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Job outlook for content analysts in the United States
Are content analyst jobs in demand?
Content analyst job and salary trends over time
Content analyst jobs over time
Content analyst job growth rate over time
| Year | # of jobs | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 875 | 0.00% |
| 2020 | 830 | 0.00% |
| 2019 | 816 | 0.00% |
| 2018 | 767 | 0.00% |
| 2017 | 717 | 0.00% |
Average content analyst salary over time
Content analyst salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $65,768 | $31.62 | +3.2% |
| 2024 | $63,750 | $30.65 | +1.1% |
| 2023 | $63,080 | $30.33 | --0.2% |
| 2022 | $63,190 | $30.38 | +1.1% |
| 2021 | $62,521 | $30.06 | +0.7% |
Content analyst jobs by state
Most common states for content analysts
| Rank | State | Population | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | District of Columbia | 693,972 | 355 | 51% |
| 2 | Massachusetts | 6,859,819 | 976 | 14% |
| 3 | Virginia | 8,470,020 | 1,115 | 13% |
| 4 | Delaware | 961,939 | 122 | 13% |
| 5 | Maryland | 6,052,177 | 747 | 12% |
| 6 | Rhode Island | 1,059,639 | 114 | 11% |
| 7 | Vermont | 623,657 | 67 | 11% |
| 8 | Colorado | 5,607,154 | 556 | 10% |
| 9 | Illinois | 12,802,023 | 1,129 | 9% |
| 10 | Oregon | 4,142,776 | 373 | 9% |
| 11 | Utah | 3,101,833 | 275 | 9% |
| 12 | Alaska | 739,795 | 67 | 9% |
| 13 | New York | 19,849,399 | 1,556 | 8% |
| 14 | Minnesota | 5,576,606 | 452 | 8% |
| 15 | Connecticut | 3,588,184 | 275 | 8% |
| 16 | New Hampshire | 1,342,795 | 105 | 8% |
| 17 | Georgia | 10,429,379 | 781 | 7% |
| 18 | North Carolina | 10,273,419 | 671 | 7% |
| 19 | New Jersey | 9,005,644 | 615 | 7% |
| 20 | Washington | 7,405,743 | 539 | 7% |
Most common cities for content analysts
| Rank | City | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl | Avg. salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mountain View | 3 | 4% | $82,445 |
| 2 | Winter Park | 1 | 3% | $56,828 |
| 3 | Burbank | 2 | 2% | $72,553 |
| 4 | Cupertino | 1 | 2% | $82,277 |
| 5 | Palo Alto | 1 | 1% | $82,594 |
| 6 | San Diego | 3 | 0% | $71,481 |
| 7 | Denver | 1 | 0% | $67,031 |
| 8 | Los Angeles | 1 | 0% | $72,469 |
| 9 | San Francisco | 1 | 0% | $83,298 |
Content Analyst job outlook: Expert opinions
Our panel of content analyst experts
UMass Lowell
University of Washington
University of Southern Maine
Western Kentucky University
John Jay College of Criminal Justice of the City University of New York
University of California, Santa Cruz
University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
Drexel University
University of New Mexico
Wake Forest University
University of Nebraska - Omaha
Pepperdine University
University of Minnesota - Duluth
Humboldt State University
San Francisco State University
Pennsylvania State University
Michael Ciuchta Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Program Coordinator, Masters of Science in EntrepreneurshipUMass Lowell
Department of Marketing, Entrepreneurship & Innovation
What Content Analyst skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Michael Ciuchta Ph.D.: Obviously we are seeing a tremendous increase in AI and other digital technologies. These will become a more crucial skill set for many careers going forward. But I wouldn't downplay the role of what are traditionally seen as soft skills like empathy, communications, and judgment. Not only can these distinguish you from robots but from your human competitors as well.
What will help Content Analysts increase their earning potential?
Michael Ciuchta Ph.D.: If all you want is the highest potential starting salary, then you should aim for careers that offer them. But that is a shortsighted way to view things. For example, many careers that have tournament-like pay structures (think entertainment) often have very low starting salaries but the so-called winners enjoy outsized financial gains. If you are thinking about a more traditional career, I think it's important to make sure you are more valuable to your employer than they are to you. This means you have to market yourself, both to your current employer as well as to potential ones. Of course, this approach may not be for everyone and maximizing your salary potential is only one thing you should be considering when assessing job and career opportunities.
What Content Analyst skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Victor Menaldo: Interacting with AI and knowing how to best exploit it to get the most out of it: increase productivity and value added in whatever field one is in.
What will help Content Analysts increase their earning potential?
Victor Menaldo: Develop oral communication skills that allow you to speak in an articulate manner and organize your thoughts to signal your competence, knowledge, work ethic, and willingness to keep learning and improving.
Tove Rasmussen
LecturerUniversity of Southern Maine
Specialized Sales, Merchandising And Marketing Operations
What general advice would you give to a Content Analyst?
Tove Rasmussen: Tove Rasmussen advises graduates beginning their career in the field to...
What Content Analyst skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Tove Rasmussen: Tove Rasmussen believes that the skills that will become more important and prevalent in the field in the next 3-5 years are...
What Content Analyst skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Timothy Rich PhD: Think about the types of jobs that interest you and the skills necessary for those jobs early. So many students start thinking about post-graduation life spring their senior year, when it should be an incremental process much earlier. Another pieces of advice would be to talk to faculty and alum about your interests, find internship or research opportunities when possible, and try to figure out early your strengths and weaknesses. It's easy for students, especially high performing ones, to not fully consider what their weaknesses are. I encourage students to jot down what they see as their skills too and to share them with others. It helps them to identify what's a common skill versus something that might make them stick out.
Professor Shonna Trinch Ph.D.
ProfessorJohn Jay College of Criminal Justice of the City University of New York
Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, And Group Studies
What general advice would you give to a Content Analyst?
Professor Shonna Trinch Ph.D.: Being able to negotiate a salary is also a skill that students need to learn and one that is rarely taught in college. Students need to be able to ask for more than they are offered, but also take jobs at entry levels, prove themselves and then ask for an increase in pay six months into the job after they have shown that they are doing the work and achieving their goals.
What Content Analyst skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Stephanie Lain Ph.D.: I would advise graduates to be open to considering jobs in lots of different fields. The skills acquired through their major- such as problem-solving, critical thinking, and writing- are ones that transfer well to a variety of situations.
What general advice would you give to a Content Analyst?
Dr. Paige Novak P.E. (Minnesota), BCEE: Ask questions, stay curious and open minded, take opportunities to learn and develop new skills.
What Content Analyst skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Mark Stehr PhD: At the start of your career, it's very important to land a role where you learn a lot and find good mentors. The additional skills will pay dividends as your career progresses.
Dr. Maggie Siebert Ph.D.
Epidemiologist, NMDOHUniversity of New Mexico
Health/Medical Preparatory Programs
What will help Content Analysts increase their earning potential?
Dr. Maggie Siebert Ph.D.: Programming languages for reporting, querying, and optimizing/automating
What general advice would you give to a Content Analyst?
Dr. Mark Evans: Add value beyond what you are asked to do. Take ownership of your work. Volunteer for the most difficult jobs and clients.
What Content Analyst skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Dr. Mark Evans: Don't stop learning. Treat your first job like more graduate school. Learn everything you can.
What general advice would you give to a Content Analyst?
John Lyden: Research skills (ability to find and interpret information), oral and written communication skills (ability to present information clearly), data analysis and interpretation, language interpretation and translation. Computer facility will be highly valued. Employers will include those in higher education, government, non-profits, research institutes, and museums.
What will help Content Analysts increase their earning potential?
Anna Penner: Methodological skills are important. Knowing how to construct a good survey or conduct an interview to get rich data is critical. But I think just as important as being able to analyze qualitative or statistical data, is finding ways to communicate results in clear and compelling ways so that stakeholders know what action to take is equally important. Some of the gaps we are seeing between science and the general public today could be ameliorated by someone explaining findings in concise and applicable ways that show why we should care about this information. You could be the bridge from expertise to the general public.
Ahmed Maamoun Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Marketing & 8X Recipient of the University of Minnesota’s Certificate for “Outstanding Teaching and Dedication to Helping Students Learn”University of Minnesota - Duluth
Marketing
What will help Content Analysts increase their earning potential?
Ahmed Maamoun Ph.D.: The news from the job market is quite startling. A recent study from McKinsey & Company
estimates that nearly half of all U.S. jobs will be automated by 2030. Artificial Intelligence,
machine learning, and robots will make routine and conventional jobs obsolete. Most of what
students are learning will be irrelevant and dated by the time they graduate. This highlights the
need for emphasizing not just the academic abilities of graduates, but their soft and professional
skills as well. Graduates (regardless of their undergraduate major) who demonstrate a capacity to
think critically, communicate clearly, learn adaptively, make ethical decisions, work well with
others, and solve complex problems will stand a better chance of surviving in that ever-changing
job market. For example, in one survey, 93% of employers reported that "a candidate's
demonstrated capacity to think critically, communicate clearly, and solve complex problems is
more important than his or her undergraduate major."
What soft skills should all Content Analysts possess?
Dr. Anne Paulet Ph.D.: In terms of soft skills, those probably won't change much, they will simply be practiced differently. Being flexible is important since jobs may switch between home and office and since one may be dealing with someone else working from home and the challenges that can present-what cat owner hasn't had their cat walk in front of the camera or step on the wrong computer key? The ability to work in groups will continue to have importance as well as the ability to manage your own time and meet deadlines. At the same time, the nature of computer camera interaction means that people will have to learn to "read" others differently than they would in an in-person environment. Many recent articles have talked about how it is harder to read facial cues or detect emotional responses on the computer. Again, those presently taking synchronous classes have the opportunity to practice these skills--providing students turn on their cameras rather than relying only on audio. If the past year has demonstrated anything, it is that people need to be more culturally aware and sensitive and also be able to work with people of diverse backgrounds. History classes are a great way for students to better understand what others have gone through and how that might impact interaction today. Additionally, history classes-as well as college in general-should provide students with the skills to help create the kind of changes in institutions and companies that need to be made to make them more inclusive. Perhaps the greatest skill college students have is the ability to learn. I never intended to teach online, yet here I am doing just that. It required learning new ways to approach teaching, reconsideration of the ways students learned in the new environment, and figuring out new online programs to make all this happen. I was forced to do this as a result of the pandemic but most students will find that this sort of adjustment-whether foreseen or not-will be a regular part of their career path. The ability to learn these new skills, to apply new methods and to approach issues in new and innovative ways will help them stand out when it comes to looking for a job.
Matthew Fisher SFSU, Hult, SMC
Business InstructorSan Francisco State University
Department of Marketing, Management, and Economics
What type of skills will young Content Analysts need?
Matthew Fisher SFSU, Hult, SMC: Students will need to have some exposure to more technical skills. I say "exposure" for the fact that not everyone needs to know how to code, but understanding what coders do goes a long way in empowering young professionals to work in roles adjacent to those with technical skills that they might not have. However, the core skill that will not be outmoded anytime soon is to have robust critical thinking skills and a motivation to keep learning. While firms may seek to fill an immediate need position, it's always better to hire individuals who can learn for the fact that you can almost always teach specific skills.
Stephen A. Matthews Ph.D.
Liberal Arts Professor of Sociology, Anthropology, Demography and Geography Director, Graduate Program in Demography Faculty Director, Graduate Programs in Applied Demography Editor, Spatial Demography Associate Editor, Mathematical Population StudiesPennsylvania State University
Department of Socilogy na Criminology
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Content Analyst job market given the pandemic?
Stephen A. Matthews Ph.D.: I send job ads to our students every week, so I still see jobs. The majority of those I am sending out seem to be postdoctoral positions. Personally I welcome this as it provides a great opportunity for early-career scholars to build-up their experience and publication resume (hopefully) before fully committing to an academic career. At this time, it feels like I do not see as many academic jobs (i.e., assistant professor positions), but it would be misleading to say there are none. Indeed, I know of several institutions that are hiring and even conducting interviews over Zoom. I also believe that many universities are exploring ways to enhance their instruction and research around social inequities and race and ethnicity and themes such as racial health disparities but more broadly BLM.