CDCareer Decision

Political Scientists Salary in DC

In the 2025 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS dataset, Political Scientists in DC have a median annual salary of $152,530, with 3,070 recorded jobs in this area. Recorded earnings range from $114,920 at the 10th percentile to $195,190 at the 90th percentile.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS · Data year: 2025 · Last updated: 2026-09-22

Salary overview

Median annual salary

$152,530

Data year: 2025

Hourly median

$73.33

Employment

3,070

Source

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS

Salary distribution

$114,920
10th
$128,610
25th
$152,530
Median
$180,480
75th
$195,190
90th

Local compared with national

DC

$152,530

Median annual · 2025

United States

$142,080

Median annual · 2025

The DC median is 7.4% above the national median in the available dataset (a difference of $10,450).

Top skills

  1. 1.Reading ComprehensionImportance 4.3
  2. 2.Active ListeningImportance 4.1
  3. 3.SpeakingImportance 4.1
  4. 4.Active LearningImportance 4.1
  5. 5.WritingImportance 4.0
  6. 6.Critical ThinkingImportance 4.0
  7. 7.Social PerceptivenessImportance 3.8
  8. 8.Complex Problem SolvingImportance 3.6
  9. 9.Judgment and Decision MakingImportance 3.6
  10. 10.Learning StrategiesImportance 3.5
  11. 11.InstructingImportance 3.5
  12. 12.Systems EvaluationImportance 3.1

Career information

Education and experience

Typical education
Doctoral Degree
Experience
Over 6 months, up to and including 1 year
Job zone
5

Technology used

  • Adobe Acrobat
  • Bare Bones Software BBEdit
  • CQ Press Political Reference Suite
  • Data visualization software
  • DataMystic TextPipe Pro
  • EBSCO Publishing Academic Search Premier
  • EBSCO Publishing Political Science Complete
  • Email software
  • Europa World Plus
  • FedStats
  • Gale Expanded Academic ASAP PLUS
  • IBM SPSS Statistics
  • IDM Computer Solutions UltraEdit
  • Interuniversity Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) database
  • JSTOR database

Common tasks

  • Teach political science.
  • Maintain current knowledge of government policy decisions.
  • Develop and test theories, using information from interviews, newspapers, periodicals, case law, historical papers, polls, or statistical sources.
  • Disseminate research results through academic publications, written reports, or public presentations.
  • Advise political science students.
  • Collect, analyze, and interpret data, such as election results and public opinion surveys, reporting on findings, recommendations, and conclusions.
  • Interpret and analyze policies, public issues, legislation, or the operations of governments, businesses, and organizations.
  • Identify issues for research and analysis.
  • Serve on committees.
  • Forecast political, economic, and social trends.

Related careers

Occupations recorded as related in the dataset. A relationship does not imply a guaranteed transition.

Political Scientists salary in other locations

Other occupations in DC