City of Seattle / Seattle Public Utilities / Economist
Job-title file
Carry out the duties of this position in support of the agency's public mission.
2 employees hold this title in Seattle Public Utilities. Median total compensation for the role is $114,369, below the department median of $114,795.
Compared with the local labor market
Across all employers in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA area, the median wage for Economists — about 200 people — is $126,420. Seattle Public Utilities pays a median base salary of $114,369 for this role, 10% below that figure — about the 43rd percentile of local pay for the occupation.
The bar is the range of annual wages for Economists across every employer in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA area, from the 10th to the 90th percentile, with the middle 50% highlighted. The marker shows Seattle Public Utilities’s median base salary for this role. Both figures are base pay only.
And across the country
Nationwide, the median wage for Economists — about 17,790 people — is $124,720. Seattle Public Utilities’s median base salary is 8% below that national figure, about the 43rd percentile of pay for the occupation nationally.
Local and national wages differ for reasons beyond how well a job pays — cost of living, the mix of employers, and local demand for the occupation all move the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA range relative to the national one.
Median total compensation for this role at Seattle Public Utilities is $114,369, 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 departments
Economist is held in 2 City of Seattle departments. In Seattle Public Utilities, the median of $114,369 ranks #2 of 2.
Median total compensation for the Economist role in other City of Seattledepartments (highest first). Each bar links to that department’s page for this role.
Compare jurisdictions
This role is reported in 5 jurisdictions. See Economist across all of City of Seattle →
Median total compensation for comparable Economist roles 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.
Record list
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Economist/Seattle Public Utilities
Wesley Hovatter works as a Economist for Seattle Public Utilities. Wesley earned $116,397 in 2024.
Economist/Seattle Public Utilities
Jared Ilg is a Economist at Seattle Public Utilities. 2024 total compensation came to $112,341.