Legislative analyst vs policy analyst

The differences between legislative analysts and policy 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 legislative analyst and a policy analyst. Additionally, a legislative analyst has an average salary of $69,579, which is higher than the $66,359 average annual salary of a policy analyst.

The top three skills for a legislative analyst include policy issues, legislative process and DOD. The most important skills for a policy analyst are public policy, policy analysis, and policy issues.

Legislative analyst vs policy analyst overview

	Legislative Analyst	Policy Analyst
Yearly salary	$69,579	$66,359
Hourly rate	$33.45	$31.90
Growth rate	11%	11%
Number of jobs	38,794	69,173
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 68%	Bachelor's Degree, 65%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	4	4

What does a legislative analyst do?

A legislative Analyst is a person who reviews and analyzes the possible effects of specific laws on the constituents and other people concerned. Thus, the person responsible must have excellent writing and research skills since they often use them in their day-to-day activity. Their work is to determine the law's negative and positive effects according to statements and policies used as strategy or evidence. Often, they work under pressure since sessions and legislation last for long hours.

What does a policy analyst do?

Policy analysts are responsible for developing government policies and providing advice and briefing to senior management. These professionals work to influence both social and political decisions. They typically work in four key areas, including collecting information, analyzing policies, providing recommendations, and sharing information with government officials and the public. Additionally, they are also expected to consult with stakeholders to provide quantitative evidence supporting their policy. The rest of their time is spent on writing, reading, and analyzing information.

Legislative analyst vs policy analyst salary

Legislative analysts and policy analysts have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Legislative Analyst	Policy Analyst
Average salary	$69,579	$66,359
Salary range	Between $50,000 And $95,000	Between $47,000 And $92,000
Highest paying City	-	Seattle, WA
Highest paying state	-	Connecticut
Best paying company	-	Apple
Best paying industry	-	Insurance

Differences between legislative analyst and policy analyst education

There are a few differences between a legislative analyst and a policy analyst in terms of educational background:

	Legislative Analyst	Policy Analyst
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 68%	Bachelor's Degree, 65%
Most common major	Political Science	Political Science
Most common college	Northwestern University	Northwestern University

Legislative analyst vs policy analyst demographics

Here are the differences between legislative analysts' and policy analysts' demographics:

	Legislative Analyst	Policy Analyst
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 54.7% Female, 45.3%	Male, 46.1% Female, 53.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.6% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 9.2% Asian, 9.8% White, 67.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%	Black or African American, 8.4% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 9.1% Asian, 12.1% White, 65.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	12%	12%

Differences between legislative analyst and policy analyst duties and responsibilities

Legislative analyst example responsibilities.

Manage all issues relate to high quality survey administration including training and approval/certification, performance oversight and data collection.
Maintain oversight and auditing of all certify organizations and individuals statewide, ensuring regulatory compliance and issue sanctions for violations.
Guide surface transportation and water resources infrastructure projects and identify and facilitate appropriations requests.
Publish organizational blogposts and other editorial content and manage relations with coalition partners.

Policy analyst example responsibilities.

Develop comprehensive consumer education material around the changes to behavioral health services in Medicaid manage care.
Manage all issues relate to high quality survey administration including training and approval/certification, performance oversight and data collection.
Process data using STATA statistical software to get it ready for regressions.
Develop research and programmatic reports create in SAS to be used for analysis.
Work to maintain, update, and correct SalesForce database for pertinent mailings.
Develop PowerPoint presentations on trends for use with legislature, law enforcement, and the public.

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Legislative analyst vs policy analyst skills

Common legislative analyst skills

Policy Issues, 11%
Legislative Process, 7%
DOD, 7%
Congressional Hearings, 6%
Legislative Issues, 4%
Public Policy, 3%

Common policy analyst skills

Public Policy, 7%
Policy Analysis, 6%
Policy Issues, 6%
Public Health, 5%
Health Policy, 5%
PowerPoint, 4%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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