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Social Scientist and Related Worker Salary in U.S.

The salary statistics of social scientists and related workers are shown in Table 1. The average hourly salary of social scientists and related workers in the United States is shown in Table 2. In the next few tables we compare the average salaries of social scientists and related workers within different industry sectors and in the 50 states of the United States. The social scientists and related workers annual salary statistics are from the national compensation survey conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2022 and published in April 2023 [1].

Table 1. Social Scientist and Related Worker Salary in U.S. (2022 survey)

Percentile BracketAverage Annual Salary
10th Percentile Wage
$48,850
25th Percentile Wage
$63,850
50th Percentile Wage
$84,000
75th Percentile Wage
$113,240
90th Percentile Wage
$141,270

Table 1 shows the average annual salary for social scientists and related workers. The average annual salary for the 90th percentile (the top 10 percent of the highest paid) social scientists and related workers is $141,270. The median annual salary (50th percentile) is $84,000. The average annual salary for the bottom 10 percent is $48,850. Take note that in the United States, the annual salary of the 90th percentile (the top 10 percent of the highest paid) is almost 189% higher than that of the bottom 10 percent.

Median salary trend (2012 to 2022)

The table and chart below show the trend of the median salary of social scientists and related workers from 2012 to 2022.

YearMedian SalaryYearly Growth10-Year Growth
2022
$84,000
3.70% 17.51%
2021
$80,890
-1.72% -
2020
$82,280
2.50% -
2019
$80,220
1.96% -
2018
$78,650
2.14% -
2017
$76,970
2.20% -
2016
$75,280
3.60% -
2015
$72,570
2.12% -
2014
$71,030
1.59% -
2013
$69,900
0.87% -
2012
$69,290
- -

Table 2. Social Scientist and Related Worker Salary by Industry Sector (2022 survey)

The average salaries of social scientists and related workers in 18 major industry sectors are shown in Table 2. We note that the salaries vary considerably within different industry sectors. The highest paying industry sector for social scientists and related workers occupations is the finance and insurance sector with an annual salary $155,000. The lowest paying sector is the arts, entertainment, and recreation sector (annual salary $39,050).

Industry Sector Median Annual Salary
Finance and Insurance
$155,000
Manufacturing
$147,200
Utilities
$114,810
Mining
$104,000
Management of Companies and Enterprises
$103,620
Construction
$97,740
Real Estate and Rental and Leasing
$96,660
Retail Trade
$90,820
Health Care and Social Assistance
$90,150
Federal, State, and Local Government
$89,310
Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services
$87,170
Transportation and Warehousing
$86,710
Information
$81,400
Educational Services
$81,030
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
$80,560
Other Services (except Federal, State, and Local Government)
$79,780
Wholesale Trade
$75,430
Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation
$39,050

Table 3. Salaries of Social Scientist and Related Worker Related Occupations

The average annual salary of social scientist and related worker related occupations at the national level is given in Table 3. For more salary information about a specific occupation, use the links below.

Occupation Median Annual Salary
Industrial-Organizational Psychologists
$139,280
Political Scientists
$128,020
Economists
$113,940
Other Psychologists
$106,420
Sociologists
$98,590
Clinical and Counseling Psychologists
$90,130
Social Scientists and Related Workers
$88,900
Geographers
$88,900
Miscellaneous Social Scientists and Related Workers
$86,070
Psychologists
$85,330
School Psychologists
$81,500
Clinical, Counseling, and School Psychologists
$79,820
Urban and Regional Planners
$79,540
Historians
$64,540
Anthropologists and Archeologists
$63,940
Survey Researchers
$60,410

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💰 Highest paying industries for social scientists and related workers.