Market Research Professional Schools, Salaries, and Job Data

Job Numbers and Growth

Nationally, there are 234,000 working as market research professionals. This occupation has a low ranking for joblessness. The jobless rate for employees was about 3% in 2008.

Area Job Conditions

Market research professionals per capita is greatest in Framingham (Massachusetts), San Jose (California), and Wilmington (Delaware). Mobile (Alabama), Eugene (Oregon), and Shreveport (Louisiana) have the fewest per capita.

The highest salaries for workers are found in San Jose (California), Spartanburg (South Carolina), and Seattle (Washington), and the lowest-paying areas are in College Station (Texas), Fort Walton Beach (Florida), and Myrtle Beach (South Carolina).

Training and Education

A bachelor's degree is generally expected for employees. Recent data shows that 82% of market research professionals have a degree. Workers with some schooling beyond high school, but not a four college degree, represent about 14% of the total. A high school diploma or GED, without further education, is held by 4% of employees. Recommended schools are shown in the column to the right; request information from them to help you decide which if any could help you with this career.

Part-Time Work and Self-Employment

Market research professionals working less than full time, whether by design or chance, were 13% of the total. Approximately 7% of people who work as workers are self-employed.

Market Research Professionals: An Introductory Video

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Birmingham	$65,000	190
Mobile	$67,000	50
Montgomery	$59,000	50
Tuscaloosa		40

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Phoenix	$60,000	2,950
Tucson	$51,000	880
Prescott	$61,000	70
Flagstaff	$45,000	60

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Little Rock	$57,000	280
Fayetteville	$53,000	240
Fort Smith	$49,000	80

Location	Median Pay	Workers
San Jose	$100,000	5,170
San Francisco	$84,000	4,500
Santa Ana	$64,000	3,770
San Diego	$71,000	2,490
Oakland	$76,000	2,110
Sacramento	$55,000	1,320
Riverside	$56,000	1,070
Oxnard	$62,000	600
Santa Barbara	$76,000	320
Santa Rosa	$54,000	240
Fresno	$53,000	230
Stockton	$67,000	180
Modesto	$58,000	160
Bakersfield		110
Santa Cruz	$70,000	110
Vallejo	$64,000	100
Salinas	$52,000	90
San Luis Obispo	$55,000	80
Napa	$75,000	60
Visalia	$46,000	40
Chico	$44,000	40

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Bridgeport	$77,000	1,430
Hartford	$63,000	770
New Haven	$57,000	390
Norwich		140
Danbury	$61,000	100

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Tampa	$58,000	1,330
Jacksonville	$56,000	990
Fort Lauderdale	$55,000	940
Miami	$66,000	900
Orlando	$55,000	650
West Palm Beach	$66,000	510
Sarasota	$72,000	140
Palm Bay	$53,000	140
Tallahassee	$58,000	130
Deltona	$41,000	70
Naples	$52,000	70
Cape Coral	$62,000	60
Lakeland	$67,000	60
Panama City	$50,000	50
Ocala	$61,000	40
Fort Walton Beach	$38,000	40

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Atlanta	$62,000	5,180
Columbus	$57,000	100
Savannah	$52,000	80
Augusta	$42,000	70
Macon	$44,000	70
Dalton	$53,000	60
Gainesville	$63,000	40
Athens	$37,000	40

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Chicago	$62,000	11,520
Springfield	$59,000	310
Rockford	$52,000	260
Peoria	$59,000	210
Decatur	$72,000	190
Champaign	$51,000	180
Bloomington	$71,000	130

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Indianapolis	$59,000	940
Fort Wayne	$47,000	240
Gary	$53,000	120
Evansville	$51,000	100
Lafayette	$52,000	50
South Bend	$60,000	50
Bloomington	$58,000	40
Terre Haute	$53,000	40
Muncie	$53,000	40
Kokomo	$75,000	30

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Des Moines	$56,000	890
Cedar Rapids	$67,000	310
Davenport	$52,000	250
Waterloo	$43,000	100
Sioux City	$60,000	70
Iowa City	$54,000	70
Dubuque	$45,000	60
Ames	$54,000	30

Location	Median Pay	Workers
New Orleans	$43,000	280
Baton Rouge	$49,000	150
Lafayette	$51,000	70
Shreveport	$41,000	30

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Baltimore	$68,000	2,320
Bethesda	$65,000	2,180
Salisbury	$79,000	50
Hagerstown	$65,000	40

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Boston	$75,000	6,800
Framingham	$82,000	1,050
Worcester	$72,000	460
Lowell	$82,000	390
Springfield	$61,000	280
Brockton	$67,000	140
Barnstable Town	$49,000	130
Haverhill	$66,000	120
Lawrence	$74,000	80
New Bedford	$49,000	60
Leominster	$49,000	50
Pittsfield	$44,000	50
Taunton	$68,000	40

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Warren	$72,000	2,690
Detroit	$80,000	1,340
Grand Rapids	$64,000	500
Ann Arbor	$56,000	340
Lansing	$65,000	250
Niles	$73,000	160
Holland	$65,000	130
Kalamazoo	$54,000	130
Flint	$68,000	120
Battle Creek	$61,000	50
Muskegon	$49,000	40
Saginaw	$62,000	40

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Minneapolis	$74,000	6,740
Rochester	$84,000	110
St Cloud	$66,000	100
Duluth	$56,000	80

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Charlotte	$62,000	1,280
Raleigh	$64,000	1,080
Durham	$87,000	690
Greensboro	$53,000	520
Winston Salem	$64,000	360
Hickory	$67,000	170
Wilmington	$58,000	80
Greenville	$53,000	50

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Philadelphia	$61,000	6,320
Pittsburgh	$54,000	2,640
Harrisburg	$49,000	750
Allentown	$59,000	560
Lancaster	$56,000	420
Scranton	$49,000	290
Reading	$50,000	220
York	$50,000	220
Erie	$53,000	130
State College	$70,000	130
Johnstown	$53,000	80
Altoona	$54,000	60
Lebanon	$51,000	30

Location	Median Pay	Workers
St Louis	$62,000	2,390
Kansas City	$63,000	1,970
Springfield	$39,000	180
Joplin	$65,000	40
St Joseph	$65,000	40
Columbia	$41,000	40

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Nashua	$64,000	120
Portsmouth	$58,000	100
Manchester	$68,000	90
Rochester	$58,000	50

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Edison	$74,000	1,880
Newark	$82,000	1,620
Camden	$66,000	520
Trenton	$66,000	470

Location	Median Pay	Workers
New York	$73,000	18,760
Nassau	$78,000	3,130
Rochester	$68,000	1,190
Buffalo	$62,000	920
Albany	$61,000	850
Syracuse	$56,000	500
Poughkeepsie	$70,000	230
Binghamton	$71,000	160
Utica	$60,000	100
Ithaca	$51,000	60
Kingston	$47,000	60
Elmira	$62,000	30

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Cincinnati	$63,000	2,400
Cleveland	$66,000	1,900
Columbus	$67,000	1,820
Dayton	$57,000	700
Akron	$64,000	600
Toledo	$58,000	410
Canton	$60,000	150
Youngstown	$54,000	150

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Nashville	$53,000	580
Knoxville	$46,000	250
Chattanooga	$55,000	90
Clarksville	$48,000	40

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Dallas	$74,000	5,440
Houston	$71,000	4,510
Austin	$82,000	2,440
Fort Worth	$56,000	1,470
San Antonio	$64,000	1,200
El Paso	$41,000	340
Waco	$75,000	260
Lubbock	$51,000	150
Amarillo	$48,000	130
Corpus Christi	$50,000	110
Longview	$55,000	90
Tyler	$44,000	90
Mcallen	$43,000	90
Beaumont	$62,000	80
Laredo	$50,000	60
Odessa	$56,000	50
Midland	$56,000	40
College Station	$36,000	40
Brownsville	$54,000	40
Abilene	$62,000	30
Sherman	$46,000	30
San Angelo	$42,000	30

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Salt Lake City	$59,000	860
Provo	$55,000	280
Ogden	$45,000	140
St George	$50,000	50

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Richmond	$59,000	1,590
Virginia Beach	$52,000	920
Charlottesville	$49,000	300
Roanoke	$47,000	160
Lynchburg	$44,000	150
Blacksburg	$63,000	150
Harrisonburg	$41,000	100
Winchester	$57,000	60

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Seattle	$91,000	7,230
Tacoma	$71,000	330
Spokane	$54,000	290
Bellingham	$51,000	120
Olympia	$59,000	80
Bremerton	$54,000	50
Yakima	$60,000	40
Kennewick	$56,000	40

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Milwaukee	$72,000	1,340
Madison	$65,000	620
Racine	$65,000	220
Oshkosh	$61,000	190
Green Bay	$54,000	140
Appleton	$60,000	100
Wausau	$57,000	80
Eau Claire	$46,000	60
Sheboygan	$65,000	40