The salary statistics of political scientists in the industry sector of federal, state, and local government are shown in Table 1. In Table 2 we compare political scientist salaries in different industries within the federal, state, and local government sector.
| Percentile Bracket | Average Annual Salary |
|---|---|
| 10th Percentile Wage | $81,540 |
| 25th Percentile Wage | $101,790 |
| 50th Percentile Wage | $126,050 |
| 75th Percentile Wage | $148,960 |
| 90th Percentile Wage | $164,200 |
Table 1 shows the average annual salary for political scientists in the industry sector of federal, state, and local government. The salaries are shown in 5 percentile scales. The average annual salary for the 90th percentile (the top 10 percent of the highest paid) political scientists is $164,200. The median annual salary (50th percentile) is $126,050. The average annual salary for the bottom 10 percent paid political scientists is $81,540.
The table and chart below show the trend of the median salary of political scientists in the industry sector of federal, state, and local government from 2012 to 2018.
| Year | Median Salary | Yearly Growth | 6-Year Growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | $126,050 | 2.25% | 8.20% |
| 2017 | $123,220 | 2.78% | - |
| 2016 | $119,790 | 10.42% | - |
| 2015 | $107,310 | -8.93% | - |
| 2014 | $116,890 | 1.01% | - |
| 2013 | $115,710 | -0.01% | - |
| 2012 | $115,720 | - | - |
Data source: The national compensation survey conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in 2018 and published in April 2019 [1].