National Salary Info » Economists

Highest Paying Industries for Economists

The top 51 highest paying industries for economists (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 in those industries are also shown. As shown in the table, with an average annual salary of $148,870, legal services is the highest paying industry for economists. It is followed by manufacturing industry (average annual salary $144,210). The salary and employment information is computed from data published by U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in May 2015 [1]. For more information about salaries of economists in a specific industry, use the links in the table.

Table 1. 51 Highest Paying Industries for Economists

Rank	Industry	Average Salary i	Entry Level Salary i	# of Empl. i
1	Legal Services	$148,870	$86,590	50
2	Manufacturing	$144,210	$68,320	150
3	Computer Systems Design and Related Services	$131,830	$62,580	350
4	Credit Intermediation and Related Activities	$131,750	$65,300	250
5	Depository Credit Intermediation	$124,540	$55,620	140
6	Securities and Commodity Contracts Intermediation and Brokerage	$122,110	$65,050	280
7	Postal Service (federal government)	$114,950	$85,040	40
8	Petroleum and Coal Products Manufacturing	$114,880	$69,470	50
9	Monetary Authorities-Central Bank	$113,150	$52,160	380
10	Finance and Insurance	$113,060	$59,000	1,130
11	Securities, Commodity Contracts, and Other Financial Investments and Related Activities	$112,320	$64,200	400
12	Oil and Gas Extraction	$112,130	$63,010	100
13	Mining	$111,590	$63,350	110
14	Federal government, including USPS	$110,240	$75,610	4,280
15	Federal Executive Branch (OES Designation)	$110,240	$75,610	4,240
16	Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution	$103,630	$77,490	n/a
17	Utilities	$101,540	$73,400	n/a
18	Other Financial Investment Activities	$101,070	$58,550	120
19	Employment Services	$100,270	$51,380	80
20	Management of Companies and Enterprises	$98,920	$61,980	300
21	Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services	$97,960	$51,320	3,730
22	Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services	$97,350	$50,940	7,580
23	Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services	$95,150	$52,550	280
24	Community Food and Housing, and Emergency and Other Relief Services	$94,450	$61,450	n/a
25	Health Care and Social Assistance	$94,440	$60,280	n/a
26	Engineering Services	$94,190	$54,670	230
27	Social Assistance	$93,510	$59,290	n/a
28	Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities	$92,850	$49,860	2,440
29	Colleges, universities, and professional schools - Privately owned	$92,690	$53,980	120
30	Scientific Research and Development Services	$92,490	$50,200	3,100
31	Educational Services - Privately owned	$92,440	$54,080	120
32	Federal, State, and Local Government (OES Designation)	$91,530	$49,310	7,220
33	Federal, State, and Local Government	$91,530	$49,310	7,220
34	Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences	$91,450	$51,300	660
35	Business, Professional, Labor, Political, and Similar Organizations	$91,180	$52,610	250
36	Public sector -- Federal, state, and local government, including government owned schools and hospit	$90,740	$47,590	7,590
37	Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services	$84,050	$48,550	50
38	Insurance Carriers and Related Activities	$80,450	$53,090	90
39	Direct Health and Medical Insurance Carriers	$77,760	$53,070	50
40	Insurance Carriers	$76,500	$52,300	80
41	Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation)	$70,440	$41,840	1,110
42	Local government, including schools and hospitals	$69,130	$41,670	1,160
43	Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools	$64,430	$41,460	390
44	State Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation)	$63,140	$41,960	1,880
45	State government, including schools and hospitals	$62,600	$41,520	2,150
46	Educational Services	$60,400	$41,290	440
47	Colleges, universities, and professional schools - State government owned	$52,840	$40,330	270
48	Educational Services - State government owned	$52,830	$40,350	270
49	Educational Services - Local government owned	$46,230	$40,760	n/a
50	Elementary and Secondary Schools	$46,190	$40,750	n/a
51	Elementary and Secondary Schools - Local government owned	$45,950	$40,710	n/a