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The differences between planning analysts and business 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 planning analyst and a business analyst. Additionally, a business analyst has an average salary of $74,431, which is higher than the $68,137 average annual salary of a planning analyst.
The top three skills for a planning analyst include project management, customer service and data analysis. The most important skills for a business analyst are project management, data analysis, and business analysis.
| Planning Analyst | Business Analyst | |
| Yearly salary | $68,137 | $74,431 |
| Hourly rate | $32.76 | $35.78 |
| Growth rate | 11% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 92,380 | 170,514 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
As a planning analyst, you will be responsible for designing and implementing a company's business and marketing strategies with the goal of driving profits and reducing costs. You will propose measures to enhance an organization's overall efficiency, and guide managers on ways to strengthen profit margins through risk awareness reduced costs, and increased revenues. Other duties include conducting risk analyses to identify areas of potential failure, maintaining the business continuity program, and handling internal and external corporate communications with the investment community and industry analysts.
Business analysts are employees who are responsible for interpreting business data and coming up with business solutions. They are well-versed in whatever business the company is in, and they have strong business acumen. They collect data related to the business and then interpret and analyze the data. Business analysts should be able to conduct different levels of analyses and must also be able to create a sound study. Once the analysis is done, they provide recommendations or strategic direction to decision-makers that will help the business become sustainable and grow.
Planning analysts and business analysts have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Planning Analyst | Business Analyst | |
| Average salary | $68,137 | $74,431 |
| Salary range | Between $49,000 And $93,000 | Between $53,000 And $103,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | Mountain View, CA |
| Highest paying state | Rhode Island | Washington |
| Best paying company | Meta | The Citadel |
| Best paying industry | Automotive | Finance |
There are a few differences between a planning analyst and a business analyst in terms of educational background:
| Planning Analyst | Business Analyst | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between planning analysts' and business analysts' demographics:
| Planning Analyst | Business Analyst | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 53.4% Female, 46.6% | Male, 53.9% Female, 46.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.0% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 8.9% Asian, 12.6% White, 65.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 8.8% Asian, 12.0% White, 67.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 12% | 11% |