Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
Principal research economist salary
Average principal research economist salary
$91,494
Average Principal Research Economist Salary
The average salary for a Principal Research Economist is approximately $91,494 annually, translating to around $44 per hour. This salary can vary significantly based on location, years of experience, and the specific industry. For example, those working in finance or consulting often earn more than their peers in academia or government.
Salary by State
Principal Research Economists can expect to find the highest salaries in states such as California, New York, and Texas. Additionally, metropolitan areas like San Francisco and Washington D.C. offer competitive pay, reflecting the demand for skilled economists in urban settings.
Job Opportunities
Job seekers can explore various industries, including finance, healthcare, and government, to find positions that match their qualifications and salary expectations. Zippia's job board features a range of listings, making it easier to identify opportunities that align with your career goals.
Let Zippia find your next principal research economist job
Let Zippia find your next principal research economist job
Where can a Principal Research Economist earn more?
Average principal research economist salary by state
The highest-paying states for principal research economists are Alaska, Hawaii, and Oregon. The lowest average principal research economist salary states are Wyoming, Missouri, and Colorado.
- State view
- County view
Highest paying states for principal research economists
| Rank | State | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oregon | $127,598 | $61.35 |
| 2 | Washington | $126,724 | $60.92 |
| 3 | New Hampshire | $104,747 | $50.36 |
| 4 | Nevada | $113,773 | $54.70 |
| 5 | Vermont | $102,529 | $49.29 |
| 6 | Idaho | $105,535 | $50.74 |
| 7 | Pennsylvania | $103,180 | $49.61 |
| 8 | California | $118,374 | $56.91 |
| 9 | Hawaii | $137,832 | $66.27 |
| 10 | Connecticut | $105,045 | $50.50 |
| 11 | Alaska | $159,314 | $76.59 |
| 12 | Rhode Island | $105,635 | $50.79 |
| 13 | Arizona | $98,924 | $47.56 |
| 14 | Michigan | $98,889 | $47.54 |
| 15 | Delaware | $102,635 | $49.34 |
| 16 | Maine | $101,381 | $48.74 |
| 17 | West Virginia | $97,681 | $46.96 |
| 18 | Ohio | $97,577 | $46.91 |
| 19 | New Jersey | $104,207 | $50.10 |
| 20 | Montana | $93,887 | $45.14 |
| 21 | Massachusetts | $105,535 | $50.74 |
| 22 | Wisconsin | $94,547 | $45.46 |
| 23 | North Carolina | $93,652 | $45.02 |
| 24 | Virginia | $98,851 | $47.52 |
| 25 | New Mexico | $92,652 | $44.54 |
| 26 | New York | $104,522 | $50.25 |
| 27 | Minnesota | $92,196 | $44.33 |
| 28 | Indiana | $92,738 | $44.59 |
| 29 | Illinois | $92,516 | $44.48 |
| 30 | North Dakota | $92,152 | $44.30 |
| 31 | Maryland | $101,594 | $48.84 |
| 32 | Kentucky | $91,013 | $43.76 |
| 33 | Utah | $93,799 | $45.10 |
| 34 | Texas | $89,851 | $43.20 |
| 35 | District of Columbia | $101,120 | $48.62 |
| 36 | Tennessee | $87,787 | $42.21 |
| 37 | Wyoming | $85,486 | $41.10 |
| 38 | Arkansas | $85,873 | $41.29 |
| 39 | South Dakota | $86,290 | $41.49 |
| 40 | Colorado | $84,189 | $40.48 |
| 41 | South Carolina | $89,628 | $43.09 |
| 42 | Georgia | $87,283 | $41.96 |
| 43 | Mississippi | $87,234 | $41.94 |
| 44 | Nebraska | $83,632 | $40.21 |
| 45 | Alabama | $86,679 | $41.67 |
| 46 | Missouri | $84,881 | $40.81 |
| 47 | Iowa | $86,501 | $41.59 |
| 48 | Louisiana | $87,908 | $42.26 |
| 49 | Oklahoma | $85,960 | $41.33 |
| 50 | Florida | $81,587 | $39.22 |
| 51 | Kansas | $83,767 | $40.27 |
Highest paying cities for principal research economists
The highest-paying cities for principal research economists are San Francisco, CA, Seattle, WA, and Las Vegas, NV.
| Rank | City | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $134,139 | $64.49 |
| 2 | Seattle, WA | $131,504 | $63.22 |
| 3 | Las Vegas, NV | $111,787 | $53.74 |
| 4 | Boston, MA | $105,618 | $50.78 |
| 5 | Hicksville, NY | $104,886 | $50.43 |
| 6 | Newark, NJ | $104,603 | $50.29 |
| 7 | Burlington, VT | $101,996 | $49.04 |
| 8 | Annapolis, MD | $101,576 | $48.83 |
| 9 | Washington, DC | $101,183 | $48.65 |
| 10 | McLean, VA | $101,161 | $48.64 |
| 11 | Pittsburgh, PA | $100,902 | $48.51 |
| 12 | Cleveland, OH | $100,160 | $48.15 |
| 13 | Durham, NC | $94,967 | $45.66 |
| 14 | Chicago, IL | $93,250 | $44.83 |
| 15 | Draper, UT | $93,229 | $44.82 |
| 16 | Austin, TX | $90,260 | $43.39 |
| 17 | Saint Louis, MO | $86,049 | $41.37 |
| 18 | Rapid City, SD | $85,679 | $41.19 |
| 19 | Jacksonville, FL | $84,635 | $40.69 |
| 20 | Boulder, CO | $84,204 | $40.48 |
Principal research economist salary details
A principal research economist's salary ranges from $61,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $136,000 at the 90th percentile.
What is a principal research economist's salary?
| Percentile | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90th Percentile | $136,000 | $11,333 | $65 |
| 75th Percentile | $112,000 | $9,333 | $54 |
| Average | $91,494 | $7,625 | $44 |
| 25th Percentile | $74,000 | $6,167 | $36 |
| 10th Percentile | $61,000 | $5,083 | $29 |
Highest paying principal research economist jobs
The highest paying types of principal research economists are economist, senior research associate, and senior research fellow.
| Job title | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Economist | $109,102 | $9,092 | $52.45 | 1,029 |
How would you rate the starting salaries for principal research economists, as well as the prospects for salary advancement?
Yoav Wachsman Ph.D.
Assistant Dean, Professor - Economics, Coastal Carolina University
Top companies hiring principal research economists now:
Which companies pay principal research economists the most?
Principal research economist salaries at Microsoft and Atlassian are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average principal research economist salary at companies like Palo Alto Networks and Riot Games are highly competitive.
| Rank | Company | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Microsoft | $171,282 | $82.35 |
| 2 | Atlassian | $163,460 | $78.59 |
| 3 | Palo Alto Networks | $156,543 | $75.26 |
| 4 | Riot Games | $151,000 | $72.60 |
| 5 | Amazon | $145,738 | $70.07 |
| 6 | Workday | $145,640 | $70.02 |
| 7 | Tencent | $142,760 | $68.63 |
| 8 | Federal Reserve Bank of New York | $138,868 | $66.76 |
| 9 | Genentech | $135,893 | $65.33 |
| 10 | BNY Mellon | $135,578 | $65.18 |
| 11 | Statoil | $133,965 | $64.41 |
| 12 | PRUDENTIAL INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT SERVICES LLC | $132,598 | $63.75 |
| 13 | FireEye | $128,394 | $61.73 |
| 14 | CoreLogic | $127,432 | $61.27 |
| 15 | Allegiant International | $124,643 | $59.92 |
| 16 | Kelly Services | $123,174 | $59.22 |
| 17 | Clear Capital | $120,320 | $57.85 |
| 18 | Gartner | $119,731 | $57.56 |
| 19 | Hellman & Friedman | $117,842 | $56.65 |
| 20 | American Institutes for Research | $113,774 | $54.70 |
Wage gap by gender, race and education
Principal Research Economist salary by industry
The average principal research economist salary varies across industries:
- The average principal research economist salary in the finance industry is $141,812, the highest of any industry.
- The average principal research economist salary in the finance industry is $94,926.
- Principal research economists in the utilities industry earn an average salary of $93,202, the lowest of any industry.
Highest paying industries for principal research economists
| Rank | Industry | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Finance | $141,812 | $68.18 |
| 2 | Manufacturing | $94,926 | $45.64 |
| 3 | Health Care | $94,243 | $45.31 |
| 4 | Utilities | $93,202 | $44.81 |
High paying principal research economist jobs
Principal research economist salary trends
The average principal research economist salary has risen by $15,031 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average principal research economist earned $76,463 annually, but today, they earn $91,494 a year. That works out to a 7% change in pay for principal research economists over the last decade.
Compare principal research economist salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.
Average principal research economist salary over time
Compare principal research economist salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.
Principal research economist salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | $91,500 | $43.99 | +3.1% |
| 2025 | $88,700 | $42.64 | +0.6% |
| 2024 | $88,100 | $42.36 | +1.8% |
| 2023 | $86,500 | $41.61 | +1.4% |
| 2022 | $85,300 | $41.02 | +1.9% |
Recently added principal research economist salaries
| Company | Job | Location | Date added | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The University of Chicago | Principal Researcher | Chicago, IL | 06/30/2025 | $75,000 |
| The University of Chicago | Principal Researcher | Chicago, IL | 06/30/2025 | $75,000 |
| Cromulence | Principal Vulnerability Researcher | West Melbourne, FL | 06/27/2025 | $120,800 |
| Tencent Ltd. | Principal Researcher-Reinforcement Learning for Large Foundation Models | Bellevue, WA | 06/14/2025 | $156,600 |
| Microsoft Corporation | Principal Researcher-Generative AI-Microsoft Research AI Frontiers | New York, NY | 06/11/2025 | $180,400 |
| Amazon | Principal, Int'l Movies Research, Consumer Insights, Film | Culver City, CA | 06/10/2025 | $127,600 |
| Amazon.com, Inc. | Principal, Int'l Movies Research, Consumer Insights, Film | Culver City, CA | 06/10/2025 | $127,600 |
| Palo Alto Networks | SR. Principal Security Researcher (Office of Netsec CTO) | Santa Clara, CA | 05/30/2025 | $182,000 |
| The University of Chicago | Principal Researcher | Chicago, IL | 05/27/2025 | $75,000 |
| Gusto | Principal Economist | Washington, DC | 05/26/2025 | $171,000 |
Principal research economist salary FAQs
Search for principal research economist jobs