SOC 11-1031.00Bright outlook

    Legislators

    Develop, introduce, or enact laws and statutes at the local, tribal, state, or federal level.

    Median pay
    Not reported
    Growth
    Not reported
    Openings a year
    Not reported
    Typical education
    Not reported

    Data verified Nov 2026 · CollegesRef 2026–27 edition

    See the pathway

    Annual pay range

    Not reported in the latest federal data

    National wages for all workers in this occupation. BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics.

    What legislators do

    Job Zone 4: Considerable preparation

    Develop, introduce, or enact laws and statutes at the local, tribal, state, or federal level. Includes only workers in elected positions.

    Most need a bachelor's degree and several years of related experience.

    Interest profile

    Realistic (R)
    9 / 100
    Investigative (I)
    39 / 100
    Artistic (A)
    28 / 100
    Social (S)
    45 / 100
    Enterprising (E) · strongest
    75 / 100
    Conventional (C)
    44 / 100
    How strongly each interest area describes the work, from O*NET (scores rescaled to 0–100). The interest code lists the strongest areas in order.

    Interest code ESC. Compare it with yours

    Skills and strengths

    Work styles

    • Leadership Orientation
    • Integrity
    • Dependability
    • Social Orientation
    • Self-Confidence
    • Stress Tolerance
    • Intellectual Curiosity
    • Adaptability
    • Perseverance
    • Self-Control

    Also called

    Alderman · Assembly Member · Assembly Person · Assemblyman · Assemblywoman · City Alderman · City Council Member · City Councilman · Congress Member · Congressional Representative

    Career pathway

    From your interests to legislators

    Interests that fit the work, the career, majors that lead there and colleges whose graduates in those majors earn the most. Hover or focus a step to follow one path.

    1. Interests

    2. This career

      • LegislatorsPay not reported

    3. Majors

    4. Colleges

    College Scorecard program outcomes

    Colleges with strong outcomes

    Programs that lead to this career, ranked by what their graduates earn four years after finishing. Earnings are for graduates who received federal aid.

    1. 1Cornell University-New York logo
      Cornell University-New York

      Ithaca, NY · Public Policy Analysis · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $91,332
      4 yrs after
      $126,767
      Median debt
      $12,696
    2. 2Princeton University logo
      Princeton University

      Princeton, NJ · Public Policy Analysis · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $75,701
      4 yrs after
      $107,792
      Median debt
      Not reported
    3. 3Duke University logo
      Duke University

      Durham, NC · Public Policy Analysis · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $70,713
      4 yrs after
      $103,071
      Median debt
      $13,625
    4. 4Barry University logo
      Barry University

      Miami, FL · Public Administration · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $76,893
      4 yrs after
      $97,702
      Median debt
      $37,255
    5. 5University of Chicago logo
      University of Chicago

      Chicago, IL · Public Policy Analysis · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $62,208
      4 yrs after
      $94,237
      Median debt
      $12,250
    6. 6Vanderbilt University logo
      Vanderbilt University

      Nashville, TN · Public Policy Analysis · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      Not reported
      4 yrs after
      $91,265
      Median debt
      Not reported
    7. 7Syracuse University logo
      Syracuse University

      Syracuse, NY · Public Administration · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $61,347
      4 yrs after
      $89,732
      Median debt
      $21,500
    8. 8
      California State University-Northridge CSUN

      Northridge, CA · Public Administration · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $84,412
      4 yrs after
      $85,789
      Median debt
      $34,173

    Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard field-of-study data, 2025. Programs with few graduates are not listed.

    NCES CIP–SOC crosswalk

    Majors that lead here

    Related programs by four-digit CIP code. They are common routes in, not the only ones.

    CareerOneStop

    Certifications, licenses and pay by state

    What legislators may need beyond a degree, where a license is required, and what the work pays in each state.

    Training

    Programs of study that prepare people for this work.

    • Public Administration
    • Public Policy Analysis, General

    Find training near you on CareerOneStop

    Data from CareerOneStop, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor (Employment and Training Administration, with the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development). Retrieved November 9, 2026.

    Your plan

    Build my pathway plan

    Courses, majors, colleges, scholarships and a timeline for this career, built from your profile.

    Related careers

    Careers with similar work, interests or skills.

    All careers

    Sources and attribution

    Every figure on this page comes from these public datasets. Missing values are shown as not reported, never estimated.

    O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. CollegesRef has modified all or some of this information.

    Data from CareerOneStop, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor (Employment and Training Administration, with the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development). Retrieved November 9, 2026.

    Page data updated November 5, 2026.