Economist salary
What an economist actually earns, from 115 live job postings blended with the official US OEWS (Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics) wage anchor. Pick a market for its median and range, then read the seniority split, the trend, and the country comparison below. Updated 2026-09-06.
What the number means
An economist earns a blended US median near 135,063 dollars, with the typical middle running from 96,813 dollars to 171,918 dollars. The official OEWS median is 115,440 dollars, under the posted figure, because the advertised roles skew senior or well-funded. The official trend has moved up about 10 percent since 2019. Demand is rated moderate, and 5% of postings are fully remote. The nearest adjacent move on our skill graph is business analyst, at 27 percent coverage; the instrument maps the rest.
Open economist roles
Live openings tagged to this occupation, from company career pages and remote boards. Apply at the source.
Senior Policy Analyst at A1M SolutionsUnited States · Remote$140k–$155kTodayApply
Senior Public Policy Analyst at University of ConnecticutUnited States · Remote$130k–$145k1d agoApply
Economist, Economic Research at Signal49 ResearchCanada · Remote$49k–$57k2d agoApply- Financial Policy Analyst at Veterans Health AdministrationMultiple Locations$106k–$141k2d agoApply
- SUPERVISORY ECONOMIST at Offices, Boards and DivisionsWashington, District of Columbia$169k–$197k2d agoApply
- Senior Health Economist at Hinge HealthSan Francisco, CA2d agoApply
Switzerland · official wage bands
median CHF 9'122/month
Swiss postings do not state pay, so these are not posted salaries: they are the federal wage survey (Lohnstrukturerhebung 2024) for the ISCO group 26 Juristen, Sozialwissenschaftler und Kulturberufe: standardized gross monthly, full-time, 13th salary included pro rata. The band covers the whole occupation group, which is coarser than this occupation alone.
Annual ≈ CHF 109'464 at the median. Source: Bundesamt für Statistik, LSE 2024.
Top-paying US states
OEWS median by state, highest first.
- District of Columbia$162,610
- New York$142,300
- Maryland$137,610
- Washington$116,390
- Illinois$112,790
- Oregon$111,660
Roles that pay more, that these skills already reach
Median pay from each destination’s own postings, with the readiness an economist profile already covers.
- 578 open research scientist roles$154,306 median · +$19,243 · 34% readiness
- 28 open actuary roles$147,204 median · +$12,141 · 42% readiness
- 157 open financial controller roles$137,984 median · +$2,921 · 25% readiness
Every measured move out of this role, ranked by readiness: alternative careers for an economist.
Is your offer fair?
Run a specific number through FairElephant, which weighs it against this data, your location, and remote market rates.
Related salaries
- Business Analyst salary$122,331 median
- Management Consultant salary$121,564 median
- Actuary salary$147,204 median
Quick answers
How much does an economist make?
The blended US median is about 135,063 dollars, with a typical range from 96,813 dollars to 171,918 dollars, against an official OEWS median of 115,440 dollars.
Is economist a good career in 2026?
Demand for the role is rated moderate in our July 2026 corpus, with 5% of postings fully remote. The pay is shown above by seniority and by country.
What can an economist move into?
The nearest adjacent role on our skill graph is business analyst, at 27 percent skill coverage. Run the instrument for the full set of reachable moves.
Method: bands are the 25th, 50th, and 75th percentiles of live US postings with stated pay, shrunk toward the official OEWS anchor by sample size (the “blended” figure). Trend is the OEWS annual median for SOC (Standard Occupational Classification) code 19-3011. Live corpus 115 observations, 2026-09-06. Definitions in the glossary.