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Political Scientist: what the job is, what it pays, and how to get hired.

The work, the skills that matter, the tools in demand and the pay range, from U.S. government data, plus every TryHired page for the role.

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Updated Nov 2, 2026 · Data: BLS OEWS May 2025 · O*NET 31.0
Pay ladder · select a percentile
Median percentile pay

Half of political scientists earn more than this and half earn less.

Annual
$142,080
Hourly
$68.31
Source
BLS May 2025
Quick answer

Political Scientists study the origin, development, and operation of political systems. The median pay is $142,080 a year ($68.31 an hour) (BLS, May 2025). The most commonly reported education requirement is a doctoral degree (88% of workers surveyed by O*NET).

Median pay
$142,080
BLS May 2025
Employed in the U.S.
5,540
BLS May 2025
Preparation
Job Zone 5 of 5
extensive preparation
Most common education
Doctoral Degree
88% of workers
Key facts

Political Scientists at a glance

  • Political scientists in the United States earned a median annual wage of $142,080 in May 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

    Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025

  • In its 2025–35 employment projections, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics lists a master's degree as the typical entry-level education for political scientists in the United States.

    Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35

  • BLS projects employment of political scientists in the United States to decline 2.0% from 2025 to 2035, with about 400 openings a year on average, including replacement openings.

    Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35

  • BLS estimated that 5,540 people were employed as political scientists in the United States in May 2025, not counting the self-employed.

    Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025

Explore the role

Every page for Political Scientists

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The work

What political scientists do day to day

Data Core tasks rated most important by workers in the role (O*NET).

  1. Maintain current knowledge of government policy decisions.
  2. Develop and test theories, using information from interviews, newspapers, periodicals, case law, historical papers, polls, or statistical sources.
  3. Disseminate research results through academic publications, written reports, or public presentations.
  4. Advise political science students.
  5. Collect, analyze, and interpret data, such as election results and public opinion surveys, reporting on findings, recommendations, and conclusions.
  6. Interpret and analyze policies, public issues, legislation, or the operations of governments, businesses, and organizations.
  7. Identify issues for research and analysis.
  8. Forecast political, economic, and social trends.
Where this career works

Industries that employ it

Data Share of all political scientist jobs in each industry, 2025 (BLS Employment Matrix).

  1. Government, excluding state and local education and hospitals73.3% of all jobs in this occupation · -4.7% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $146,550
  2. Professional, scientific, and technical services11.1% of all jobs in this occupation · +8.3% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $154,760
  3. Educational services; state, local, and private8.5% of all jobs in this occupation · +2.9% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $110,370
  4. Religious, grantmaking, civic, professional, and similar organizations2.8% of all jobs in this occupation · +8.0% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $95,830

Sources: BLS 2025–35 National Employment Matrix (share of the occupation's jobs, projected change) and BLS OEWS May 2025 industry estimates (mean wage). Different industry estimates are not a pay forecast for any person.

Skills that matter

Ranked by importance to the job

Data O*NET importance ratings. The first three are core.

Reading ComprehensioncoreActive ListeningcoreSpeakingcoreActive LearningWritingCritical ThinkingSocial PerceptivenessComplex Problem SolvingJudgment and Decision Making

Knowledge areas: Law and Government, English Language, Education and Training, History and Archeology, Mathematics, Communications and Media.

Tools and technology

Software political scientists use

Data Examples reported for the role; employer demand flags from O*NET.

  • IBM SPSS StatisticsAnalytical or scientific softwareHot technology
  • Microsoft VisioProcess mapping and design softwareHot technology
  • SASAnalytical or scientific softwareHot technology
  • Bare Bones Software BBEditData base management system software
  • Data visualization softwareAnalytical or scientific software
  • DataMystic TextPipe ProAnalytical or scientific software
  • EBSCO Publishing Academic Search PremierInformation retrieval or search software
  • EBSCO Publishing Political Science CompleteInformation retrieval or search software
  • Europa World PlusInformation retrieval or search software
  • Gale Expanded Academic ASAP PLUSInformation retrieval or search software
  • IDM Computer Solutions UltraEditData base management system software
  • JSTOR databaseInformation retrieval or search software
Method

How this page is built

Tasks, skills, tools, education and related roles come from O*NET 31.0. Pay and employment come from the BLS OEWS May 2025 national estimates. The skill-match score is our calculation: Skill match is the cosine similarity of the two occupations' skill profiles: for each of 35 O*NET skills (10 essential, 25 transferable) we multiply importance by level and subtract the average across all occupations, then compare the direction of the two profiles. 100 means identical shape; 0 means unrelated or opposite (negative values are shown as 0). Only occupations that O*NET itself lists as related are compared.

What this page can't tell you
  • How a specific employer defines the job.
  • Pay for self-employed workers (OEWS covers employees).
  • Your own chances: data describes the occupation, not you.
Sources
  1. O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. TryHired selected, ranked and combined the data; O*NET is not responsible for these pages.
  2. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).

How TryHired builds this data: sources, methods and downloads. Spotted an error? Report a correction.