Budget Analysts · SOC 13-2031

Highest-Paying Metro Areas for Budget Analystss

Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025U.S. metropolitan areas

Metro areas ranked by published median annual wage for budget analysts. Areas where BLS suppressed the median are not ranked. Higher medians often track higher living costs — this is a pay comparison, not a ranking of where the job is “best”.

Top 25 of 174 metro areas

Budget Analysts: metro areas with the highest published median annual wages, May 2025
#	Metro area	Median annual	Employment	Per 1,000 jobs
1	Iowa City, IA	$134,850	40	0.4
2	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	$131,730	340	0.3
3	Ann Arbor, MI	$127,860	90	0.4
4	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	$125,050	4,100	1.3
5	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$117,360	760	0.3
6	Huntsville, AL	$113,400	520	2.0
7	Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA	$110,470	80	0.4
8	San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA	$107,010	290	0.2
9	Gainesville, GA	$106,610	50	0.5
10	Lexington Park, MD	$106,280	60	0.9
11	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	$104,090	910	0.4
12	Salinas, CA	$103,970	50	0.3
13	Greeley, CO	$103,720	40	0.3
14	Boulder, CO	$102,760	90	0.4
15	Modesto, CA	$102,480	40	0.2
16	Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT	$102,260	110	0.3
17	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI	$102,080	530	0.3
18	Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL	$102,020	70	0.4
19	New Haven, CT	$101,500	70	0.3
20	Fayetteville, NC	$101,360	210	1.6
21	Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO	$100,720	740	0.5
22	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	$99,880	1,170	0.4
23	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL	$99,370	500	0.3
24	Kennewick-Richland, WA	$98,750	30	0.3
25	Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY	$98,590	70	0.3

Full state and metro tables, the national distribution, and the pay map are on the Budget Analysts overview.

About this data. Estimates are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, May 2025 release, retrieved from bls.gov/oes/tables.htm on July 24, 2026. OEWS estimates describe metropolitan/nonmetropolitan areas and states — not city limits — and are not designed for year-over-year comparisons. See BLS methodology, our plain-English methodology, and sources. CitySalaryData is independent and not affiliated with BLS.