Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists · SOC 13-1161

Highest-Paying Metro Areas for Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialistss

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

Metro areas ranked by published median annual wage for market research analysts and marketing specialists. Areas where BLS suppressed the median are not ranked (1 such areas are excluded here). Higher medians often track higher living costs — this is a pay comparison, not a ranking of where the job is “best”.

Top 25 of 388 metro areas

Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists: metro areas with the highest published median annual wages, May 2025
#	Metro area	Median annual	Employment	Per 1,000 jobs
1	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	$141,960	12,710	11.2
2	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$123,250	24,120	10.2
3	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	$102,390	32,310	12.0
4	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	$102,170	18,030	8.6
5	New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	$100,520	79,290	8.4
6	Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO	$99,040	17,000	10.6
7	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	$97,910	16,760	8.6
8	Boulder, CO	$97,600	3,130	16.3
9	Durham-Chapel Hill, NC	$93,110	2,740	8.0
10	Worcester, MA	$90,300	2,030	5.8
11	Colorado Springs, CO	$90,210	2,680	8.5
12	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	$87,160	21,090	6.7
13	Springfield, MA	$85,970	1,050	5.2
14	Greeley, CO	$85,830	780	6.5
15	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA	$85,350	8,130	6.7
16	Providence-Warwick, RI-MA	$83,960	4,080	5.7
17	Rochester, MN	$83,030	320	2.6
18	Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR	$83,000	2,590	9.4
19	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	$82,990	39,390	6.3
20	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC	$82,930	9,500	7.0
21	Trenton-Princeton, NJ	$82,110	1,140	4.7
22	Richmond, VA	$81,660	4,550	6.9
23	Napa, CA	$81,440	390	5.0
24	Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT	$81,030	3,460	8.6
25	Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX	$80,460	8,270	6.4

Full state and metro tables, the national distribution, and the pay map are on the Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists 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.