Median pay for budget analysts runs from $50,260 in San Juan-Bayamon-Caguas to $134,850 in Iowa City — a 2.68× range across 196 metropolitan areas. The national median of $91,640 sits inside that range but describes no particular market.
Ten per cent of budget analysts earn below $62,250 and ten per cent above $136,660 — a 2.2× band. The upside from median to 90th percentile is 49%, which is a normal amount of room for experience and specialisation to matter. An offer below the 25th percentile is worth questioning; one above the 75th is worth taking seriously.
Iowa City (IA) leads and San Juan-Bayamon-Caguas (PR) trails, but the gap is modest. For a role like this the more useful comparison is not between cities but between the 10th and 90th percentile within one — see the band above.
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iowa City IA | $134,850 | $64.83 | 1.44 | 40 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara CA | $131,730 | $63.33 | 0.98 | 340 |
| Ann Arbor MI | $127,860 | $61.47 | 1.42 | 90 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria DC-VA-MD-WV | $125,050 | $60.12 | 4.31 | 4,100 |
| Northeast Virginia nonmetropolitan area | $122,510 | $58.90 | 2.17 | 40 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont CA | $117,360 | $56.43 | 1.05 | 760 |
| Huntsville AL | $113,400 | $54.52 | 6.47 | 520 |
| Santa Maria-Santa Barbara CA | $110,470 | $53.11 | 1.29 | 80 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad CA | $107,010 | $51.45 | 0.62 | 290 |
| Gainesville GA | $106,610 | $51.26 | 1.74 | 50 |
| Lexington Park MD | $106,280 | $51.09 | 2.99 | 60 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue WA | $104,090 | $50.04 | 1.45 | 910 |
| Salinas CA | $103,970 | $49.99 | 0.92 | 50 |
| Greeley CO | $103,720 | $49.87 | 0.97 | 40 |
| Boulder CO | $102,760 | $49.40 | 1.48 | 90 |
| Modesto CA | $102,480 | $49.27 | 0.64 | 40 |
| Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury CT | $102,260 | $49.16 | 0.94 | 110 |
| Detroit-Warren-Dearborn MI | $102,080 | $49.08 | 0.91 | 530 |
| Alaska nonmetropolitan area | $102,060 | $49.07 | 2.07 | 70 |
| Davenport-Moline-Rock Island IA-IL | $102,020 | $49.05 | 1.32 | 70 |
| New Haven CT | $101,500 | $48.80 | 0.85 | 70 |
| Fayetteville NC | $101,360 | $48.73 | 5.21 | 210 |
| Denver-Aurora-Centennial CO | $100,720 | $48.42 | 1.52 | 740 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell GA | $99,880 | $48.02 | 1.34 | 1,170 |
| Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater FL | $99,370 | $47.77 | 1.13 | 500 |
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Juan-Bayamon-Caguas PR | $50,260 | $24.17 | 1.5 | 310 |
| Wilmington NC | $59,050 | $28.39 | 1.57 | 90 |
| Upper East Mississippi nonmetropolitan area | $59,480 | $28.60 | 0.57 | 40 |
| Southeast Oklahoma nonmetropolitan area | $60,250 | $28.97 | 0.55 | 30 |
| Kalamazoo-Portage MI | $60,570 | $29.12 | 1.08 | 40 |
| Waco TX | $60,840 | $29.25 | 1.31 | 50 |
| Athens-Clarke County GA | $61,300 | $29.47 | 1.71 | 50 |
| Missoula MT | $62,500 | $30.05 | 3.48 | 70 |
| Montgomery AL | $65,170 | $31.33 | 2.22 | 110 |
| McAllen-Edinburg-Mission TX | $65,480 | $31.48 | 0.38 | 30 |
Helena has 11.46× the national concentration of budget analysts — the densest market in the country for this role, with 150 employed locally. Pay there is $79,700, which does not put it near the top of the pay table. Concentration and compensation are different things — a dense market is easier to get hired in and easier to move around within, but the competition that makes it dense also caps what employers need to offer.
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Helena MT | $79,700 | $38.32 | 11.46 | 150 |
| Corvallis OR | $79,910 | $38.42 | 8.72 | 100 |
| Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater WA | $91,060 | $43.78 | 7.23 | 290 |
| Huntsville AL | $113,400 | $54.52 | 6.47 | 520 |
| Carson City NV | $93,560 | $44.98 | 6.4 | 60 |
| Salem OR | $98,110 | $47.17 | 6.34 | 360 |
| Fayetteville NC | $101,360 | $48.73 | 5.21 | 210 |
| Elizabethtown KY | $91,560 | $44.02 | 5.18 | 80 |
| Amherst Town-Northampton MA | $81,100 | $38.99 | 5.12 | 100 |
| Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin FL | $83,780 | $40.28 | 4.99 | 190 |
| Albany-Schenectady-Troy NY | $81,350 | $39.11 | 4.76 | 650 |
| Dover DE | $79,790 | $38.36 | 4.55 | 90 |
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria DC-VA-MD-WV | $125,050 | $60.12 | 4.31 | 4,100 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City NY-NJ | $96,340 | $46.32 | 0.68 | 1,950 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell GA | $99,880 | $48.02 | 1.34 | 1,170 |
| Baltimore-Columbia-Towson MD | $96,150 | $46.23 | 2.8 | 1,150 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim CA | $96,870 | $46.57 | 0.56 | 1,070 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton MA-NH | $98,330 | $47.27 | 1.13 | 930 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue WA | $104,090 | $50.04 | 1.45 | 910 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington TX | $82,790 | $39.80 | 0.66 | 810 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont CA | $117,360 | $56.43 | 1.05 | 760 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach FL | $86,610 | $41.64 | 0.88 | 760 |
| Denver-Aurora-Centennial CO | $100,720 | $48.42 | 1.52 | 740 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington PA-NJ-DE-MD | $93,600 | $45.00 | 0.79 | 700 |
Figures come from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics programme, May 2025 release, SOC code 13-2031. OEWS surveys employers, so it reports what is actually paid rather than what job advertisements claim, and it excludes the self-employed. Estimates are published for 196 of 528 metropolitan areas; the remaining 332 had too few survey responses for BLS to publish without risking disclosure, so they are absent here rather than estimated. For a specialised role that is normal. Read the methodology.