Compared with the local labor market
Economist I pay vs. Texas
Across all employers in Texas, the median wage for Economists — about 560 people — is $121,420. Texas Workforce Commission pays a median base salary of $60,799 for this role, 50% below that figure — below the 10th percentile of local pay for the occupation.
Where Texas Workforce Commission sits in the local pay range
$66,760
$83,900
$121,420
$175,000
$219,140
Texas Workforce Commission median · $60,799
The bar is the range of annual wages for Economists across every employer in Texas, from the 10th to the 90th percentile, with the middle 50% highlighted. The marker shows Texas Workforce Commission’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. Texas Workforce Commission’s median base salary is 51% below that national figure, below the 10th percentile of pay for the occupation nationally.
$67,360
$89,330
$124,720
$174,720
$238,060
Texas Workforce Commission median · $60,799
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 Texas range relative to the national one.
Median total compensation for this role at Texas Workforce Commission is $60,799, 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 Texas
This role is reported in 5 jurisdictions. In Texas, the median of $65,123 ranks #5 of 5. See Economist across all of Texas →
Highest-paying jurisdictions for this role
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.