Explore national salary, projected growth, education requirements, and career opportunities across the United States.
A concise view of this occupation’s national scale, compensation, and projected demand.
National median annual wage for this occupation.
Estimated jobs currently supported nationwide.
Projected employment change through 2034.
Estimated openings created each year.
The typical education, prior experience, and on-the-job training associated with entry into this career.
Master's degree
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These are the highest-rated capabilities associated with success in this occupation. Scores are derived from occupational skill analysis and are measured on a 100-point scale.
Based on skills, knowledge, and work activities, these occupations are the closest match to your current career.
Explore the states and metropolitan areas offering the strongest combination of salary, employment, demand, and long-term opportunity.
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Understand the salary, outlook, education, and geographic opportunities shaping this career.
Statisticians work at the intersection of mathematics, analysis, and problem solving, using quantitative skills to support decisions and insights. This career offers a national median salary of $103,300 and national employment of 32,000, indicating a defined but meaningful professional community. Projected employment growth of 8.5% and about 2,000 annual openings suggest a consistent flow of opportunities over time. Statisticians benefit from a blend of technical and transferable skills, including mathematics, computers and information technology, critical and analytical thinking, and strong communication through writing, reading, speaking, and listening. Creativity, innovation, adaptability, and attention to detail are also important, supporting work that often involves complex problems and decisions. For people considering related paths, neighboring options include data scientists, mathematicians, operations research analysts, other mathematical science occupations, and aerospace engineers. Overall, the field combines strong quantitative foundations with communication and problem-solving abilities, creating a versatile career option for those who enjoy rigorous analysis.
Statisticians earn a national median annual salary of $103,300, reflecting strong compensation for advanced quantitative expertise. Salaries vary significantly by location. Among the top states, California and New York stand out with median salaries of $135,960 and $136,020, respectively, while Colorado and Washington offer $109,660 and $105,650. Massachusetts’ median of $96,710 shows that strong opportunities can still come with somewhat lower pay than the national median in some areas. At the metro level, earning potential can be especially high. The San Jose–Sunnyvale–Santa Clara, CA metro has a median salary of $202,840, well above other listed metros such as New York–Newark–Jersey City at $137,510 and Washington–Arlington–Alexandria at $136,660. These differences highlight how choice of location can significantly influence earnings, even within this single occupation.
Statisticians have national employment of 32,000, with projected employment growth of 8.5%. This growth rate, combined with approximately 2,000 annual openings, suggests that new and existing positions will continue to be available over time. The combination of growth and ongoing openings indicates a career path where workers may find both expansion-related and replacement-related opportunities. The presence of clear related occupations—data scientists, mathematicians, operations research analysts, other mathematical science occupations, and aerospace engineers—also shows that statisticians operate within a broader ecosystem of analytical and quantitative careers. For individuals planning for the future, the 8.5% projected growth signals that statisticians can look ahead to a labor market with continuing demand, while the 2,000 annual openings provide a practical sense of how often positions may become available nationwide.
Location plays a major role in the opportunity profile for statisticians. Among states, California has the highest CareerGPS opportunity score at 67.38, with a median salary of $135,960 and employment of 2,480. Massachusetts and New York follow closely, with opportunity scores of 65.87 and 65.78 and median salaries of $96,710 and $136,020. Washington and Colorado also appear as strong options, with opportunity scores of 56.29 and 56.97. All of these states show the same projected growth rate of 8.5%, so differences come mainly from salaries, employment levels, and opportunity scores. At the metro level, San Jose–Sunnyvale–Santa Clara, CA and New York–Newark–Jersey City, NY–NJ stand out with very high opportunity scores of 77.42 and 77.27. Washington–Arlington–Alexandria, Boston–Cambridge–Newton, and Los Angeles–Long Beach–Anaheim also offer solid opportunity scores above 60, giving statisticians multiple geographically diverse regions to consider.
The typical education level for statisticians is a master’s degree, indicating that this role generally requires advanced study beyond a bachelor’s program. Success in this field relies on a strong combination of technical and cognitive skills. Core abilities include mathematics and computers and information technology, supporting the quantitative and computational aspects of the work. Critical and analytical thinking, problem solving, and decision making are central to interpreting data and drawing conclusions. Statisticians also rely on writing and reading, along with speaking and listening, to communicate results clearly and collaborate effectively. Science knowledge, creativity and innovation, adaptability, and being detail oriented round out the skill profile, helping statisticians handle complex, evolving questions with precision. For students and career changers, this mix suggests that preparation should emphasize both rigorous quantitative coursework and the development of clear, precise communication and reasoning skills at the graduate level.
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