Side-by-side distribution
Chemist
$84,606
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 29.3%
- Live roles
- 242
Physicist
$191,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 39.2%
- Live roles
- 232
Highest-paying jobs
Clinical Chemist/Clinical Pathologist - Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Clinical Chemist
Synthetic Chemist
Medicinal Chemist
Computational Medicinal Chemist
Senior / Principal Chemist, AI Safety
Process Chemist
DARPA SETA Physical Chemist/Materials Scientist SME
Clinical Chemist
Computational Chemist - GPU Acceleration
Highest-paying jobs
Dir, Chief Medical Physicist Therapy
Multiple Faculty Physicist positions, Radiotherapy Physics Division, Department of Medical Physics | Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Sr. Medical Physicist (Palm Springs, CA)
Radiation Physicist - Cabarrus Levine Cancer
Medical Physicist Oncology Senior - Levine Cancer Proton & Advanced Radiation Center
Med Physicist Oncology Sr
Physicist - Radiation Oncology
Medical Physicist - per diem
Medical Physicist - per diem
Medical Physicist
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Entegris
|
$91,500 | 6 |
Republic Services
|
$72,020 | 6 |
Abbott
|
$59,488 | 6 |
| IT ITW | $102,040 | 3 |
Cardinal Health
|
$78,260 | 3 |
|
Inductive Bio
|
$230,000 | 2 |
|
Agilent Technologies
|
$117,042 | 2 |
Mariana Minerals
|
$106,250 | 2 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
|
Siemens Healthineers
|
$205,063 | 16 |
Applied Materials
|
$164,000 | 16 |
|
Advocate Health
|
$252,148 | 6 |
|
Albany Medical Center
|
$256,344 | 3 |
| AD AdventHealth | $231,248 | 3 |
IonQ
|
$165,000 | 3 |
Booz Allen Hamilton
|
$101,450 | 3 |
| BU Brown University Health | $249,954 | 2 |
Chemist salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Boston | $185,000 | 4 |
| San Francisco | $149,000 | 4 |
| Austin | $83,250 | 3 |
Chemist vs Physicist: which pays more?
The median for Chemist is $84,606 per year (typically $66,101–$119,215), versus $191,000 for Physicist ($142,500–$228,437). That puts Physicist about 126% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Chemist and Physicist are compared on equal terms regardless of the currency each role was originally posted in. Only roles that publish a salary range feed the medians; numbers refresh every few hours as new roles post and older ones close, so this comparison reflects the market right now rather than a fixed survey. Use it as a directional benchmark when weighing one path against the other.