DOL Filings vs BLS Survey
What Employers File with DOL
This figure comes from 3,083 employer filings with the US Department of Labor under legal obligation. Employers file this salary when sponsoring workers for PERM green cards or H-1B visas.
What BLS Says the Market Pays
This figure comes from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey of 32,940 establishments. This is an independent survey-based estimate of what all workers in this occupation earn.
Salary Distribution
Top Paying Employers for Social Science Research Assistants
Ranked by median salary from DOL filingsView all companies hiring Social Science Research Assistants
Salary by Metro Area
| Metro Area | Median | vs National | Filings | Employers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burlingame, CA | $65,000 | +35.4% | 146 | 2 |
| Waltham, MA | $61,471 | +28.1% | 14 | 6 |
| New York, NE | $60,000 | +25% | 49 | 30 |
| Rockville, MD | $60,000 | +25% | 17 | 7 |
| Stanford, CA | $57,000 | +18.8% | 26 | 4 |
| Washington, D.C., DC | $56,007 | +16.7% | 12 | 3 |
| College Park, MD | $53,560 | +11.6% | 11 | 2 |
| Los Angeles, CA | $52,000 | +8.3% | 23 | 13 |
| San Diego, CA | $51,438 | +7.2% | 13 | 8 |
| Ann Arbor, MI | $50,985 | +6.2% | 29 | 3 |
| Reston, VA | $50,000 | +4.2% | 33 | 2 |
| Cambridge, MA | $50,000 | +4.2% | 55 | 10 |
| San Francisco, CA | $50,000 | +4.2% | 19 | 14 |
| Seattle, WA | $48,708 | +1.5% | 10 | 8 |
| Chicago, IL | $48,000 | 0% | 67 | 18 |
| Boston, MA | $47,871 | -0.3% | 54 | 25 |
| Baltimore, MD | $47,372 | -1.3% | 92 | 11 |
| Bethesda, MD | $47,320 | -1.4% | 19 | 9 |
| Arlington, VA | $46,500 | -3.1% | 32 | 20 |
| Princeton, NJ | $45,900 | -4.4% | 33 | 7 |
| DALLAS, TX | $45,639 | -4.9% | 10 | 5 |
| Washington, DC | $45,614 | -5% | 421 | 179 |
| Somerset, NJ | $45,000 | -6.3% | 10 | 1 |
| New York, NY | $45,000 | -6.3% | 215 | 104 |
| Houston, TX | $44,949 | -6.4% | 17 | 7 |
| New Haven, CT | $43,645 | -9.1% | 18 | 7 |
| Salt Lake City, UT | $43,096 | -10.2% | 12 | 3 |
| Miami, FL | $43,000 | -10.4% | 11 | 6 |
| Pittsburgh, PA | $41,000 | -14.6% | 22 | 6 |
| Nashville, TN | $40,352 | -15.9% | 16 | 5 |
Salary by State
| State | Median | vs National | Filings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska | $58,947 | N/A | 1 |
| Nebraska | $58,000 | +11.8% | 67 |
| Kansas | $57,529 | -10.2% | 1 |
| Maine | $56,692 | +18.3% | 3 |
| Idaho | $55,224 | +7.2% | 1 |
| California | $55,000 | +12.9% | 314 |
| North Carolina | $51,135 | -12.5% | 16 |
| Wisconsin | $50,658 | +6.9% | 6 |
| Michigan | $50,429 | -2.7% | 47 |
| Oregon | $50,346 | -12.9% | 8 |
| Hawaii | $50,240 | N/A | 2 |
| Indiana | $50,000 | -0.3% | 6 |
| Massachusetts | $50,000 | -16.8% | 182 |
| Louisiana | $50,000 | -5.3% | 9 |
| Delaware | $48,679 | N/A | 2 |
| Illinois | $48,000 | -12.3% | 86 |
| Colorado | $47,606 | -1.6% | 16 |
| Maryland | $47,476 | -23.2% | 153 |
| Washington | $46,008 | -7.8% | 14 |
| District of Columbia | $46,000 | -27.7% | 442 |
| New Jersey | $45,000 | -20.1% | 59 |
| Virginia | $45,000 | -10.3% | 135 |
| New York | $45,000 | -25.1% | 269 |
| Arizona | $44,824 | -24.2% | 9 |
| Missouri | $44,087 | -14.4% | 10 |
| Utah | $42,500 | N/A | 13 |
| Minnesota | $41,309 | -11.4% | 8 |
| Pennsylvania | $41,300 | -24.8% | 42 |
| Connecticut | $40,841 | -18.3% | 28 |
| Georgia | $40,038 | -37.2% | 29 |
| Ohio | $40,000 | -43.4% | 34 |
| Texas | $40,000 | -27.8% | 59 |
| Florida | $40,000 | -28.6% | 47 |
| Rhode Island | $40,000 | -17.9% | 5 |
| Arkansas | $39,631 | N/A | 17 |
| New Hampshire | $39,264 | -25.4% | 5 |
| Alabama | $39,105 | N/A | 4 |
| Tennessee | $38,480 | +1.6% | 22 |
| Mississippi | $37,440 | N/A | 5 |
| South Carolina | $36,452 | -45.6% | 4 |
| Iowa | $35,000 | +12.4% | 11 |
| New Mexico | $35,000 | -21.2% | 5 |
| Oklahoma | $31,832 | -44% | 2 |
| Kentucky | $30,961 | -50.7% | 2 |
Salary Trend - DOL Data
Education Requirements
From PERM filingsFor Social Science Research Assistants positions, 20% of PERM filings required a Bachelor's degree, 70% required a Master's degree, and 2% required no formal degree.
Education by Top Employer
Most common minimum education from PERM filings| Employer | Most Common Education | Median Salary |
|---|---|---|
| The SPHERE Institute | Not specified | $55,000 |
| Johns Hopkins University | Not specified | $47,376 |
| National Bureau of Economic Research | Not specified | $50,000 |
| Kroll, LLC | Bachelor's | $55,000 |
| Acumen LLC | Master's | $75,000 |
| New York University | Not specified | $47,476 |
| University of Michigan | Master's | $50,985 |
| The Trustees of Princeton University | Not specified | $44,000 |
| Emory University | Not specified | $40,000 |
| The Brookings Institution | Not specified | $43,000 |
Salary by Industry
Same occupation, different industries (NAICS)The highest-paying industry for Social Science Research Assistants is Information (Technology) at $64,355. The lowest-paying industry with significant hiring is Health Care and Social Assistance at $45,757.
Frequently Asked Questions
Based on 3,083 DOL filings, the median salary for a Social Science Research Assistants is $48,000, ranging from $40,000 to $56,000.
The 90th percentile salary is $100,620 according to BLS data.
Based on DOL filings, Burlingame, CA offers the highest median at $65,000.
DOL filing data covers positions where the employer filed for PERM green card sponsorship or an H-1B visa. These filings represent a subset of all Social Science Research Assistants positions. We compare this data against BLS OEWS data which covers all workers in this occupation.
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