Survey Researchers salary

SOC 19-3022 · BLS OEWS May 2025

Median

$69,460

per year, nationally

Middle half

$51,270–$99,760

25th to 75th percentile

Employed

8,290

in the U.S.

Growth 2024–34

-5.2%

700 openings/yr

What the range looks like

A single median hides most of what a job pays. The bar below is the full national range: the wash spans the 10th to 90th percentile, the solid bar is the middle half, and the tick is the median.

$39,260$130,860

10th: $39,260
25th: $51,270
Median: $69,460
75th: $99,760
90th: $130,860

Getting in

Typical education to enter: Master's degree
Related work experience: None
On-the-job training: None

Entry requirements describe what is typical, not mandatory. Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34.

Where survey researchers earn the most

Nominal pay and pay adjusted for local prices rank states differently — a high-wage state with high costs can be worse off in real terms than a middling one. Switch between the two below.

The median wage as published, before local prices are taken into account.

#	State	Median	Cost of living	Employed	Concentrationvs. national
1	Minnesota	$104,220	98.6	340	2.15×
2	District of Columbia	$102,390	109.9	150	4.03×
3	Michigan	$101,550	96.2	150	0.64×
4	North Carolina	$96,560	94.3	350	1.31×
5	New Jersey	$95,580	108.8	100	0.44×
6	Wisconsin	$92,660	94.1	60	0.35×
7	Colorado	$89,870	103.1	110	0.71×
8	Connecticut	$88,320	103.6	110	1.25×
9	New York	$86,890	107.9	380	0.74×
10	Wyoming	$84,360	92.7	40	2.61×
11	Maryland	$84,030	105.0	390	2.64×
12	California	$83,520	110.7	1,180	1.21×
13	Iowa	$83,170	87.8	90	1.12×
14	Utah	$79,090	98.9	50	0.57×
15	Massachusetts	$74,890	105.8	160	0.83×
16	Alaska	$70,560	102.4	40	2.10×
17	Washington	$69,590	107.0	130	0.70×
18	Tennessee	$66,900	91.9	210	1.22×
19	Missouri	$66,460	90.8	130	0.81×
20	Oregon	$64,660	103.4	190	1.78×
21	Nebraska	$64,530	90.1	210	3.85×
22	Pennsylvania	$63,310	97.6	—	—
23	New Mexico	$61,380	92.2	130	2.70×
24	Arizona	$59,210	100.7	—	—
25	Kansas	$57,700	90.1	210	2.70×
26	Ohio	$57,630	92.8	320	1.08×
27	Oklahoma	$57,200	87.8	50	0.56×
28	Illinois	$54,080	100.0	320	1.00×
29	Georgia	$51,590	96.3	—	—
30	Texas	$47,330	97.1	680	0.91×
31	Maine	$47,330	97.0	60	1.65×

Cost of living is the BEA regional price parity for all items, where 100 is the national average. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: how much more of the local workforce does this job than the national average, so 2.00× means twice the national share. It is often the reason wages differ — a place that concentrates an occupation has the employers and the competition for it. States where survey researchers wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.

Best paying metro areas for survey researchers

The 32 highest-paying metros with a published estimate. BLS suppresses roughly half of all occupation-by-metro cells, so a metro absent here has no local figure rather than a low one.

The median wage as published, before local prices are taken into account.

#	Metro area	Median	Cost of living	Employed	Concentrationvs. national
1	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$110,540	115.6	180	1.43×
2	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	$109,350	110.4	—	—
3	Ann Arbor, MI	$103,140	100.9	60	5.48×
4	New Haven, CT	$98,570	104.6	30	2.06×
5	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	$97,780	108.9	620	3.71×
6	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC	$92,160	97.3	40	0.51×
7	New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	$87,620	112.6	190	0.37×
8	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	$87,570	104.8	—	—
9	Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY	$86,890	99.6	210	8.60×
10	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	$83,520	113.6	550	1.63×
11	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI	$83,190	100.3	40	0.42×
12	Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT	$78,560	102.7	40	1.15×
13	Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO	$77,500	105.8	60	0.72×
14	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	$74,890	108.3	150	1.03×
15	Charlottesville, VA	$74,010	99.1	40	6.24×
16	Richmond, VA	$72,610	97.9	50	1.33×
17	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN	$70,400	96.3	100	1.73×
18	San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA	$69,620	111.9	60	0.69×
19	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	$69,590	111.1	110	0.98×
20	Kansas City, MO-KS	$69,100	92.5	100	1.67×
21	Omaha, NE-IA	$67,780	91.9	60	2.30×
22	Eugene-Springfield, OR	$64,660	101.6	50	6.22×
23	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA	$64,460	105.4	100	1.59×
24	Albuquerque, NM	$60,820	95.5	80	3.49×
25	Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ	$59,210	103.3	—	—
26	Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN	$58,300	95.4	60	0.98×
27	Oklahoma City, OK	$57,200	90.4	50	1.34×
28	Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN	$54,080	103.6	310	1.28×
29	St. Louis, MO-IL	$49,940	95.1	80	1.05×
30	Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX	$48,810	98.6	100	0.59×
31	Portland-South Portland, ME	$45,350	101.9	—	—
32	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	$37,500	103.1	260	1.20×

Cost of living is the BEA regional price parity for all items, where 100 is the national average. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: how much more of the local workforce does this job than the national average, so 2.00× means twice the national share. It is often the reason wages differ — a place that concentrates an occupation has the employers and the competition for it. Metro areas where survey researchers wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.

Similar occupations

Other jobs in the same field, with what each pays nationally.

Clinical and Counseling Psychologists$100,580
School Psychologists$95,990
Urban and Regional Planners$89,320
Social Scientists and Related Workers, All Other$101,110
Psychologists, All Other$110,840
Economists$124,720
Anthropologists and Archeologists$70,770
Political Scientists$142,080