Highest-paying Cities for Political Scientists

The top 30 highest paying cities for political scientists (ranked by average annual salary) are listed in Table 1. The entry level salary (as measured by the salary of the lowest 10% paid earners) and the number of employment of political scientists in those cities are also shown in the table. As shown in the table, with a annual salary of $160,900, Baltimore-Towson, Maryland is the highest paying city for political scientists. It is followed by Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, District of Columbia (average annual salary $138,840). The salary and employment information is computed from data published by U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in April 2023 [1]. For more salary information of political scientists in a specific city, use the links in the table.

Table 1. 30 Highest-paying cities/areas for Political Scientists

Rank	City/Area	Average Salary i	Entry Level Salary i	# of Empl. i
1	Baltimore-Towson, Maryland	$160,900	$100,440	n/a
2	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, District of Columbia	$138,840	$79,780	4,000
3	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Washington	$131,710	$67,720	180
4	Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, Virginia	$130,270	$66,770	50
5	New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, New York	$129,600	$92,230	70
6	New York-White Plains-Wayne, New York	$126,850	$60,310	70
7	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, West Virginia	$123,230	$66,510	4,520
8	Richmond, Virginia	$119,990	$71,420	n/a
9	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	$113,310	$57,350	60
10	Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale, Arizona	$99,810	$73,130	30
11	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas	$92,290	$56,060	40
12	Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville, California	$90,630	$38,370	n/a
13	Chicago-Joliet-Naperville (IL-IN-WI Area), Illinois	$88,340	$70,630	50
14	Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, Texas	$85,990	$51,390	n/a
15	Lansing-East Lansing, Michigan	$84,940	$45,020	40
16	Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Massachusetts	$81,910	$55,910	30
17	Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Massachusetts	$81,350	$55,560	70
18	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, California	$80,020	$56,060	n/a
19	Portland-South Portland-Biddeford, Maine	$79,490	$49,540	30
20	Chicago-Joliet-Naperville (IL Metropolitan Division), Illinois	$78,100	$47,590	50
21	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, California	$77,870	$45,860	140
22	Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, Washington	$72,730	$50,310	90
23	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California	$71,210	$44,440	40
24	Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, California	$66,280	$41,960	n/a
25	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, California	$63,870	$42,790	90
26	San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, California	$63,870	$42,790	90
27	Dallas-Plano-Irving, Texas	$63,670	$17,240	40
28	Other New Hampshire nonmetropolitan area, New Hampshire	$62,410	$58,060	n/a
29	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, Georgia	$62,330	$60,000	30
30	Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, Texas	$56,180	$35,840	40

See also: 💰 Highest paying industries for political scientists.