Economists

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Total Workforce

26.1k

Average Age

43.2

Average Salary

$132,364

Average Male Salary

$140,420

Average Female Salary

$113,678

About

Employment

Diversity

Education

Skills

About

Economists are most often employed by the Administration of economic programs & space research industry. The average yearly wage for Economists was $132,364 in 2016. The top 3 most similar occupations to Economists by wage are Petroleum, mining & geological engineers, including mining safety engineers, Optometrists, and Sales engineers.

Economists are part of the Life, physical, & social science occupations, along with Agricultural & food scientists, Biological scientists, Conservation scientists & foresters, Medical scientists, & life scientists, all other, Astronomers & physicists, and 17 more.

The top 3 locations that employ the most Economists are Bethesda, Potomac & North Bethesda PUMA, MD, District of Columbia (West) PUMA, DC, and District of Columbia (Central) PUMA, DC. The top 3 locations with a relatively high concentration of Economists are District of Columbia (West) PUMA, DC, Bethesda, Potomac & North Bethesda PUMA, MD, and District of Columbia (North) PUMA, DC.

Photo by Rob Pongsajapan

Management, business, science, & arts occupations Computer, engineering, & science occupations Life, physical, & social science occupations

Employment

Information on the businesses and industries that employ Economists and on wages and locations for those in the field. Administration of economic programs & space research is the industry that employs the most Economists, both by share and by number, though the highest paid industry for Economists, by average wage, is Securities, commodities, funds, trusts & other financial investments. Economists are paid most in McLean & Idylwood PUMA, VA but are relatively concentrated in District of Columbia (West) PUMA, DC.

Wages

Yearly Wage

$132,364

AVERAGE SALARY

± $17,584

In 2018, Economists earned an average of $132,364, $78,476 more than than the average national salary of $53,888.

Petroleum, mining & geological engineers, including mining safety engineers make somewhat more than Economists while Optometrists make somewhat less. This chart shows the various occupations closest to Economists as measured by average annual salary in the US.

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Wage Distribution

0.392

WAGE GINI

In 2018, Economists had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.392, which is lower than than the national average of 0.479. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly for Economists (shown in red) than for the overall labor force (shown in gray).

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Wage by Location

HIGHEST PAYING PUMAS

This map shows the Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States shaded by average annual wage for Economists.

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Spatial Concentration

PUMAs with a Relatively High Concentration of Economists

This map displays which Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States have a relatively high population of Economists.

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Industries

Most Common

The most common industries employing Economists, by number of employees, are Administration of economic programs & space research, Management, scientific & technical consulting services, and National security & international affairs.

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Highest Paying

The highest paying industries for Economists, by average wage, are Securities, commodities, funds, trusts & other financial investments, Securities, commodities, funds, trusts & other financial investments, Banking & related activities, Nondepository credit & related activities, Banking & related activities, and Nondepository credit & related activities.

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Industries by Share

26.1k

2018 Workforce

± 3,963

-7.5%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 22.8%

The number of people employed as Economists has been declining at a rate of -7.5%, from 28,174 people in 2017 to 26,060 people in 2018.

This graphic shows the share of Economists employed by various industries. Administration of economic programs & space research employs the largest share of Economists at 16.3%, followed by Management, scientific & technical consulting services with 15.9% and National security & international affairs with 8.3%.

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Diversity

Demographic information on Economists in the US. The average age of male Economists in the workforce is 43.5 and of female Economists is 42.4, and the most common race/ethnicity for Economists is White.

Gender Composition

18.2k

MALE WORKFORCE

± 3,313

7.85k

FEMALE WORKFORCE

± 2,175

69.9% of Economists are Male, making them the more common gender in the occupation. This chart shows the gender breakdown of Economists.

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Race & Ethnicity

Most Common Race or Ethnicity of Economists

White
Asian
Black

72.5% of Economists are White, making that the most common race or ethnicity in the occupation. Representing 16.4% of Economists, Asian is the second most common race or ethnicity in this occupation. This chart shows the racial and ethnic breakdown of Economists.

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Age by Gender

43.5

AVERAGE MALE AGE

± 2.41

42.4

AVERAGE FEMALE AGE

± 3.04

The median age of Economists is 43.2, and Male employees are generally 1.12 years older than than their Female counterparts.

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Education

Data on higher education choices for Economists from The Department of Education and Census Bureau. The most common major for Economists is Social Sciences but a relatively high number of Economists hold a major in Social Sciences.

Majors

ACS PUMS data only shows the major for bachelor's degrees. However, we can filter the data based on highest degree obtained.

MOST COMMON MAJORS

MOST SPECIALIZED MAJORS

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Skills

Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for Economists from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Economists need many skills, but most especially Reading Comprehension and Critical Thinking. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Economists need more than the average amount of Mathematics, Programming, and Operations Analysis.