH
  • Boulder, CO
  • Champaign-Urbana, IL
  • Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN
  • College Station-Bryan, TX
  • Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
  • Durham-Chapel Hill, NC
  • Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX
  • Ithaca, NY
  • Kennewick-Richland, WA
  • Knoxville, TN
  • Lafayette-West Lafayette, IN
  • Lansing-East Lansing, MI
  • Los Alamos, NM
  • Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA
  • New Haven, CT
  • New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ
  • Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD
  • Rochester, NY
  • San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA
  • San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA
  • San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA
  • St. Louis, MO-IL
  • Trenton-Princeton, NJ
  • Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC
  • Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Foreign Labor Certification — disclosure data FY2008–FY2026 Q3Data as at 30 Jun 2026

Official data, not advice. Visa Atlas publishes figures from government registers and statistics. It does not assess eligibility or give immigration advice; for advice, consult a regulated adviser. Read more