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The differences between finance analysts and budget analysts can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a finance analyst and a budget analyst. Additionally, a finance analyst has an average salary of $69,887, which is higher than the $56,598 average annual salary of a budget analyst.
The top three skills for a finance analyst include financial analysis, financial models and financial data. The most important skills for a budget analyst are financial management, budget analysis, and financial reports.
| Finance Analyst | Budget Analyst | |
| Yearly salary | $69,887 | $56,598 |
| Hourly rate | $33.60 | $27.21 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 138,600 | 50,081 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 76% | Bachelor's Degree, 70% |
| Average age | 40 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A finance analyst is responsible for evaluating a company's financial data and historical reports to assess investment opportunities and provide accurate financial statements in support of business strategies and company performance prediction. A financial analyst's duties also include suggesting recommendations to boost operations efficiency and grow revenues, researching the current market performance and economic trends to adjust budget goals as needed, and managing client portfolios. Finance analysts must have excellent critical and analytical thinking skills to identify the best actions for the company's profitability.
A budget analyst supports organizations and businesses by organizing their financial resources to develop and execute budgets for them. A budget analyst is also responsible for evaluating budget proposals, analyzing data, extra funds redistribution, recommending spending cuts, preparing reports annually, and estimating spending requirements in the future. A budget analyst explores alternative funding methods and uses cost-benefit analyses. In addition, budget analysts also look at past budgets and research any financial developments that could affect income and expenditures.
Finance analysts and budget analysts have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Finance Analyst | Budget Analyst | |
| Average salary | $69,887 | $56,598 |
| Salary range | Between $46,000 And $104,000 | Between $42,000 And $76,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | Connecticut | Virginia |
| Best paying company | The Citadel | Shenzhen Capital Group |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Government |
There are a few differences between a finance analyst and a budget analyst in terms of educational background:
| Finance Analyst | Budget Analyst | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 76% | Bachelor's Degree, 70% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between finance analysts' and budget analysts' demographics:
| Finance Analyst | Budget Analyst | |
| Average age | 40 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 56.2% Female, 43.8% | Male, 45.7% Female, 54.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 5.6% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 7.7% Asian, 14.1% White, 68.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% | Black or African American, 12.4% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 15.3% Asian, 8.9% White, 57.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 13% |