Sociologists salary
SOC 19-3041 · BLS OEWS May 2025
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.
- 10th
- $65,160
- 25th
- $82,300
- Median
- $106,030
- 75th
- $137,420
- 90th
- $172,550
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 sociologists 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 | Illinois | $140,770 | 100.0 | — | — |
| 2 | Kentucky | $136,870 | 90.2 | 30 | 1.16× |
| 3 | North Carolina | $126,760 | 94.3 | 170 | 2.43× |
| 4 | California | $125,770 | 110.7 | 590 | 2.24× |
| 5 | Alaska | $108,170 | 102.4 | 40 | 7.45× |
| 6 | Massachusetts | $106,530 | 105.8 | 250 | 4.71× |
| 7 | Maryland | $100,660 | 105.0 | 50 | 1.34× |
| 8 | Washington | $97,170 | 107.0 | 130 | 2.57× |
| 9 | Michigan | $88,040 | 96.2 | 90 | 1.40× |
| 10 | Ohio | $78,850 | 92.8 | 130 | 1.59× |
| 11 | Florida | $46,950 | 103.4 | 160 | 1.13× |
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 sociologists wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.
Best paying metro areas for sociologists
The 10 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 | $134,770 | 115.6 | 110 | 3.29× |
| 2 | Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | $131,170 | 106.4 | 40 | 1.44× |
| 3 | Stockton-Lodi, CA | $131,170 | 105.1 | 30 | 8.28× |
| 4 | Durham-Chapel Hill, NC | $126,760 | 97.6 | — | — |
| 5 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $124,540 | 113.6 | 70 | 0.76× |
| 6 | Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | $106,530 | 108.3 | 240 | 6.09× |
| 7 | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | $103,840 | 108.9 | 60 | 1.34× |
| 8 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $97,170 | 111.1 | 90 | 2.95× |
| 9 | Columbus, OH | $82,820 | 95.5 | 100 | 6.11× |
| 10 | Lansing-East Lansing, MI | $64,180 | 95.0 | 60 | 18.93× |
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 sociologists 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
- Survey Researchers$69,460