JobAfterNext

Economists

Conduct research, prepare reports, or formulate plans to address economic problems related to the production and distribution of goods and services or monetary and fiscal policy. May collect and process economic and statistical data using sampling techniques and econometric methods.

Wages

Median annual wage, U.S.$124,720
Employment, U.S.17,790
Median hourly wage$59.96
Annual wage percentiles, U.S., May 2025
10th25thMedian75th90th
$67,360$89,330$124,720$174,720$238,060
By state (42)
StateEmploymentMedian annualLocation quotient
Alabama40$129,9600.15
Alaska80$111,0402.18
Arizona340$79,6100.90
Arkansas50$91,5600.31
California860$119,4100.41
Colorado240$121,4100.74
Connecticut210$101,4001.09
Delaware70$159,1201.22
District of Columbia3,000$167,59037.34
Florida500$102,4300.44
Georgia260$122,5700.46
Hawaii50$83,0500.71
Idaho130$131,2701.31
Indiana80$80,7500.21
Iowa70$96,3100.40
Kansas80$138,7900.50
Kentucky100$71,4000.42
Louisiana140$73,0500.64
Maine70$91,4800.90
Maryland1,130$144,6803.56
Massachusetts1,030$106,3802.48
Michigan320$106,3500.63
Minnesota500$105,1201.48
Missouri280$117,0100.84
Montana90$89,3401.58
Nebraska90$75,8800.74
Nevada70$91,3400.42
New Hampshire50$86,1300.69
New Jersey280$167,5500.57
New Mexico120Not available1.20
New York910$136,6600.82
North Carolina290$136,1500.52
Ohio140$120,0000.22
Oklahoma80$89,9800.40
Oregon320$122,1201.43
Pennsylvania560$115,0000.81
Tennessee80$117,6500.21
Texas560$121,4200.34
Utah50Not available0.26
Virginia950$137,5902.01
Washington450$109,3001.10
Wisconsin280$84,0000.83

Similar occupations

Similarity is our measure: the cosine of importance x level over all 120 O*NET skills, knowledge areas and abilities. It is not an O*NET finding. More.

#OccupationJob ZoneSimilarity
1Environmental Economists50.983
2Economics Teachers, Postsecondary50.975
3Business Intelligence Analysts40.967
4Financial Quantitative Analysts50.965
5Actuaries40.963
6Investment Fund Managers50.963
7Credit Analysts40.957
8Financial Examiners40.952
9Survey Researchers50.951
10Business Teachers, Postsecondary50.950

One skill away

Among the 50 occupations most similar to Economists, those at the same Job Zone or lower, where exactly one skill rated at least 3 in importance needs a level more than 0.75 points higher (on O*NET's 0-7 level scale). Our definition. Change the thresholds.

OccupationSkill to buildLevel gapSimilarity
Environmental EconomistsManagement of Financial Resources2.250.983
Economics Teachers, PostsecondaryInstructing1.130.975
Financial ExaminersManagement of Personnel Resources1.370.952
Budget AnalystsManagement of Financial Resources2.880.949
Personal Financial AdvisorsService Orientation0.880.942
Mathematical Science Teachers, PostsecondaryInstructing1.130.941
Statistical AssistantsProgramming1.620.940
Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales AgentsManagement of Financial Resources1.750.936
Social Science Research AssistantsScience1.630.931
Cost EstimatorsManagement of Financial Resources2.620.930

All 13

Software to learn next

Software used by at least 3 of the 20 occupations most similar to Economists, excluding software Economists already lists and any you named. Ranked by how many of them use it, weighted by how much more common it is among them than across all occupations (lift). Our ranking.

SoftwareSimilar jobs using itLift
STATISTICA4 of 2015.4x
Microsoft FRx3 of 2034.6x
Oracle Hyperion6 of 205.4x
Fund accounting software5 of 206.4x
Oracle PeopleSoft Financials5 of 205.6x
Oracle E-Business Suite Financials5 of 205.1x
Microsoft Visual Studio5 of 205.0x
C#5 of 204.2x
Microsoft Dynamics7 of 202.7x
Microsoft Project9 of 202.1x

Skills

From O*NET data. Importance is rated 1 to 5 and level 0 to 7.

SkillTypeImportanceLevel
Critical ThinkingEssential skill 4.12 4.75
Reading ComprehensionEssential skill 4.12 4.75
MathematicsEssential skill 4.12 4.25
SpeakingEssential skill 4.00 4.38
WritingEssential skill 4.00 4.38
Judgment and Decision MakingTransferable skill 4.00 4.12
Active ListeningEssential skill 4.00 4.00
Active LearningEssential skill 3.75 4.12
Complex Problem SolvingTransferable skill 3.75 4.12
Systems EvaluationTransferable skill 3.25 3.62
InstructingTransferable skill 3.25 3.12
Systems AnalysisTransferable skill 3.12 3.88
Learning StrategiesEssential skill 3.12 3.75
MonitoringEssential skill 3.12 3.62
PersuasionTransferable skill 3.00 3.50
CoordinationTransferable skill 3.00 3.00
Service OrientationTransferable skill 3.00 3.00
Social PerceptivenessTransferable skill 3.00 3.00
Time ManagementTransferable skill 3.00 3.00
Operations AnalysisTransferable skill 2.62 2.75
Management of Personnel ResourcesTransferable skill 2.50 2.38
NegotiationTransferable skill 2.25 2.50
ProgrammingTransferable skill 2.12 1.88
ScienceEssential skill 1.88 1.75
Management of Financial ResourcesTransferable skill 1.62 1.00
Management of Material ResourcesTransferable skill 1.62 0.75
Operations MonitoringTransferable skill 1.50 0.62
Technology DesignTransferable skill 1.38 0.38
Quality Control AnalysisTransferable skill 1.25not rated
Equipment MaintenanceTransferable skill 1.00not rated
Equipment SelectionTransferable skill 1.00not rated
InstallationTransferable skill 1.00not rated
Operation and ControlTransferable skill 1.00not rated
RepairingTransferable skill 1.00not rated
TroubleshootingTransferable skill 1.00not rated
Knowledge (33) and abilities (52)
Knowledge
NameImportanceLevel
Mathematics 4.54 6.08
Economics and Accounting 4.46 5.50
English Language 4.04 4.88
Computers and Electronics 3.78 4.75
Education and Training 3.12 4.67
Communications and Media 2.75 3.42
Law and Government 2.67 3.04
Administration and Management 2.62 3.79
Sociology and Anthropology 2.50 3.62
History and Archeology 2.42 3.04
Geography 2.33 3.38
Personnel and Human Resources 2.26 2.96
Customer and Personal Service 2.21 2.67
Psychology 2.13 2.52
Administrative 1.96 2.58
Engineering and Technology 1.83 1.79
Sales and Marketing 1.79 2.17
Production and Processing 1.79 1.54
Philosophy and Theology 1.75 2.08
Telecommunications 1.75 1.17
Foreign Language 1.67 1.42
Transportation 1.50 1.04
Design 1.42 1.08
Physics 1.33 0.75
Medicine and Dentistry 1.29not rated
Public Safety and Security 1.29not rated
Biology 1.29 0.75
Chemistry 1.21not rated
Therapy and Counseling 1.21not rated
Building and Construction 1.17not rated
Mechanical 1.12not rated
Fine Arts 1.08not rated
Food Production 1.08not rated
Abilities
NameImportanceLevel
Written Comprehension 4.12 5.00
Inductive Reasoning 4.12 4.38
Mathematical Reasoning 4.12 4.38
Written Expression 4.00 5.00
Oral Comprehension 4.00 4.88
Oral Expression 4.00 4.88
Deductive Reasoning 4.00 4.50
Speech Clarity 4.00 4.25
Fluency of Ideas 3.88 4.00
Problem Sensitivity 3.62 4.00
Speech Recognition 3.62 3.75
Number Facility 3.50 4.12
Near Vision 3.50 3.75
Information Ordering 3.25 3.75
Originality 3.12 3.50
Category Flexibility 3.12 3.25
Memorization 2.88 2.88
Flexibility of Closure 2.88 2.75
Selective Attention 2.75 2.75
Far Vision 2.38 2.50
Perceptual Speed 2.38 2.12
Speed of Closure 2.38 2.12
Visualization 2.38 2.12
Time Sharing 2.00 2.00
Visual Color Discrimination 1.75 1.25
Hearing Sensitivity 1.75 1.00
Auditory Attention 1.75 0.75
Trunk Strength 1.62 1.00
Depth Perception 1.50 0.50
Finger Dexterity 1.38 0.38
Wrist-Finger Speed 1.38 0.38
Arm-Hand Steadiness 1.00not rated
Control Precision 1.00not rated
Dynamic Flexibility 1.00not rated
Dynamic Strength 1.00not rated
Explosive Strength 1.00not rated
Extent Flexibility 1.00not rated
Glare Sensitivity 1.00not rated
Gross Body Coordination 1.00not rated
Gross Body Equilibrium 1.00not rated
Manual Dexterity 1.00not rated
Multilimb Coordination 1.00not rated
Night Vision 1.00not rated
Peripheral Vision 1.00not rated
Rate Control 1.00not rated
Reaction Time 1.00not rated
Response Orientation 1.00not rated
Sound Localization 1.00not rated
Spatial Orientation 1.00not rated
Speed of Limb Movement 1.00not rated
Stamina 1.00not rated
Static Strength 1.00not rated

Software used

Examples from O*NET data. "Hot" and "in demand" are O*NET flags for technologies often listed in job postings.

All 52
  • ESRI ArcView
  • Econometric Software LIMDEP
  • Estima Regression Analysis of Time Series RATS
  • Estimates Delivery System EDS
  • Formula translation/translator FORTRAN
  • Global Insight AREMOS
  • IBM Lotus 1-2-3
  • Insightful S-PLUS
  • LaTeX
  • MacKichan Software Scientific Notebook
  • Maplesoft Maple
  • Mathsoft Mathcad
  • MediaWiki
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer
  • Microsoft Visual C# .NET
  • Minitab
  • Palisade @Risk
  • Quantitative Micro Software EViews
  • Timberlake Consultants OxMetrics
  • TreeAge Software TreeAge Pro
  • Web browser software
  • Wolfram Research Mathematica

Where it concentrates

Metro areas ranked by BLS location quotient: the occupation's share of the area's jobs divided by its share of all US jobs. Above 1 means more concentrated than the nation. Metros employing fewer than 100 are left out.

Metro areaEmploymentLocation quotientMedian annual
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV4,57012.74$156,750
Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA16010.93$103,000
Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA1704.51$80,010
Durham-Chapel Hill, NC1203.02$152,130
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH8202.65$108,140
Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT1602.39$96,720
Madison, WI1002.18$88,770
Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA2502.02$100,410
Richmond, VA1201.59$112,330
Kansas City, MO-KS1501.23$128,520

More metros, other thresholds