SOC 19-3022.00

    Survey Researchers

    Plan, develop, or conduct surveys.

    Median pay
    $69,460
    Growth
    -4.8%
    Decline
    Openings a year
    600
    Typical education
    Master's degree

    Data verified Nov 2026 · CollegesRef 2026–27 edition

    Source: BLS 2025 wages · 2025–35 projections

    See the pathway

    Annual pay range

    Lowest 10% earn less than
    $39,260
    Median
    $69,460
    Highest 10% earn more than
    $130,860
    National wages for all workers in this occupation. BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.

    8,290 people work in this occupation.

    What survey researchers do

    Job Zone 5: Extensive preparation

    Plan, develop, or conduct surveys. May analyze and interpret the meaning of survey data, determine survey objectives, or suggest or test question wording. Includes social scientists who primarily design questionnaires or supervise survey teams.

    Most need a graduate degree, such as a master's, PhD, MD or JD.

    Interest profile

    Realistic (R)
    11 / 100
    Investigative (I) · strongest
    85 / 100
    Artistic (A)
    22 / 100
    Social (S)
    22 / 100
    Enterprising (E)
    34 / 100
    Conventional (C)
    71 / 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 ICE. Compare it with yours

    What you'd do

    Working with Computers
    94
    Analyzing Data or Information
    92
    Processing Information
    92
    Making Decisions and Solving Problems
    85
    Getting Information
    83
    Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others
    83
    Communicating with People Outside the Organization
    81
    Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work
    80
    Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates
    78
    Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge
    77
    Work activities rated by importance for this occupation, O*NET (0–100).

    Skills and strengths

    Skills

    • Active Listening
    • Critical Thinking
    • Reading Comprehension
    • Speaking
    • Writing
    • Mathematics
    • Active Learning
    • Complex Problem Solving
    • Judgment and Decision Making
    • Coordination

    Knowledge

    • English Language
    • Sociology and Anthropology
    • Mathematics
    • Computers and Electronics
    • Administration and Management
    • Customer and Personal Service
    • Psychology
    • Administrative
    • Communications and Media
    • Education and Training

    Abilities

    • Inductive Reasoning
    • Written Expression
    • Written Comprehension
    • Deductive Reasoning
    • Information Ordering
    • Oral Comprehension
    • Oral Expression
    • Mathematical Reasoning
    • Near Vision
    • Speech Clarity

    Work styles

    • Attention to Detail
    • Dependability
    • Intellectual Curiosity
    • Integrity
    • Cooperation
    • Achievement Orientation
    • Innovation
    • Tolerance for Ambiguity
    • Initiative
    • Perseverance

    Also called

    Analytic Methodologist · Bilingual Field Interviewer · Data Analyst · Data Collection Specialist · Data Collector · Evaluation Analyst · Field Collector · Field Data Collector · Field Interviewer · Field Representative

    Career pathway

    From your interests to survey researchers

    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

      • Survey Researchers$69,460 median pay

    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. 1Harvard University logo
      Harvard University

      Cambridge, MA · Statistics · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      Not reported
      4 yrs after
      $230,876
      Median debt
      Not reported
    2. 2Williams College logo
      Williams College

      Williamstown, MA · Economics · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $105,744
      4 yrs after
      $166,678
      Median debt
      $9,750
    3. 3Washington University in St Louis WUSTL logo
      Washington University in St Louis WUSTL

      Saint Louis, MO · Business/Managerial Economics · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $102,081
      4 yrs after
      $162,355
      Median debt
      Not reported
    4. 4Duke University logo
      Duke University

      Durham, NC · Economics · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $124,433
      4 yrs after
      $161,149
      Median debt
      $13,000
    5. 5Princeton University logo
      Princeton University

      Princeton, NJ · Economics · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $108,471
      4 yrs after
      $160,763
      Median debt
      Not reported
    6. 6University of Chicago logo
      University of Chicago

      Chicago, IL · Economics · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $98,564
      4 yrs after
      $159,578
      Median debt
      $12,500
    7. 7
      New York University NYU

      New York, NY · Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $111,101
      4 yrs after
      $158,559
      Median debt
      $13,250
    8. 8Carnegie Mellon University logo
      Carnegie Mellon University

      Pittsburgh, PA · Statistics · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $116,208
      4 yrs after
      $156,743
      Median debt
      $19,500

    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 survey researchers 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.

    • Applied Economics
    • Applied Statistics, General
    • Business Statistics
    • Business/Managerial Economics
    • Economics, General
    • Institutional Research
    • Marketing Research
    • Research Methodology and Quantitative Methods
    • Statistics, 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 6, 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 6, 2026.

    Page data updated November 5, 2026.