Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
Job outlook for statistical consultants in the United States
Are statistical consultant jobs in demand?
Statistical consultant job and salary trends over time
Statistical consultant jobs over time
Statistical consultant job growth rate over time
| Year | # of jobs | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 3,202 | 0.00% |
| 2020 | 3,966 | 0.00% |
| 2019 | 3,990 | 0.00% |
| 2018 | 4,075 | 0.00% |
| 2017 | 3,730 | 0.00% |
Average statistical consultant salary over time
Statistical consultant salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | $90,428 | $43.47 | +1.2% |
| 2025 | $89,340 | $42.95 | +3.9% |
| 2024 | $86,027 | $41.36 | +4.4% |
| 2023 | $82,382 | $39.61 | +4.4% |
| 2022 | $78,893 | $37.93 | +0.5% |
Statistical consultant jobs by state
Most common states for statistical consultants
| Rank | State | Population | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | District of Columbia | 693,972 | 144 | 21% |
| 2 | South Dakota | 869,666 | 151 | 17% |
| 3 | New Mexico | 2,088,070 | 305 | 15% |
| 4 | Maine | 1,335,907 | 188 | 14% |
| 5 | West Virginia | 1,815,857 | 245 | 13% |
| 6 | South Carolina | 5,024,369 | 579 | 12% |
| 7 | Alabama | 4,874,747 | 553 | 11% |
| 8 | Oklahoma | 3,930,864 | 375 | 10% |
| 9 | Mississippi | 2,984,100 | 240 | 8% |
| 10 | Vermont | 623,657 | 42 | 7% |
| 11 | Massachusetts | 6,859,819 | 373 | 5% |
| 12 | Rhode Island | 1,059,639 | 54 | 5% |
| 13 | California | 39,536,653 | 1,438 | 4% |
| 14 | Illinois | 12,802,023 | 489 | 4% |
| 15 | Connecticut | 3,588,184 | 152 | 4% |
| 16 | Oregon | 4,142,776 | 151 | 4% |
| 17 | Utah | 3,101,833 | 138 | 4% |
| 18 | New Hampshire | 1,342,795 | 47 | 4% |
| 19 | Delaware | 961,939 | 42 | 4% |
| 20 | Montana | 1,050,493 | 42 | 4% |
Most common cities for statistical consultants
| Rank | City | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl | Avg. salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tallahassee | 1 | 1% | $72,061 |
Statistical Consultant job outlook: Expert opinions
Our panel of statistical consultant experts
San Francisco State University
Bowling Green State University
Georgetown University
Butler University
University of Northern Colorado
University of Florida
University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Villanova University
Lehigh University
Baylor University
Temple University
American University
University of Texas at El Paso
Dominican College
Andrews University
Radford University
University of Houston - Clear Lake
Brigham Young University -- Hawaii
Humboldt State University
Dartmouth College
What general advice would you give to a Statistical Consultant?
Luella Fu: Statistics is an amazing profession to enter now because the amount of data being collected and stored is always increasing. This makes Statistics a high-demand skill not just now but also in the future. The data is also of a huge variety: sports, medical, environmental, and business being just a few kinds. This means that a Statistician can use Statistics as a tool to explore almost field they want. It’s an incredibly versatile profession. You can also get an industry after a Bachelors, Master’s or PhD, so there is also flexibility in how much training you choose to undergo.
What Statistical Consultant skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Luella Fu: I think Statisticians enjoy the quantitative reasoning aspect of their jobs, whether it’s designing the data collection, visualizing data, or creating insights from it. It’s also a pretty stable job with good pay. What Statisticians probably don’t like is the amount of time they spend in front of a computer to do their data analyses. It can create eye strain. Also, data cleaning can be full of unexpected challenges that take much longer to solve than one expects.
John Chen
Professor of StatisticsBowling Green State University
Biomathematics, Bioinformatics, And Computational Biology
What general advice would you give to a Statistical Consultant?
John Chen: It depends on different companies, biostatisticians work on multiple comparisons such as dose-response analysis in pharmaceutical companies; protocol analyses in government agencies such as NIH or FDA, etc.
What Statistical Consultant skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
John Chen: Because it is grounded on solid theoretical methods in statistics, such as hypothesis testing, estimation, and prediction.
What will help Statistical Consultants increase their earning potential?
John Chen: People enjoy working as a biostatistician because it ties statistical knowledge and medical applications that directly benefit human beings, also because it is usually a relatively high paid profession. I am not aware of anyone who dislikes being a biostatistician.
Ao Yuan
ProfessorGeorgetown University
Biomathematics, Bioinformatics, And Computational Biology
What general advice would you give to a Statistical Consultant?
Ao Yuan: For a career in Biostatistics, getting a position in a pharmaceutical company/industry will have a higher salary than working in an academic institution. If you can get a higher management position, your salary can be maximized.
What Statistical Consultant skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Ao Yuan: New methods in theory and computation for innovative projects in big data, real world data, and machine learning will be important in the next 3-5 years and more.
What will help Statistical Consultants increase their earning potential?
Ao Yuan: Before their thesis starts, I'll give the student(s) some papers in the field to read, to make them familiar with the topics and methods in the field. Then ask them to think about and discuss with me a possible proposal to work with.
Dr. Lee Farquhar
Associate ProfessorButler University
Radio, Television, And Digital Communication
What general advice would you give to a Statistical Consultant?
Dr. Lee Farquhar: Storytelling is still at the heart of the industry. Start with good reporting and writing. From there, broaden your technical skills so that your stories can connect with audiences in a variety of platforms. A certain fluidity is necessary for the modern and future reporter, crossing from one medium to another seamlessly. The reporter must be resolute in their reporting and nimble in their delivery to the audience.
What will help Statistical Consultants increase their earning potential?
Dr. Lee Farquhar: Focus on the work itself and your engagement with the audience. Bring unique skills and a work ethic that set you apart and make you indispensable.
Khalil Shafie
Dr.University of Northern Colorado
Mathematics And Statistics
What Statistical Consultant skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Khalil Shafie: To maximize salary potential, consider gaining expertise in specialized areas within Statistics, and creating a strong portfolio of practical projects. Networking, and negotiating effectively during job offers, and staying updated on can also help to salary growth.
What will help Statistical Consultants increase their earning potential?
Khalil Shafie: For a graduate beginning their career in Statistics, I'd advise focusing on building a strong foundation in both theoretical and practical aspects of statistics and seeking opportunities for hands-on experiences
Rhonda Bacher PhD
Assistant ProfessorUniversity of Florida
Biomathematics, Bioinformatics, And Computational Biology
What general advice would you give to a Statistical Consultant?
Rhonda Bacher PhD: When starting your career as a Biostatistician, there are a several ways to maximize your salary potential. Having a Master's level degree or higher boosts your base pay, though the time and cost of those degrees is a major consideration. There are some remote Master's degree programs designed with flexibility for working professionals, we offer one in Biostatistics at the University of Florida that is equivalent to our campus program.
Additional computational skills and data analysis experience should not be overlooked as ways to increase your value to potential employers. Highlight your interdisciplinary collaborative projects or work experience to demonstrate your communication and interpersonal skills, which are both highly valued professionally for biostatisticians.
What Statistical Consultant skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Rhonda Bacher PhD: In terms of biostatistical skills, techniques for analyzing longitudinal biomedical data are increasingly relevant. Artificial intelligence models are likely to be helpful for programming across languages and tools (e.g. R, Python, TensorFlow), and the next generation of biostatisticians will be in a great position to leverage AI tools to their full potential. On the other side of that, understanding and contributing to AI tool development is an area that biostatisticians can play important roles, especially in the fields of bioinformatics and genomics.
What will help Statistical Consultants increase their earning potential?
Rhonda Bacher PhD: Often biostatisticians are in roles where they work more independently and, especially when starting out, not having colleagues nearby to consult with on statistical matters can be challenging. Getting involved or staying connected through professional associations like the American Statistical Association through its professional sections or state chapters is a great way to maintain and even grow your network of colleagues.
Also, biostatistics is an evolving and expanding field, so foundational skills are essential, but be flexible to learning and adapting to new technologies or methods. The real value of a biostatistician's skills is critical thinking and being able to identify, implement, and interpret appropriate analytical solutions.
Bertrand Clarke Ph.D.
Professor and ChairUniversity of Nebraska - Lincoln
Department Of Statistics
What soft skills should all Statistical Consultants possess?
Bertrand Clarke Ph.D.: Ability to communicate results to the people who want the answers. Ability to outline the method you used and why you used it. Ability to work in a group that has diverse backgrounds. Less tangible, the sixth sense stats people have for how far to push an analysis, e.g., not overuse the data, not make assumptions you can't justify.
What hard/technical skills are most important for Statistical Consultants?
Bertrand Clarke Ph.D.: Linear models and their follow-on techniques -- generalized linear models, mixed models. Familiarity with nonlinear methods, including classification. Basic nonparametric techniques like PCA, clustering, etc.
Expertise in programming in various languages (R, Python, SAS, etc.)
Expertise in working with various data structures and software.
There are specialized areas as well -- time series, spatial statistics, etc. But they often rely on the methods in the first paragraph.
What skills will help Statistical Consultants earn the most?
Bertrand Clarke Ph.D.: Statistical modeling -- especially predictive modeling these days --and statistical computing to implement advanced methods.
Paul Bernhardt
Associate Professor of Statistics, Director of the Applied Statistics Graduate ProgramVillanova University
Department of Mathematics and Statistics
What skills stand out on Statistical Consultant resumes?
Paul Bernhardt: A famous statistician, John Tukey, once said that "the best thing about being a statistician is that you get to play in everyone's backyard." This quote summarizes life as a practicing statistician: you help scientists, businesses, or the government better understand their study subjects, their market, or their interests by carefully analyzing their data and making appropriate inferences. Thus, for statisticians, versatility is key. This can be demonstrated through work or internship experiences, examples of projects completed, a variety of classes taken in school, and strong programming abilities. The better that a statistician is able to portray on a resume that they know how to handle data and work with individuals who need data advice or analysis, the better their resume will look.
What soft skills should all Statistical Consultants possess?
Paul Bernhardt: Statisticians generally have to work with a variety of people from a variety of fields. Thus statisticians have to be eager to learn and ask questions. It is common for a client or a scientist consulting with a statistician for the first time to think that they know what they want, but it is the job of the statistician to ask questions to make sure not only that they understand the data and the data-related issues, but that the analyses goals are feasible. In most statistics jobs, working with others, often as a team, is essential. This requires solid communication skills, both in conveying thoughts on the best procedure as well as in explaining technical results to individuals not familiar with statistical jargon.
What skills will help Statistical Consultants earn the most?
Paul Bernhardt: Experience and willingness to grow and learn more. Because statistics is needed by so many different fields and involves so many different methods, procedures, and skills, time is needed to build up the knowledge that helps an individual acquire a top-earning job as a manager or other team leader. This can often be done within a large company, such as in pharmaceuticals, but it can also be done by moving to new jobs. In many cases, only a few years of experience are needed to move to higher-level positions. For individuals with a Master's degree or Ph.D., earning more often happens much sooner.
Bottom line: If a statistician has the experience, strong communication skills, and is good with a variety of software programs and with database management, they will likely be able to earn a good living with relatively reasonable working hours. For this reason, "statistician"/"data scientist" consistently ranks as one of the top jobs among a variety of rankings. For example, the last six years running, it has been listed in the top three jobs to have by Glassdoor.com
What soft skills should all Statistical Consultants possess?
Wei-Min Huang: Problem-Solving Skills, Creativity, Communication skills, Ability to communicate findings to non-statisticians.
What hard/technical skills are most important for Statistical Consultants?
Wei-Min Huang: Strong mathematical and logical insight, Analytical and formulation skills, Wide-ranging computer skills, Knowing the difference between model-based and data-driven approaches.
Michael Gallaugher Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Elected Director of The Classification SocietyBaylor University
Department of Statistical Science
What skills stand out on Statistical Consultant resumes?
Michael Gallaugher Ph.D.: Like with the hard/technical skills, I think coding ability stands out most on a statistician's resume. As data today is getting more complex, computational experience is needed regardless of whether or not the applicant is going into academia or industry. In addition, past interdisciplinary work would stand out as well.
What soft skills should all Statistical Consultants possess?
Michael Gallaugher Ph.D.: From the beginning, statistics have been very interdisciplinary and have become even more so in recent years. With that comes working with people with various backgrounds, including those who have only a very basic understanding of mathematics and statistics. Therefore, a statistician needs to reduce the mathematical and computational jargon to simple language.
What hard/technical skills are most important for Statistical Consultants?
Michael Gallaugher Ph.D.: With the types of data being analyzed today, computational and coding skills are key. Anyone entering the statistics field, regardless of going into academia or industry, should be comfortable coding in at least one statistical computing language such as R, python, or more recently, Julia. In addition, and this is probably obvious, strong mathematical skills are also very important.
What type of skills will young Statistical Consultants need?
Dr. Pallavi Chitturi Ph.D.: In addition to a strong foundation in statistical methodology and applied statistics, graduates should also gain exposure to programming and modern languages such as R and SAS. Effective written and oral communication skills are also essential to success in the workforce.
What experience really stands out on Statistical Consultant resumes?
Dr. Pallavi Chitturi Ph.D.: Experiences outside the classroom, such as research projects, case competitions, and leadership experience really stand out on resumes. I urge students to participate in case competitions and data challenges and take a leadership role in student professional organizations. In the Statistical Science & Data Analytics (SSDA) major at the Fox School, students apply theoretical knowledge to a real project involving industry data in their Capstone course. Students engage in the entire process of solving a real-world data science project: from clarifying objectives, collecting and processing data, to applying suitable and appropriate analytic methods to the problem.
What certifications/licenses/courses can have the biggest impact for Statistical Consultants?
Mary Gray Ph.D.: Data science is a key term, but it can mean so many things. Depending on the employer particular courses will be valuable - lots of statistics, computer science are always good. Engineering, finance for some fields. Spanish, Chinese, French, German, Arabic can be a plus.
What soft skills should all Statistical Consultants possess?
Mary Gray Ph.D.: Experience working on independent projects or in small groups where cooperation and collaboration are important, especially if there is a recognizable work product.
Dr. Amy Wagler Ph.D.
Associate Chair and Associate ProfessorUniversity of Texas at El Paso
Departament of Mathematical Sciences
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Statistical Consultants?
Dr. Amy Wagler Ph.D.: There will be an impact without a doubt. Back in March, we had to quickly change course for mentoring and teaching our students in statistics and data science. Valuable learning experiences were lost and one-on-one interaction with students was lacking. By the fall, we had more time to plan but still had all instruction online. We are trying to recreate the impactful teaching practices in an online setting, and we are getting better at it now. However, the learning curve is steep.
What type of skills will young Statistical Consultants need?
Dr. Amy Wagler Ph.D.: They clearly need to be experts in statistical modeling, statistical programming, and communicating statistical results to broad audiences. However, we also train our students to develop interdisciplinary and collaborative research skills, as well as presentation and oral communication skills. These are also very important. A good applied statistician/data scientist should possess all of these skills and work on nurturing them on a regular basis.
What experience really stands out on Statistical Consultant resumes?
Dr. Amy Wagler Ph.D.: Working on applied interdisciplinary projects is a skill that demonstrates mastery of statistical methods and knowledge, but also demonstrates experience working with professionals with domain expertise.
Dr. AnnMarie DelliPizzi Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Biology, Coordinator of the Health Sciences Program, Honors Program DirectorDominican College
Math and Science Department
What skills stand out on Statistical Consultant resumes?
Dr. AnnMarie DelliPizzi Ph.D.: Certainly the more hands-on skills a student has in the lab, the better the chance of securing a laboratory position. If the opportunity is available, I encourage all students to participate in a research project. Research supplements skills and techniques developed through lab-based coursework. In addition, research trains students to design innovative projects, develop analytical skills, think critically and troubleshoot problems. Consistent with many other jobs, employers look for individuals who are motivated, can demonstrate teamwork, and have strong interpersonal skills, including verbal and written communication.
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Statistical Consultants to find work opportunities?
Dr. AnnMarie DelliPizzi Ph.D.: Students interested in pursuing careers in the pharmaceutical or biotechnology industries should focus on large metropolitan areas, such as Boston, New York/New Jersey, Baltimore/DC, San Francisco Bay area, Raleigh/Durham, and Chicago. Jobs for clinical lab technologists can be found throughout the country, but may be more readily available in areas with large hospitals or medical centers.
Anthony Bosman Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of MathematicsAndrews University
Mathematics Department
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Statistical Consultant job market given the pandemic?
Anthony Bosman Ph.D.: The pandemic has accelerated the disruption that was already occurring in nearly every industry. As such, companies are reimagining the nature of work, re-writing job descriptions and becoming more accommodating of remote work.
What skills stand out on Statistical Consultant resumes?
Anthony Bosman Ph.D.: Employers are looking for a combination of proficiency in technical skills as well as those distinctly human literacies sometimes referred to as "soft skills". Applicants should signal that they have the resilience and adaptability to thrive under changing conditions, able to quickly adopt new technologies and acquire needed skills as their changing job descriptions require it.
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Statistical Consultants to find work opportunities?
Anthony Bosman Ph.D.: The increasingly decentralized office and remote-friendly nature of many jobs, particularly in the knowledge sector, should open up more opportunities for graduates to compete for jobs across the country and beyond. Applicants, therefore, shouldn't restrict their search to a narrow, local region.
Dr. Miodrag Lovric Ph.D.
Assistant ProfessorRadford University
Mathematics and Statistics Department
What skills stand out on Statistical Consultant resumes?
Dr. Miodrag Lovric Ph.D.: According to the book written by Denning and Brown, "A new culture of learning", the half-life of an acquired skill is 5 years. This implies that much of what you learned 10 years ago is obsolete and half of what you learned 5 years ago is almost irrelevant.
Many companies are using an immense suite of collaboration tools such as Zoom, Slack, Google Hangouts and Chat, Microsoft teams, virtual whiteboards, and similar gears to assist remote teams.
The following soft (interpersonal) skills will be in demand during and after the pandemic: creativity, collaboration, adaptability, negotiating, and emotional intelligence. On the flip side, top in-demand hard skills include digital skills related to remote working, cybersecurity, analytic reasoning and data analysis, and artificial intelligence.
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Statistical Consultants to find work opportunities?
Dr. Miodrag Lovric Ph.D.: According to the Handshake web site, "Where are College Students Going After they Graduate?", based on their analysis of more than 13 million job applications, the most popular city in each region of the U.S. was local to that region, every region retained more than 50 percent of graduates, and NYC was the single most popular city for job seekers. However, due to the corona pandemic, I believe that in the most foreseeable future some other cities will become much more attractive. From my personal, international, perspective (I have been living in eight countries) the best places for new college graduates to start a life are those that enable optimal balance among factors such as affordability, real estate values, crime rates, and culture.
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Statistical Consultant job market given the pandemic?
Yingfu (Frank) Li Ph.D.: For graduates in statistics, one might have to work from home, even after the pandemic.
What skills stand out on Statistical Consultant resumes?
Yingfu (Frank) Li Ph.D.: Statistical computing and communication skills
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Statistical Consultants to find work opportunities?
Yingfu (Frank) Li Ph.D.: Statistical methods are widely used in almost all fields. Any place could be a good place for someone. However, if one plans to work in pharmaceutical companies and related types, then good places will be on the east and west coasts. If one plans to work in insurance companies, then any place with a cluster of insurance companies will be good choice.
Susan Barton
Professor of MathematicsBrigham Young University -- Hawaii
Faculty of Math and Computing
What general advice would you give to a Statistical Consultant?
Susan Barton: Be willing to put all the effort you can into your job. Employers want people who are willing to work diligently and willing to continue to learn new things throughout their careers. However, you need to find a good balance between family and work.
How would you rate the starting salaries for Statistical Consultants, as well as the prospects for salary advancement?
Susan Barton: With a bachelor's degree in Mathematics or Applied Mathematics, the starting salary and various types of career prospects are very good.
With more advanced degrees in mathematics, the starting salary is even better. In the 2019 USA Today/Wall 24/7 report for top careers, for both salary and job satisfaction, six of the top 10 are closely related to mathematics and applied mathematics (#2 Mathematician, #3 University Professor, #5 Statistician, #7 Data Scientist, #9 Operations Research Analyst --uses math to help companies solve problems and operate more efficiently, and #10 Actuary). Each of these careers has a predicted growth rate that exceeds 22% through 2026.
Source: link
Once hired, salary increases and advances in one's career have a lot to do with demonstrating ability, talent, dependability, successfully taking on new assignments, and fitting a need within the company. You need to show you are a valuable asset to your employer throughout your career.
David Marshall
Lecturer and Research AssociateHumboldt State University
Department of Mathematics
What type of skills will young Statistical Consultants need?
David Marshall: Students often use me as a reference, and the most often asked question I get from an employer in a reference call is, "How does this person work in groups?" Working in teams is important and a skill you can develop. If you have not yet graduated, learn to work well with others. If you are a high performer, learn to help others be better. This is important for everyone, learn to contribute, and how to effectively communicate. Lately, I would also suggest that you learn a group or team productivity software. I'm not going to talk about specific "groupware," just that you need to put some time into learning the functions of the productivity software you are currently using. Be able to talk about how you used it to accomplish goals; employers love that.
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Statistical Consultants to find work opportunities?
David Marshall: Finding work is currently hard, but things will get better. I can't add anything other than letting many people who know you look over your application materials. Ask people you trust to suggest ways to say what you are saying in a clear and uncomplicated way. And as a faculty who reads hundreds of student papers, please write within your vocabulary. Nothing turns off a reader more quickly than a writer who uses a $10 word when a $2 word works just as well. I would also start reading the Economist to learn about technology investment trends.
What type of skills will young Statistical Consultants need?
Eugene Demidenko Ph.D.: Besides fundamental education, young graduates need to know how to work with real-life data. To be successful, they must possess essential skills in data analysis and computer programmings, such as R, Phyton, or Matlab. These requirements mandate revisiting current statistics education and writing new textbooks. My recent textbook "Advanced Statistics with Applications in R" fills the gap between theoretical and modern applied statistics (www.eugened.org).
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Statistical Consultants to find work opportunities?
Eugene Demidenko Ph.D.: The time when decision making entirely relies on the expertise or the boss's personal preference is gone: the industry desperately needs graduates who can support business actions by data analysis for objective and optimal actions. Therefore, there is no specific "good place" for future data analysts -- each place needs one. My students find great jobs in the financial industry, engineering, biomedicine, etc.