Career Earnings
What can economists expect to earn in different fields?
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook (online in 2023) reports annual wages for economists. For economists of all educational levels, the median earnings in 2023 were $115,730 with $62,520 at the tenth percentile and $216,900 at the 90th percentile.
Median Annual Wages for Economists in May 2023 in the Top Five Industries Employing Economists (from the Occupation Outlook Handbook)
| Industry | Annual Wage |
| Scientific research and development services | $140,940 |
| Federal government, excluding postal service | $135,200 |
| Management, scientific, and technical consulting services | $110,120 |
| Local government, excluding education and hospitals | $91,980 |
| State and local government, excluding education and hospitals | $74,900 |
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Economists. (Visited May 23, 2024).
Payscale.com reports its survey of people with Baccalaureate degrees (and no more) who are employed full time, showing starting salaries (typically with two-years of experience) and mid-career annual earnings. Here are selected occupations for the 2023 report.
| College Major | Starting Salary | Mid-career Salary |
| Petroleum Engineering | $97,500 | $212,500 |
| Operations Research & Industrial Engineering | $98,300 | $191,800 |
| Interaction Design | $74,700 | $173,600 |
| Applied Economics and Management | $76,500 | $164,400 |
| Building Science | $69,000 | $163,100 |
| Actuarial Mathematics | $70,700 | $160,000 |
| Operations Research | $92,200 | $160,000 |
| Systems Engineering | $87,000 | $159,100 |
| Optical Science & Engineering | $79,600 | $158,300 |
| Information & Computer Science | $76,000 | $157,800 |
Source: Majors That Pay You Back, Payscale.com
For more information about academic salaries in economics, check out the Universal Academic Questionnaire (UAQ) published each year in AEA Papers and Proceedings. The UAQ is a survey of US economics departments taken each fall. One survey is addressed to the chair of the Department of Economics of each institution. Another resource is the annual "Survey of the Labor Market for New PhD Hires in Economics" conducted by the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Arkansas.