2021 Annual Salary, Salary Range, and Highest Paying States and Industries
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Political Scientists
Political Scientists study the origin, development, and operation of political systems. May study topics, such as public opinion, political decisionmaking, and ideology. May analyze the structure and operation of governments, as well as various political entities. May conduct public opinion surveys, analyze election results, or analyze public documents.
Table of contents
- Average salary
- Starting salary
- Salary rank
- Salary range
- Highest paying states
- Highest paying industries
Average salary
Starting salary
Entry-level Political Scientists with little to no experience can expect to make anywhere between $62,840 to $90,780 per year or $30 to $44 per hour. Similar to any other job, their salary will increase as they gain experience.
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Salary rank
We wanted to make it easy for our readers to compare the salary of Political Scientists to all the other careers out there. So we created Salary Rank. We compared the salary of all careers then we gave them a rank of A, B, C, or D depending on where their average salary sit in comparison to other careers.
Salary range
| Level | Hourly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| Highest (Top 10%) | $82 | $170,800 |
| Senior (Top 25%) | $76 | $157,710 |
| Middle (Mid 50%) | $60 | $125,350 |
| Junior (Bottom 25%) | $44 | $90,780 |
| No experience (Bottom 10%) | $30 | $62,840 |
Highest paying states
| State | Hourly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| MD | $73 | $151,660 |
| VA | $70 | $145,780 |
| MI | $69 | $142,750 |
| DC | $61 | $126,530 |
| NY | $59 | $123,350 |
| MA | $54 | $111,780 |
| FL | $48 | $99,630 |
| NH | $47 | $98,310 |
| CA | $47 | $97,820 |
| AZ | $46 | $96,370 |
Another simple way to increase your salary as a Political Scientist is to move to a higher paying state. However moving to a higher paying state like MD doesn’t guarantee that you will make more because the expenses at MD might be much higher than where you are currently living at right now.
According to BLS, the highest paid Political Scientists are in the states of MD, VA, MI, DC and NY.
Highest paying industries
| Salary by industry | Annual | Hourly |
|---|---|---|
| Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services | $146040 | $70.21 |
| Federal Executive Branch | $132540 | $63.72 |
| Scientific Research and Development Services | $124890 | $60.04 |
| Social Advocacy Organizations | $100480 | $48.31 |
| Local Government | $98060 | $47.14 |
| Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools | $90290 | $43.41 |
| Business, Professional, Labor, Political, and Similar Organizations | $85650 | $41.18 |
| State Government | $70870 | $34.07 |
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