Senior budget analyst vs cost analyst

The differences between senior budget analysts and cost 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 senior budget analyst and a cost analyst. Additionally, a senior budget analyst has an average salary of $69,249, which is higher than the $54,158 average annual salary of a cost analyst.

The top three skills for a senior budget analyst include financial management, powerpoint and financial analysis. The most important skills for a cost analyst are cost analysis, financial analysis, and cost estimates.

Senior budget analyst vs cost analyst overview

	Senior Budget Analyst	Cost Analyst
Yearly salary	$69,249	$54,158
Hourly rate	$33.29	$26.04
Growth rate	3%	3%
Number of jobs	43,424	60,034
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 70%	Bachelor's Degree, 74%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	4	4

What does a senior budget analyst do?

A senior budget analyst analyzes the finances of their company. They monitor their company's financial data to gain new insights to make a profit. They create budgets for departments, increase the efficiency of company systems, and prepare reports and financial statements.

What does a cost analyst do?

Cost Analysts are employees with a strong background in finance or accounting. They are in charge of collecting financial data and analyzing the entries. They study the company's expenses and prepare pertinent reports. Cost Analysts look for inconsistencies in the financial data. This way, they can assist in auditing the company's spending. Cost Analysts also look for inefficiencies. They do so by tracking item costs and department budgets and monitoring department expenses. They are also involved in budget-setting activities.

Senior budget analyst vs cost analyst salary

Senior budget analysts and cost analysts have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Senior Budget Analyst	Cost Analyst
Average salary	$69,249	$54,158
Salary range	Between $45,000 And $105,000	Between $39,000 And $73,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	New Jersey	Virginia
Best paying company	Brookhaven National Laboratory	General Motors
Best paying industry	Government	Automotive

Differences between senior budget analyst and cost analyst education

There are a few differences between a senior budget analyst and a cost analyst in terms of educational background:

	Senior Budget Analyst	Cost Analyst
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 70%	Bachelor's Degree, 74%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Senior budget analyst vs cost analyst demographics

Here are the differences between senior budget analysts' and cost analysts' demographics:

	Senior Budget Analyst	Cost Analyst
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 52.7% Female, 47.3%	Male, 54.2% Female, 45.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 12.9% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 15.3% Asian, 8.5% White, 57.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%	Black or African American, 10.1% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 16.1% Asian, 8.6% White, 59.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%
LGBT Percentage	13%	13%

Differences between senior budget analyst and cost analyst duties and responsibilities

Senior budget analyst example responsibilities.

Manage regional incentive budgets including A/P, A/R, and document control for all on-site programs.
Manage and implement process improvement projects for payroll and other administrative services.
Prepare Medicaid and Medicare cost reports.
Upload DTS funds into GFEBS to ensure execution of allot funds.
Work extensively pushing and pulling funds in the GFEBS accounting systems.
Research, compile, and summarize data concerning propose POM budget submission to DoD.

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Cost analyst example responsibilities.

Manage general ledger expense accounts assign to ERP implementation project.
Develop, maintain financial models/applications (VBA Excel/Access) to automate and streamline business processes and perform financial analysis.
Perform cost control, revenue analysis and variance analysis for several DOD contracts.
Identify parts that need to be realign to correct WBS s in order to bring costs inline.
Ensure that purchase orders and work orders are setup in accordance with establish DuPont procedures and appropriate WBS structures.
Perform fixed asset and manufacturing accounting within ERP system.

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Senior budget analyst vs cost analyst skills

Common senior budget analyst skills

Financial Management, 8%
PowerPoint, 7%
Financial Analysis, 6%
Budget Analysis, 6%
Financial Data, 5%
Financial Systems, 4%

Common cost analyst skills

Cost Analysis, 8%
Financial Analysis, 6%
Cost Estimates, 6%
Data Analysis, 4%
DOD, 4%
Variance Analysis, 4%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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