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Economists · SOC 19-3011

Economists Salary in the Washington Metro Area

Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area

Figures describe the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metropolitan statistical area as defined by BLS/OMB — the whole multi-county metro region, not Washington city limits.

Median annual wage$156,750
Median hourly wage$75.36

Economists in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area earned a median of $156,750 per year ($75.36 per hour) as of the May 2025 BLS OEWS estimates. Pay ranged from $93,440 at the 10th percentile to $259,290 at the 90th. BLS estimates 4,570 people work in this occupation in the area.

Pay distribution

Half of Economists in the Washington metro area earn more than $156,750 per year, half earn less; the middle half earn between $115,830 and $195,190.

Wage percentiles (BLS OEWS)
Wage10th25thMedian75th90th
Annual$93,440$115,830$156,750$195,190$259,290
Hourly$44.92$55.69$75.36$93.84$124.66

A percentile is a cut point: 25% of workers in this occupation and area earn less than the 25th-percentile wage. The median is the 50th percentile — half earn less, half earn more.

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How this area compares

  • Washington metro areathis metro area
    $156,750
  • District of Columbiastate (DC)
    $167,590
  • United Statesnational
    $124,720

Bars span the 25th–75th percentile (the middle half of workers); the tick marks the median.

The median here is −6% vs District of Columbia overall and +26% vs the U.S. median for this occupation.

Compare with other areas

Where this metro sits nationally

$70,400$105,630$140,860$176,090Lincoln, NE — $70,400Tallahassee, FL — $70,430San Juan-Bayamon-Caguas, PR — $70,750Baton Rouge, LA — $74,580New Orleans-Metairie, LA — $75,510Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI — $76,900Tucson, AZ — $79,610Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA — $80,010Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR — $85,000Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX — $87,350Lansing-East Lansing, MI — $88,320Madison, WI — $88,770Helena, MT — $89,340Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV — $93,830Amherst Town-Northampton, MA — $94,030Raleigh-Cary, NC — $96,030Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA — $96,310Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT — $96,720Albuquerque, NM — $96,870Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY — $99,200Worcester, MA — $99,990Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA — $100,410Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL — $102,430Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA — $103,000Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC — $103,600Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL — $103,690Cleveland, OH — $105,340Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI — $106,350Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI — $107,030San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX — $107,450Boulder, CO — $107,870Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH — $108,140Oklahoma City, OK — $108,620Anchorage, AK — $109,480Richmond, VA — $112,330Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN — $116,990Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC — $117,600Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA — $117,920Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL — $118,030Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN — $120,740Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO — $121,410Fort Collins-Loveland, CO — $121,410Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA — $122,120Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX — $122,170Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA — $122,570San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA — $122,750Pittsburgh, PA — $122,980Salem, OR — $124,190Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ — $125,160Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA — $126,420Kansas City, MO-KS — $128,520Ann Arbor, MI — $128,960St. Louis, MO-IL — $132,630Jacksonville, FL — $136,990Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN — $138,260Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD — $139,530San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA — $142,400Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA — $151,510Durham-Chapel Hill, NC — $152,130Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD — $152,730Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV — $156,750New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ — $176,090

Each dot is one metro area with a published median — hover any dot for the name and figure. Metros without published estimates are not drawn.

The Washington metro area has the 2nd-highest published median for this occupation among the 62 metro areas where BLS publishes it. Higher medians often track higher living costs — this is a pay comparison, not a ranking of where the job is “best”.

Keep exploring

Other occupations in the same SOC group with published medians here, largest employment first:

Social Scientists and Related Workers, All Other$138,250Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists$107,110Biological Scientists, All Other$114,920Political Scientists$156,730Physical Scientists, All Other$170,980Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health$108,160

Highest-paying metro areas for economistss · Highest-paying occupations in Washington Metro

About this estimate

These figures are survey estimates from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program — modeled from employer reports collected over three years and benchmarked to May 2025. They describe what employers in this area currently pay across all industries, not what any individual worker will be offered.

Employment counts wage-and-salary jobs in the occupation (self-employed workers are excluded). Estimates carry sampling error; percentile wages are rounded by BLS. Some values are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality or quality — suppressed values appear here as “not published”, never as zero. Read the full methodology.

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.