Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between economic developers and senior economists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a senior economist has an average salary of $108,720, which is higher than the $51,285 average annual salary of an economic developer.
The top three skills for an economic developer include data entry, financial statements and business community. The most important skills for a senior economist are econometrics, macro, and research projects.
| Economic Developer | Senior Economist | |
| Yearly salary | $51,285 | $108,720 |
| Hourly rate | $24.66 | $52.27 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 72,804 | 940 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 64% | Bachelor's Degree, 47% |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
While a development specialist works on creating plans for community development, the economic developer helps implement the development strategies set forth by specialists. They help in the distribution of survey questionnaires and the collection of data, as well as the interpretation of results. The economic developer also helps in business creation, retention, and expansion. They take leads in developing a private sector-public relationship in terms of funding for project implementation. They are knowledgeable and have good communication skills.
Senior economists are professionals who perform complex research on topics about economics and policies related to the financial field, such as banking, international regulations, and monetary policies. These economists manage a team of economists and assign staff in research projects to ensure that their deliverables are accurate and present. They must provide business owners with recommendations to address problem areas that are identified through the analysis of data. Senior economists must also assist statistician in performing data analysis and research.
Economic developers and senior economists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Economic Developer | Senior Economist | |
| Average salary | $51,285 | $108,720 |
| Salary range | Between $37,000 And $70,000 | Between $61,000 And $191,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | - | California |
| Best paying company | - | Cornerstone Research |
| Best paying industry | - | Professional |
There are a few differences between an economic developer and a senior economist in terms of educational background:
| Economic Developer | Senior Economist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 64% | Bachelor's Degree, 47% |
| Most common major | Business | Economics |
| Most common college | Harvard University | Harvard University |
Here are the differences between economic developers' and senior economists' demographics:
| Economic Developer | Senior Economist | |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 55.3% Female, 44.7% | Male, 71.5% Female, 28.5% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.3% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 11.9% Asian, 11.2% White, 64.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 5.9% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 10.9% Asian, 15.5% White, 61.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 8% |