Physical Scientists, All Other Salary — Houston, Texas

The average Physical Scientists, All Other in Houston, Texas earns $98,090 a year.

$98,090 / year, mean
↓ 26.8% below national average 62th percentile in Texas

Houston sits roughly in the middle of the pack for this role within Texas — neither a standout nor a laggard. That's well below the national average for physical scientists, all other — one of the largest gaps in this dataset. Cost of living here is close to the national average — not a major factor either way. This is a high-confidence estimate, based on a large sample of reported wages.

Percentile within Texas

0th 50th 100th
Employment (this metro)
550
Estimate confidence
RSE 3.4%
Cost of living 99 #69 most expensive of 188 cities in this dataset 100 = U.S. average · Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024
Crime index 2109 #114 safest of 188 cities in this dataset Per 100k residents · Source: FBI Crime Data Explorer
Median home value $308,306 #99 priciest of 188 cities in this dataset Source: zillow_real
Median household income $80,458 #49 highest of 188 cities in this dataset Source: Census Bureau ACS 5-year

Combining these four figures gives a fuller picture than salary alone: Houston ranks #69 for cost of living and #99 for home prices among the 188 cities in this pilot dataset, which matters as much as the headline salary number when comparing where to live.

San Jose $177,370 Palm Bay $158,750 Dallas $152,040 Philadelphia $150,640 Seattle $149,890 Bakersfield $149,610 Charlottesville $144,720 Los Angeles $143,420 Miami $140,760 San Diego $135,730 San Francisco $135,640 New York $135,570 Pittsburgh $134,390 Kennewick $130,150 Oxnard $129,710 Virginia Beach $125,740 Chicago $121,590 Baltimore $121,150 Atlantic City $119,890 Crestview $119,100 San Antonio $118,540 Trenton $116,320 Portland $114,130 Riverside $112,750 Rochester $105,330 Sacramento $104,690 Austin $103,390 Albany $101,550 Tampa $101,150 Houston $98,090 Waco $97,410 El Paso $88,040 Lubbock $83,600 Lexington $75,610 Indianapolis $73,510 McAllen $68,670
CityMean salaryvs. Houston
Albany, New York$101,550+3.5%
Atlantic City, New Jersey$119,890+22.2%
Austin, Texas$103,390+5.4%
Bakersfield, California$149,610+52.5%
Baltimore, Maryland$121,150+23.5%
Charlottesville, Virginia$144,720+47.5%
Chicago, Illinois$121,590+24.0%
Crestview, Florida$119,100+21.4%
Dallas, Texas$152,040+55.0%
El Paso, Texas$88,040-10.2%
Indianapolis, Indiana$73,510-25.1%
Kennewick, Washington$130,150+32.7%
Lexington, Kentucky$75,610-22.9%
Los Angeles, California$143,420+46.2%
Lubbock, Texas$83,600-14.8%
McAllen, Texas$68,670-30.0%
Miami, Florida$140,760+43.5%
New York, New York$135,570+38.2%
Oxnard, California$129,710+32.2%
Palm Bay, Florida$158,750+61.8%
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania$150,640+53.6%
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania$134,390+37.0%
Portland, Oregon$114,130+16.4%
Riverside, California$112,750+14.9%
Rochester, New York$105,330+7.4%
Sacramento, California$104,690+6.7%
San Antonio, Texas$118,540+20.8%
San Diego, California$135,730+38.4%
San Francisco, California$135,640+38.3%
San Jose, California$177,370+80.8%
Seattle, Washington$149,890+52.8%
Tampa, Florida$101,150+3.1%
Trenton, New Jersey$116,320+18.6%
Virginia Beach, Virginia$125,740+28.2%
Waco, Texas$97,410-0.7%
Gross salary
98,090/yr
Estimated take-home
77,836/yr
Est. total withheld
20.6%

Single filer, federal income tax + FICA only, 2025 rates — Texas has no state income tax on wages. Does not include state-specific payroll withholdings beyond income tax (see Data transparency). Not tax advice — verify with a professional for your specific situation.

View cost of living in this state All Physical Scientists, All Other salaries in Texas → All Physical Scientists, All Other salaries →
Data transparency

Sources used for this page

Official occupation and area metadata behind the visible salary, cost, housing and safety signals.

Occupation 19-2099 SOC code
Official area Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX BLS metro/geographic area
Area code 26420 Stable geographic key
Reference year 2025 BLS OEWS
Cost: bea_realHousing: zillow_realCrime: latest availableNet-pay source: tx_constitucion_verificado 2025
Metro also includes
PasadenaThe Woodlands
No additional caveats are attached to this row.
Methodology

How this page is built

The salary figure is the mean annual wage reported by the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program for this occupation and metro area. Percentile and national-average comparisons are calculated directly from the 188 cities currently in this dataset, not from a fixed external benchmark. Cost of living, crime and housing figures come from BEA, FBI and Zillow respectively — see "Data transparency" above for the exact sources and reference years used on this specific page.

Confidence: the RSE (relative standard error) shown under Overview indicates how reliable the salary estimate is for this metro — a lower RSE means a larger underlying sample.

On this page

Where this is

AK HI

Highlighted: Texas

Population (metro area)
7,274,714