Policy officer salary

Q: How much does a policy officer make?

The average policy officer salary in the United States is $113,052. Policy officer salaries typically range between $79,000 and $159,000 yearly. The average hourly rate for policy officers is $54.35 per hour. Policy officer salary is impacted by location, education, and experience. Policy officers earn the highest average salary in Nevada.

Q: What state pays Policy Officers the most?

Nevada pays Policy Officers the most in the United States, with an average salary of $135,159 per year, or $64.98 per hour.

Q: How do I know if I'm being paid fairly as a policy officer?

You know if you are being paid fairly as a policy officer if your pay is close to the average pay for the state you live in. For example, if you live in Maryland you should be paid close to $131,500 per year.

Average policy officer salary

$113,052

$54.35 hourly rate

Entry-level policy officer salary

$79,000 yearly salary

Updated December 15, 2025

Average Policy Officer Salary

As of October 2025, the average salary for a Policy Officer stands at $113,052 annually. This figure can vary significantly based on factors such as geographic location, years of experience, and specific job responsibilities. Policy Officers play a vital role in developing and analyzing policies that affect various sectors, including healthcare, education, and environmental issues.

How Much Does a Policy Officer Make?

On average, Policy Officers earn around $54 per hour. Entry-level positions may offer lower salaries, while experienced professionals can command higher wages, reflecting their expertise and the complexity of their roles. For instance, those in leadership positions or specialized fields may earn significantly more.

Where Can a Policy Officer Earn More?

Geographic location greatly impacts salary potential. States such as California, New York, and Massachusetts typically offer the highest salaries for Policy Officers, often exceeding the national average. Additionally, working in federal agencies or large non-profit organizations can also increase earning potential.

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Policy officer salary by:

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Where can a Policy Officer earn more?

Compare salary by location

157k

137k

117k

97k

77k

57k

Columbus, OH$133,399

Urban Honolulu, HI$86,748

Compare salary by company

149k

129k

109k

89k

69k

49k

Nomura Securities$137,760

Program for Appropriate Technology In Health$79,292

Policy officer salary estimates from across the web

Based on the latest salary information compiled by Zippia, Salary.com, Glassdoor, Ziprecruiter, SalaryExpert, Comparably and Payscale, the average salary for a policy officer typically falls between $35,108 and $113,052.

zippia

$113,052yearly

glassdoor[1]

$102,221yearly

comparably[2]

$86,911yearly

Salary.com[3]

$35,108yearly

ZipRecruiter[4]

$81,000yearly

payscale[5]

$79,490yearly

SalaryExpert[6]

$43,814yearly

Average policy officer salary by state

The average policy officer salary in Nevada, Maryland, and New Jersey are the highest in the U.S. The lowest average policy officer salary states are Kentucky, Maine, and Tennessee.

State view
County view

Average salary:

Highest paying states for policy officers

Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
1	Nevada	$135,159	$64.98
2	New Jersey	$128,381	$61.72
3	Maryland	$131,500	$63.22
4	New York	$126,801	$60.96
5	California	$126,189	$60.67
6	Arizona	$110,342	$53.05
7	Massachusetts	$116,313	$55.92
8	New Mexico	$110,691	$53.22
9	Connecticut	$121,890	$58.60
10	Washington	$119,585	$57.49
11	Rhode Island	$105,596	$50.77
12	Delaware	$121,552	$58.44
13	Colorado	$112,554	$54.11
14	Minnesota	$105,206	$50.58
15	Ohio	$117,821	$56.64
16	Missouri	$109,819	$52.80
17	Virginia	$119,435	$57.42
18	District of Columbia	$122,684	$58.98
19	Wisconsin	$100,550	$48.34
20	Nebraska	$96,800	$46.54
21	Oregon	$107,670	$51.76
22	Pennsylvania	$93,714	$45.05
23	West Virginia	$93,603	$45.00
24	Iowa	$93,785	$45.09
25	Michigan	$97,311	$46.78
26	Louisiana	$97,714	$46.98
27	North Carolina	$91,912	$44.19
28	Florida	$103,387	$49.71
29	North Dakota	$86,930	$41.79
30	Alabama	$92,394	$44.42
31	Texas	$96,836	$46.56
32	Illinois	$92,871	$44.65
33	Georgia	$92,292	$44.37
34	New Hampshire	$91,908	$44.19
35	Alaska	$102,217	$49.14
36	Vermont	$86,281	$41.48
37	Idaho	$79,934	$38.43
38	Oklahoma	$82,892	$39.85
39	South Dakota	$83,671	$40.23
40	Wyoming	$88,264	$42.43
41	South Carolina	$83,974	$40.37
42	Tennessee	$77,425	$37.22
43	Indiana	$81,852	$39.35
44	Utah	$88,646	$42.62
45	Maine	$79,227	$38.09
46	Mississippi	$61,310	$29.48
47	Montana	$84,581	$40.66
48	Hawaii	$86,417	$41.55
49	Kentucky	$79,663	$38.30
50	Arkansas	$62,108	$29.86
51	Kansas	$75,506	$36.30

Top policy officer jobs near you

Highest paying cities for policy officers

The highest-paying cities for policy officers are Santa Rosa, CA, Baltimore, MD, and New York, NY.

Rank	City	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
1	Santa Rosa, CA	$133,399	$64.13
2	Baltimore, MD	$131,823	$63.38
3	New York, NY	$126,993	$61.05
4	Washington, DC	$122,686	$58.98
5	Wilmington, DE	$121,603	$58.46
6	Springfield, VA	$120,702	$58.03
7	Federal Way, WA	$120,240	$57.81
8	Denver, CO	$112,540	$54.11
9	Tampa, FL	$105,752	$50.84
10	East Providence, RI	$105,569	$50.75
11	Madison, WI	$100,252	$48.20
12	Austin, TX	$96,780	$46.53
13	Philadelphia, PA	$94,090	$45.24
14	Atlanta, GA	$92,839	$44.63
15	Springfield, IL	$92,009	$44.24
16	Urban Honolulu, HI	$86,748	$41.71

Policy officer salary details

A policy officer's salary ranges from $79,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $159,000 at the 90th percentile.

Average policy officer salary graph, trends, and summary

What is a policy officer's salary?

Percentile	Annual salary	Monthly salary	Hourly rate
90th Percentile	$159,000	$13,250	$76
75th Percentile	$135,000	$11,250	$65
Average	$113,052	$9,421	$54
25th Percentile	$94,000	$7,833	$45
10th Percentile	$79,000	$6,583	$38

Highest paying policy officer jobs

The highest paying types of policy officers are president/chief executive officer, president & chief operating officer, and senior vice president.

Job title	Annual salary	Monthly salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
Co-Founder	$105,022	$8,752	$50.49	4,214
President	$192,329	$16,027	$92.47	49,413
Vice President	$158,637	$13,220	$76.27	119,530
Owner	$90,334	$7,528	$43.43	86,486
Deputy Director	$100,190	$8,349	$48.17	41,439
Co-Owner	$86,704	$7,225	$41.68	52,915

Top companies hiring policy officers now:

Which companies pay policy officers the most?

Policy officer salaries at Nomura Securities and Red Gate Group are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average policy officer salary at companies like Citi and Morgan Stanley are highly competitive.

Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate
1	Nomura Securities	$137,760	$66.23
2	Red Gate Group	$130,854	$62.91
3	Citi	$129,724	$62.37
4	Morgan Stanley	$124,550	$59.88
5	First Hawaiian Bank	$123,124	$59.19
6	Country-Wide Insurance	$120,754	$58.05
7	UBS	$118,618	$57.03
8	SAIC	$116,981	$56.24
9	Church World Service	$116,067	$55.80
10	Salk Institute for Biological Studies	$113,261	$54.45
11	ManTech	$112,044	$53.87
12	Johns Hopkins University	$108,956	$52.38
13	Science	$107,973	$51.91
14	n/a	$107,818	$51.84
15	Army National Guard	$105,939	$50.93
16	Program for Appropriate Technology In Health	$79,292	$38.12

Wage gap by gender, race and education

$109,000$107,200$105,400$103,600$101,800$100,000

MaleFemale

Policy officer salary trends

The average policy officer salary has risen by $11,575 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average policy officer earned $101,477 annually, but today, they earn $113,052 a year. That works out to a 3% change in pay for policy officers over the last decade.

Compare policy officer salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.

Average policy officer salary over time

Compare policy officer salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.

Policy officer salary by year

Year	Avg. salary	Hourly rate	% Change
2026	$113,000	$54.35	+0.8%
2025	$112,000	$53.92	-2.8%
2024	$115,000	$55.42	+3.3%
2023	$111,000	$53.57	+1.1%
2022	$110,000	$52.97	+3.4%

Recently added policy officer salaries

Company	Job	Location	Date added	Salary
Pew Charitable Trusts	Officer, State Policy, Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals	Ione, WA	06/30/2025	$110,800
The Pew Charitable Trusts	Officer, State Policy, Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals	Washington, DC	06/18/2025	$110,800
City National Corporation	Credit Data and Policy Analysis Officer	Los Angeles, CA	06/17/2025	$111,408
Oversight Board Uk	Case and Policy Officer (Fixed Term Contract)	Washington, DC	05/27/2025	$120,000
Job Details	Senior Financial Policy Officer	Orange, CA	05/17/2025	$125,693
Department of Industry	Senior Financial Policy Officer	Orange, CA	05/15/2025	$125,693
Department of Industry	Senior Financial Policy Officer	Orange, CA	04/21/2025	$125,693
Citigroup Inc.	Banking & International Risk Policy Officer, VP (Hybrid)	Irving, TX	04/08/2025	$125,760
Citigroup Inc.	Banking & International Risk Policy Officer, VP (Hybrid)	Tampa, FL	04/08/2025	$125,760
American Parkinson Disease Association	Chief Public Policy Officer	Washington, DC	03/27/2025	$200,000

Policy officer salary FAQs

What state pays Policy Officers the most?

How do I know if I'm being paid fairly as a policy officer?

Have more questions? See all answers to common executive management questions.

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Updated December 15, 2025

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