Market research analysts
Salary, job outlook, AI risk & career information
Market research analysts in the United States earn a median salary of $78,760 per year — about $38 per hour, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Roughly 942K people work in this occupation nationwide, with projected employment growth of +7%.
AI & Automation Risk
The core duties of this role—data collection, statistical analysis, trend forecasting, and report generation—are fundamentally digital and align perfectly with AI's strengths in processing large datasets and generating insights. While human judgment is still needed for high-level strategy and client relationships, AI can now automate the vast majority of the technical and administrative tasks that define the daily work of an analyst.
Salary by City — What You Actually Take Home
Real purchasing power = salary adjusted for cost of living. Higher = more money in your pocket.
| City | Local Salary | Cost of Living | Real Purchasing Power |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CABEST VALUE | $141,960 | Above avg (110.4) | $128,560 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $123,250 | Above avg (115.6) | $106,606 |
| Durham-Chapel Hill, NC | $93,110 | Average (97.6) | $95,427 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | $102,390 | Above avg (108.3) | $94,573 |
| Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO | $99,040 | Above avg (105.8) | $93,627 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | $97,910 | Above avg (104.8) | $93,406 |
| Boulder, CO | $97,600 | Above avg (105.2) | $92,774 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $102,170 | Above avg (111.1) | $91,935 |
| Rochester, MN | $83,030 | Below avg (90.8) | $91,422 |
| Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR | $83,000 | Below avg (91.4) | $90,856 |
| Colorado Springs, CO | $90,210 | Average (100.7) | $89,577 |
| Springfield, MA | $85,970 | Below avg (96.1) | $89,495 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $100,520 | Above avg (112.6) | $89,301 |
| Worcester, MA | $90,300 | Average (102.5) | $88,078 |
| Dalton, GA | $79,040 | Below avg (89.8) | $87,975 |