---
title: "Survey Researcher"
description: "Plan, develop, or conduct surveys. May analyze and interpret the meaning of survey data, determine survey objectives, or suggest or test question…"
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/survey-researcher"
last-updated: "2026-10-09T10:57:55.138Z"
---

# Survey Researcher

**Category:** Life, Physical, and Social Science · **SOC code:** 19-3022 · **O\*NET-SOC code:** 19-3022.00

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.

Also advertised as: Data Analyst; Market Survey Representative; Research Associate; Research Fellow; Research Interviewer; Research Scientist; Survey Methodologist; Survey Researcher.

## At a glance

- **Median annual wage:** $69,460 (BLS OEWS, May 2025)
- **Median hourly wage:** $33.40/hr
- **Wage range (10th–90th percentile):** $39,260 to $130,860, with the middle half between $51,270 and $99,760
- **Total US employment:** 8,290
- **Typical entry education:** Master's
- **Preparation required:** Considerable preparation — O\*NET rates this "Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed"
- **Projected growth:** -4.8% over 2025–2035 (BLS EP, 2025–2035)
- **Annual job openings:** 600 openings a year
- **AI-resilience score:** 16/100 — a NueCareer heuristic over O\*NET work activities and context, not a BLS or O\*NET figure

## Pay

National wage distribution, BLS OEWS, May 2025, across 8,290 US jobs.

| Percentile | Annual wage |
| --- | --- |
| 10th | $39,260 |
| 25th | $51,270 |
| 50th (median) | $69,460 |
| 75th | $99,760 |
| 90th | $130,860 |
| Mean (average) | $79,580 |

### Pay by state

The 15 highest-paying states, by median annual wage. The cost-of-living-adjusted column divides the state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity, so the columns answer different questions: the first is what the job pays there, the second is what that pay buys there.

| State | Median annual wage | Cost-of-living adjusted | Employment |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| MN | $104,220 | $105,677 | 340 |
| DC | $102,390 | $93,166 | 150 |
| MI | $101,550 | $105,543 | 150 |
| NC | $96,560 | $102,368 | 350 |
| NJ | $95,580 | $87,845 | 100 |
| WI | $92,660 | $98,475 | 60 |
| CO | $89,870 | $87,208 | 110 |
| CT | $88,320 | $85,243 | 110 |
| NY | $86,890 | $80,513 | 380 |
| WY | $84,360 | $91,012 | 40 |
| MD | $84,030 | $80,060 | 390 |
| CA | $83,520 | $75,434 | 1,180 |
| IA | $83,170 | $94,768 | 90 |
| UT | $79,090 | $79,999 | 50 |
| MA | $74,890 | $70,813 | 160 |

16 more states with published wage data are omitted here. The full table for all 31 states is at https://nuecareer.com/careers/survey-researcher/salary-by-state, or as JSON at https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/survey-researcher.

## Outlook

BLS projects employment to move from 9,800 in the 2025–2035 base year to 9,300 by the end of the cycle — a loss of 500 jobs, or -4.8%. Declining: -4.8% against 3.5% projected for all occupations over the same cycle. About 600 openings a year are expected on average, counting openings from growth as well as from workers leaving the occupation permanently. Source: BLS EP, 2025–2035.

## How to get in

- **Typical entry education:** Master's degree (BLS Employment Projections).
- **Preparation level:** Considerable preparation — O\*NET's preparation band for this occupation is "Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed".
- **Related work experience typically required:** None.
- **Typical on-the-job training:** None.

### Education people in this job actually hold

O\*NET surveys incumbents, so this distribution describes who is in the job today and can differ from the BLS entry requirement above.

| Education level | Share of workers |
| --- | --- |
| Bachelor's Degree | 50.0% |
| Master's Degree | 38.5% |
| Post-Master's Certificate | 3.9% |
| First Professional Degree | 3.9% |
| Doctoral Degree | 3.9% |

## What the work involves

- Conduct surveys and collect data, using methods such as interviews, questionnaires, focus groups, market analysis surveys, public opinion polls, literature reviews, and file reviews.
- Prepare and present summaries and analyses of survey data, including tables, graphs, and fact sheets that describe survey techniques and results.
- Consult with clients to identify survey needs and specific requirements, such as special samples.
- Determine and specify details of survey projects, including sources of information, procedures to be used, and the design of survey instruments and materials.
- Support, plan, and coordinate operations for single or multiple surveys.
- Monitor and evaluate survey progress and performance, using sample disposition reports and response rate calculations.
- Collaborate with other researchers in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of surveys.
- Conduct research to gather information about survey topics.

## Skills and knowledge

### Essential skills

- Reading Comprehension — importance 4.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Listening — importance 4.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Writing — importance 4.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Speaking — importance 4.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Critical Thinking — importance 4.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Mathematics — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Learning — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Learning Strategies — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Transferable skills

These are the skills that carry into other occupations, and they drive the related-occupation and career-change rankings on this site.

- Complex Problem Solving — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Judgment and Decision Making — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Coordination — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Systems Analysis — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Systems Evaluation — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Social Perceptiveness — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Service Orientation — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Time Management — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Knowledge areas

- English Language — importance 4.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Sociology and Anthropology — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Mathematics — importance 3.7 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Computers and Electronics — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Administration and Management — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Customer and Personal Service — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Abilities

- Inductive Reasoning — importance 4.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Written Expression — importance 4.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Written Comprehension — importance 4.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Oral Comprehension — importance 4.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Oral Expression — importance 4.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Deductive Reasoning — importance 4.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

## Who it suits

O\*NET rates every occupation on the six Holland (RIASEC) interest areas, on a 1–7 scale. This occupation's strongest areas are Investigative (I), Conventional (C), Enterprising (E).

| Interest area | Score (1–7) |
| --- | --- |
| I — Investigative | 6.11 |
| C — Conventional | 5.25 |
| E — Enterprising | 3.02 |
| S — Social | 2.34 |
| A — Artistic | 2.31 |
| R — Realistic | 1.68 |

### Personality fit

These scores are **derived by NueCareer**, not published by any government agency: they are cosine similarities between a personality type's trait profile and this occupation's O\*NET interest and work-style ratings, expressed 0–100. Treat them as a starting point for exploration, not as evidence that a type belongs in a job.

| Type | Fit score (0–100) |
| --- | --- |
| INTJ | 77.2 |
| ISTJ | 71.9 |
| ENTJ | 63.2 |
| ESTJ | 59.9 |
| INFJ | 58.5 |

Best-fitting types: INTJ.

## Related occupations

O\*NET's primary related occupations, in its own ranked order.

- [Data Scientist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/data-scientist) — median $120,230
- [Social Science Research Assistant](https://nuecareer.com/careers/social-science-research-assistant) — median $61,990
- [Management Analyst](https://nuecareer.com/careers/management-analyst) — median $101,860
- [Statistical Assistant](https://nuecareer.com/careers/statistical-assistant) — median $50,330
- [Statistician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/statistician) — median $105,650
- [Market Research Analyst and Marketing Specialist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/market-research-analyst-and-marketing-specialist) — median $78,760
- [Sociologist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/sociologist) — median $106,030
- [Business Intelligence Analyst](https://nuecareer.com/careers/business-intelligence-analyst) — median $120,230
- [Biostatistician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/biostatistician) — median $105,650
- [Industrial-Organizational Psychologist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/industrial-organizational-psychologist) — median $193,950

## Sources

- **O\*NET** — O\*NET 31.0 Database, August 2026. https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html
- **BLS OEWS** — BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. https://www.bls.gov/oes/
- **BLS EP** — BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2, 2025–2035. https://www.bls.gov/emp/
- **BLS OOH** — BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2025–2035 edition. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/
- **BEA RPP** — BEA Regional Price Parities by State, 2024. https://www.bea.gov/data/prices-inflation/regional-price-parities-state-and-metro-area

---

This bank includes information from the 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 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). O\*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. NueCareer has transformed the data by joining it to BLS wage and projection data and deriving facet, personality-fit and AI-resilience scores. BLS and BEA data are public domain (17 U.S.C. §105).

O\*NET content is used under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). How these figures are sourced and derived: https://nuecareer.com/careers/methodology

JSON representation of this page: https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/survey-researcher