Statisticians
What Statisticians Do
Develop or apply mathematical or statistical theory and methods to collect, organize, interpret, and summarize numerical data to provide usable information. May specialize in fields such as biostatistics, agricultural statistics, business statistics, or economic statistics. Includes mathematical and survey statisticians.
See full salary breakdown & percentiles →
Career Outlook
National employment outlook, 2024–2034.
- Related work experience
- None
- On-the-job training
- None
- Self-employed
- 1.3%
Source: BLS Employment Projections — 2024-2034.
How Much Preparation Does This Take?
Job Zone 5 of 5Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed
- Experience
- Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience.
- Education
- Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).
- Job training
- Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training.
Source: O*NET Job Zones.
Key Knowledge Areas
Subject-matter areas this occupation draws on most, per O*NET.
- Mathematicsimportance 4.7/5
- Computers and Electronicsimportance 4.2/5
- English Languageimportance 3.9/5
- Education and Trainingimportance 2.9/5
- Administration and Managementimportance 2.8/5
- Customer and Personal Serviceimportance 2.5/5
- Biologyimportance 2.4/5
- Administrativeimportance 2.3/5
Work Environment
What the day-to-day work setting is like, per O*NET.
- E-Mail5.0/5
- Spend Time Sitting4.7/5
- Importance of Being Exact or Accurate4.5/5
- Telephone Conversations4.4/5
- Work With or Contribute to a Work Group or Team4.4/5
- Indoors, Environmentally Controlled4.3/5
Careers With Similar Skills
Occupations whose Transferable Skills profile most closely matches this one — a mathematical comparison, not observed data about people actually moving between these careers.
- Operations Research Analysts98% skill match
- Mathematicians97% skill match
- Survey Researchers97% skill match
- Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists95% skill match
- Economists95% skill match
- Atmospheric and Space Scientists94% skill match
- Industrial-Organizational Psychologists94% skill match
- Computer Science Teachers, Postsecondary93% skill match
Transferable Skills
Cross-functional skills this occupation draws on most, per O*NET — the kind that carry over to other careers.
- Complex Problem Solvingimportance 3.9/5
- Judgment and Decision Makingimportance 3.4/5
- Programmingimportance 3.0/5
- Systems Analysisimportance 3.0/5
- Systems Evaluationimportance 3.0/5
- Time Managementimportance 3.0/5
- Coordinationimportance 2.9/5
- Instructingimportance 2.9/5
Software & Technologies
Tools and software used in this occupation, per O*NET.
Hot Technologies
In-Demand Technologies
Other Software Used
- Angoss KnowledgeSEEKER
- Apache Pig
- Aptech Systems GAUSS
- Automatic Forecasting Systems Autobox
- Camfit Data Limited Microfit
- Common business oriented language COBOL
- Cytel StatXact
- DataDescription DataDesk
Work Style
Personal work characteristics that matter most for this occupation, per O*NET.
- Attention to Detail
- Intellectual Curiosity
- Dependability
- Achievement Orientation
- Integrity
- Cautiousness
- Innovation
Career Interests
This occupation’s RIASEC interest profile, per O*NET — how strongly it fits each of the six Holland interest types.
- InvestigativeHigh
- ConventionalHigh
- RealisticLow
- EnterprisingLow
- ArtisticLow
- SocialLow
This page includes information from the O*NET 30.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Where This Career Is Most Concentrated
Metro areas where statisticians make up the largest share of local employment, relative to the national average (BLS location quotient).
- 1Jefferson City, MO20.76× national avg
- 2Durham-Chapel Hill, NC9.34× national avg
- 3Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA6.58× national avg
- 4Salem, OR6.32× national avg
- 5Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV5.50× national avg
Possible Career Moves
A computed starting point, not observed job-change data — see the full list for why each one might fit.
- MathematiciansLateral Move
- Operations Research AnalystsLateral Move
- Survey ResearchersCareer Change
- ActuariesLateral Move
Related Education Programs
Schools that offer related fields of study, based on the NCES CIP-SOC crosswalk — not a guarantee that graduates enter this specific career.
Management Science
- Northwestern University (Evanston, IL)grads earn ~$180,186
- Columbia University in the City of New York (New York, NY)grads earn ~$116,859
- Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus (Atlanta, GA)grads earn ~$180,530
- University of Southern California (Los Angeles, CA)grads earn ~$158,632
- University of Chicago (Chicago, IL)
Econometrics and Quantitative Economics
- University of California-Berkeley (Berkeley, CA)grads earn ~$135,050
- University of California-Los Angeles (Los Angeles, CA)grads earn ~$95,440
- University of California-Santa Barbara (Santa Barbara, CA)grads earn ~$98,178
- University of Chicago (Chicago, IL)grads earn ~$159,578
- University of Michigan-Ann Arbor (Ann Arbor, MI)grads earn ~$110,552
Mathematics, General
- The University of Texas at Austin (Austin, TX)grads earn ~$88,434
- University of Massachusetts-Amherst (Amherst, MA)grads earn ~$83,338
- University of California-Irvine (Irvine, CA)grads earn ~$77,472
- University of Wisconsin-Madison (Madison, WI)grads earn ~$101,438
- University of California-San Diego (La Jolla, CA)grads earn ~$79,015