Compared with the local labor market
Economist pay vs. the United States
Across all employers in the United States, the median wage for Economists — about 17,790 people — is $124,720. Department of Health and Human Services pays a median base salary of $153,336 for this role, 23% above that figure — about the 64th percentile of local pay for the occupation.
Where Department of Health and Human Services sits in the local pay range
$67,360
$89,330
$124,720
$174,720
$238,060
Department of Health and Human Services median · $153,336
The bar is the range of annual wages for Economists across every employer in the United States, from the 10th to the 90th percentile, with the middle 50% highlighted. The marker shows Department of Health and Human Services’s median base salary for this role. Both figures are base pay only.
Median total compensation for this role at Department of Health and Human Services is $153,336, which includes overtime and employer-paid benefits. The benchmark above excludes both, so total compensation is deliberately not compared against it.
Benchmark: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025). BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) covers all employers in the area — private, non-profit, and government alike — so this is a comparison against the whole local labor market for the occupation, not against private-sector pay. OEWS wages are straight-time pay and exclude overtime, shift differentials, and employer-paid benefits, so the government figure shown here is base pay on the same basis. Total compensation is not comparable to it. Job titles are matched to the closest standard occupation, so the comparison is between similar work rather than an identical job classification.
Compare jurisdictions
Economist beyond U.S. Federal Government (non-Defense)
This role is reported in 5 jurisdictions. In U.S. Federal Government (non-Defense), the median of $144,042 ranks #1 of 5. See Economist across all of U.S. Federal Government (non-Defense) →
Highest-paying jurisdictions for this role
Median total compensation for comparable Economistroles in other jurisdictions. Titles are matched by normalized name across sources, not identical job classification, and pay is not cost-of-living adjusted. Each bar links to that jurisdiction’s page for the role.