Social Scientists and Related Workers, All Other
All social scientists and related workers not listed separately.
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What the data says: Jobs are projected to shrink 0.2% by 2035. Its tasks haven't been rated for what AI could do. In the most exposed occupations, the squeeze shows up first among early-career workers. How to think about this →
About this projection
BLS builds AI into its projections where the research supports it: “BLS generally applies adjustments based on this research conservatively, where there is convincing evidence for a change.”
It also notes a limit: “BLS projection methods are not designed to capture extremely rapid technological change.”
On its AI exposure groups, BLS says exposure “does not imply job loss.”
BLS figures cover the broader occupation “Social scientists and related workers, all other”, which includes this one and others.
Recent conditions
- In 2024, 3.2% of people in this work were unemployed, against 3.8% across all occupations Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Miscellaneous social scientists and related workers”
- From Sep 2025 to Aug 2026, 4.3 hires for every 10 job openings in government, which employs about 64% of people in this work, against 7.3 across all industries BLS JOLTS
One box per opening, filled for each hire; hires beyond the openings are added in a lighter shade. Higher can mean openings get filled, or that people leave often; lower, that jobs go unfilled, or hiring is slow.4.3 this industry7.3 all industries
Median pay by state BLS OEWS May 2025, state estimates
Tap a state for its figures.
Median pay in every state
| State | Median | Middle half earn | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $95,370 | $79,640 to $124,180 | 320 |
| Arizona | $99,320 | $83,100 to $114,380 | 600 |
| Arkansas | $76,400 | $54,420 to $91,170 | 250 |
| California | $97,900 | $79,410 to $120,840 | 2,970 |
| Colorado | $105,390 | $84,590 to $128,440 | 790 |
| Connecticut | not published | not published | 300 |
| Delaware | $92,330 | $82,980 to $117,170 | 100 |
| District of Columbia | $128,440 | $104,770 to $152,730 | 2,480 |
| Florida | $83,460 | $69,240 to $100,920 | 1,740 |
| Georgia | $91,210 | $80,790 to $111,430 | 1,510 |
| Hawaii | $92,520 | $68,040 to $124,680 | 430 |
| Idaho | $88,610 | $75,970 to $97,470 | 70 |
| Illinois | $99,050 | $84,370 to $107,600 | 730 |
| Indiana | $89,440 | $78,850 to $100,420 | not published |
| Iowa | $91,560 | $73,320 to $113,810 | 150 |
| Kansas | $85,160 | $75,130 to $102,070 | 310 |
| Kentucky | $78,850 | $64,590 to $94,520 | 350 |
| Louisiana | $91,170 | $78,850 to $109,300 | 560 |
| Maine | $73,920 | $56,320 to $97,470 | 40 |
| Maryland | $131,810 | $98,350 to $152,730 | 2,600 |
| Massachusetts | $105,640 | $91,750 to $144,340 | 820 |
| Michigan | $84,260 | $68,020 to $106,330 | 660 |
| Minnesota | $103,330 | $85,000 to $103,440 | 1,000 |
| Mississippi | $85,550 | $78,850 to $100,420 | 170 |
| Missouri | $80,850 | $67,200 to $93,640 | 330 |
| Montana | $82,380 | $73,920 to $98,280 | 170 |
| Nebraska | $104,420 | $81,330 to $120,620 | 120 |
| Nevada | $95,620 | $75,810 to $114,820 | 180 |
| New Hampshire | $86,530 | $65,900 to $117,080 | 130 |
| New Jersey | $101,260 | $90,020 to $120,520 | 350 |
| New Mexico | $91,170 | $77,230 to $110,470 | 170 |
| New York | $104,770 | $82,140 to $114,880 | 3,410 |
| North Carolina | $81,420 | $73,920 to $104,520 | 1,770 |
| North Dakota | $76,400 | $47,610 to $91,170 | 120 |
| Ohio | $98,630 | $75,730 to $123,860 | 1,520 |
| Oklahoma | $88,610 | $76,400 to $97,470 | 220 |
| Oregon | $95,900 | $84,360 to $105,770 | 350 |
| Pennsylvania | $97,640 | $82,970 to $117,170 | 620 |
| Puerto Rico | $76,400 | $52,910 to $93,850 | 150 |
| Rhode Island | $89,960 | $50,230 to $127,130 | 110 |
| South Carolina | $83,780 | $76,400 to $100,420 | 300 |
| South Dakota | $86,260 | $73,920 to $93,640 | 70 |
| Tennessee | $80,860 | $67,200 to $100,920 | 320 |
| Texas | $101,800 | $83,780 to $125,430 | 2,260 |
| Utah | $91,560 | $79,170 to $108,890 | 180 |
| Vermont | $79,450 | $64,000 to $105,930 | 110 |
| Virginia | $140,670 | $110,510 to $179,730 | 3,380 |
| Washington | $102,920 | $82,690 to $132,430 | 1,160 |
| West Virginia | $94,520 | $83,780 to $105,370 | 190 |
| Wisconsin | $88,830 | $71,280 to $108,120 | 260 |
| Wyoming | $88,610 | $78,850 to $100,420 | 40 |
Nationally: $101,110. Shades run from the lowest state median to the highest; a territory below that range takes the lightest. How to read this
How AI touches the work
What AI could speed up, task by task, and where people already use it.
How to read this
Work activities come from O*NET, which links every task to the broader activities it involves. Microsoft's figures are for the activity across everyone who used Copilot, not for social scientists and related workers, all other specifically. Copilot is a general chat assistant; dedicated coding tools are not included, so programming help is under-counted here. Activities are listed by how many of this occupation's tasks fall under them.
The task ratings say whether AI could halve the time a task takes: on its own (“AI alone”), or with software built on it (“AI + software”). They were made by people in 2023 (Eloundou et al.). Claude's share is the task's share of all Claude.ai conversations in May 2026; Anthropic doesn't publish a task with too few conversations. None of these add up to the BLS exposure group, which combines five research measures.
More in the Guide: task ratings · task order · work activities · Copilot figures · Claude
High exposure doesn't mean fewer jobs
BLS projects most occupations in its two most exposed groups to grow: 141 of 206 rated Very high and 165 of 206 rated High. Each dot is one of the 831 occupations BLS rates.
Career moves into and out of this occupation
From moves between occupations found in online resumes, 2002–2016. Career changes only: a first job after school isn't a move.
Where people moved next
of 6,339 moves out
- 1 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 7%
- 2 Management Analysts Very high +10.1% 5%
- 3 Logisticians Very high +17.6% 5%
- 4 General and Operations Managers High +5.0% 4%
- 5 Operations Research Analysts Very high +11.9% 4%
Where people moved in from
of 6,762 moves in
- 1 Operations Research Analysts Very high +11.9% 6%
- 2 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 5%
- 3 Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers Very high +6.1% 4%
- 4 Logisticians Very high +17.6% 4%
- 5 General and Operations Managers High +5.0% 4%
Resumes over-represent younger, white-collar job-seekers and moves into management. Schubert, Stansbury and Taska (resume data).
Education and training for the occupation
Census survey (American Community Survey)
- 4% high school
- 5% some college
- 1% associate's
- 40% bachelor's
- 33% master's
- 2% professional degree
- 14% doctorate
Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Miscellaneous social scientists and related workers” · 628 people surveyed.
Median pay by highest degree full-time, year-round · Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Miscellaneous social scientists and related workers”
34 programs, such as Energy and Environmental Policy, Educational Evaluation and Research and Educational Statistics and Research Methods.
See all
- Energy and Environmental Policy
- Educational Evaluation and Research
- Educational Statistics and Research Methods
- Educational Assessment, Testing, and Measurement
- Learning Sciences
- Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research, Other
- Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and Services, Other
- Adult Development and Aging
- Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution
- Biopsychology
- Gerontology
- Behavioral Sciences
- Holocaust and Related Studies
- Intercultural/Multicultural and Diversity Studies
- Cultural Studies/Critical Theory and Analysis
- Human Biology
- Sustainability Studies
- Anthrozoology
- Economics and Foreign Language/Literature
- Geoarcheaology
- Geography and Environmental Studies
- History and Political Science
- Linguistics and Anthropology
- Philosophy, Politics, and Economics
- Education Policy Analysis
- Health Policy Analysis
- Social Sciences, General
- Research Methodology and Quantitative Methods
- Survey Research/Methodology
- Social Sciences, Other
- Demography and Population Studies
- Applied Demography
- Demography, Other
- Medical/Health Humanities
Jobs that require a credential BLS Occupational Requirements Survey 2023
BLS publishes no credential figures for this occupation.
Look up certifications, training and licenses U.S. Department of Labor
- Certification Finder ↗ certifications CareerOneStop lists for this occupation
- Training Finder ↗ schools and programs, nationwide; narrow the place there
- License Finder ↗ licenses by state
- Apprenticeships: DOL's list of apprenticeable occupations doesn't include this one.
These open in a new tab and send only the occupation's public code. More in the Guide
BLS AI exposure categories (Aug 2026) · BLS Employment Projections 2025–35 · O*NET 31.0 · Task ratings: Eloundou et al., Science (2024) · Microsoft "Working with AI" v1.1 · Anthropic Economic Index (2026-06-26) · Schubert, Stansbury and Taska · NCES CIP–SOC · Census ACS 2024 · BLS JOLTS · Brynjolfsson, Chandar and Chen, Stanford (Aug 2026)
See it online, and explore any career: https://www.pathmosaic.com/card/19-3099.00