Statisticians
Develop or apply mathematical or statistical theory and methods to collect, organize, interpret, and summarize numerical data to provide usable information. May specialize in fields such as biostatistics, agricultural statistics, business statistics, or economic statistics. Includes mathematical and survey statisticians.
Also called: Database Analyst · Demographer · Education Research Analyst · Mathematical Statistician · Psychometric Consultant · Quantitative Methodologist
Median pay (national)
$103,300
$60,390–$170,700 (10th–90th)
Employed (US)
29,800
BLS OEWS, May 2024
Outlook 2024–34
+8.5%
~2,000 openings/yr
Typical entry
Master's degree
What the numbers say
Refit analysis ·Pay for statisticians shows an unusually wide range: the top 10% earn $170,700 versus $60,390 at the bottom 10% — 2.8x. The median of $103,300 leaves roughly 65% of headroom to the 90th percentile, which is where seniority, specialization, and the skills below tend to pay off.
Refit analysis ·Employment is projected to change +8.5% from 2024 to 2034 — much faster than the 3% average for all occupations. Even so, BLS projects about 2,000 openings a year, mostly to replace workers who retire or change careers.
Refit analysis ·Where you work moves the number a lot. Across the 48 states with released data, New York pays the most for this role (median $150,240, +45% vs the national median), while Puerto Rico sits lowest at $48,210 — a 212% spread for the same job title.
Refit analysis ·O*NET rates Mathematics, Reading Comprehension, Critical Thinking as the highest-importance skills here — so a resume aimed at this role should lead with evidence of those, not a generic skills list. On the tools side, O*NET flags IBM SPSS Statistics, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, Python as in-demand technologies for this role.
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Top skills employers ask for
Ranked by O*NET importance for this occupation.
- Mathematics
- Reading Comprehension
- Critical Thinking
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Writing
- Active Learning
- Science
- Learning Strategies
- Monitoring
What they actually do
Core O*NET tasks for this role.
- Analyze and interpret statistical data to identify significant differences in relationships among sources of information.
- Evaluate the statistical methods and procedures used to obtain data to ensure validity, applicability, efficiency, and accuracy.
- Report results of statistical analyses, including information in the form of graphs, charts, and tables.
- Determine whether statistical methods are appropriate, based on user needs or research questions of interest.
- Prepare data for processing by organizing information, checking for inaccuracies, and adjusting and weighting the raw data.
- Develop and test experimental designs, sampling techniques, and analytical methods.
- Identify relationships and trends in data, as well as any factors that could affect the results of research.
- Present statistical and nonstatistical results, using charts, bullets, and graphs, in meetings or conferences to audiences such as clients, peers, and students.
- Design research projects that apply valid scientific techniques, and use information obtained from baselines or historical data to structure uncompromised and efficient analyses.
- Adapt statistical methods to solve specific problems in many fields, such as economics, biology, and engineering.
Tools & technology
- IBM SPSS Statistics
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Office software
- Python
- R
- SAS
- SAS JMP
- StataCorp Stata
- Statistical software
- Structured query language SQL
- Tableau
- Amazon Redshift
- Amazon Web Services AWS software
- Apache Hadoop
- Apache Spark
- C++
Knowledge areas
- Mathematics
- Computers and Electronics
- English Language
- Education and Training
- Administration and Management
- Customer and Personal Service
- Biology
- Administrative