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The market research salary and compensation survey was conducted online from June 5 to June 23, 2017 among Quirk’s subscribers. In total we received 2,637 responses. We received 858 usable surveys from client-side researchers (corporate market research) and 1,422 usable surveys from provider-side researchers (market research company employees). An interval (margin of error) of 1.9 at the 95 percent confidence level was achieved. (Not all respondents answered all questions.)
For a complete survey results follow the link below:
Market research salaries by job title
Senior research analyst salary by:
| Industry | |||||||||||||
| Count | Base | Bonus | Div.* | Other* | Total | ||||||||
| Advertising/Public Relations | 2 | $84,000 | $0 | $1,000 | $0 | $85,000 | |||||||
| Agriculture | 1 | $113,000 | $20,000 | $0 | $1,000 | $134,000 | |||||||
| Automotive | 4 | $80,750 | $9,250 | $0 | $1,000 | $91,000 | |||||||
| Banking/Financial | 7 | $99,714 | $10,714 | $0 | $1,429 | $111,857 | |||||||
| Building Materials/Products | |||||||||||||
| Computer Hardware/Software | 2 | $54,500 | $3,500 | $1,500 | $500 | $60,000 | |||||||
| Construction/Housing | 1 | $76,000 | $0 | $5,000 | $0 | $81,000 | |||||||
| Consulting | |||||||||||||
| Consumer Goods | 5 | $107,600 | $2,600 | $1,200 | $0 | $111,400 | |||||||
| Education | 2 | $37,500 | $0 | $0 | $10,000 | $47,500 | |||||||
| Entertainment | 1 | $28,000 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $28,000 | |||||||
| Food/Beverage | 2 | $86,000 | $9,000 | $5,500 | $7,500 | $108,000 | |||||||
| Government | 3 | $74,333 | $667 | $0 | $0 | $75,000 | |||||||
| Health Care/Pharmaceuticals | 8 | $82,250 | $4,125 | $1,375 | $250 | $88,000 | |||||||
| Hospitality (hotels, etc.) | |||||||||||||
| Insurance | 6 | $70,833 | $26,167 | $4,833 | $2,500 | $104,333 | |||||||
| Manufacturing | 2 | $76,000 | $9,000 | $1,000 | $0 | $86,000 | |||||||
| Media/Publishing/Information | 5 | $68,600 | $1,000 | $600 | $0 | $70,200 | |||||||
| Non-Profits | 7 | $94,429 | $4,286 | $0 | $714 | $99,429 | |||||||
| Retail | 7 | $81,571 | $1,143 | $0 | $0 | $82,714 | |||||||
| Technology/IT/Web | 5 | $84,200 | $800 | $8,000 | $1,000 | $94,000 | |||||||
| Telecommunications | 4 | $78,250 | $7,500 | $0 | $500 | $86,250 | |||||||
| Transportation | 2 | $85,000 | $5,000 | $0 | $2,000 | $92,000 | |||||||
| Travel | 1 | $77,000 | $0 | $16,000 | $0 | $93,000 | |||||||
| Utilities/Energy | 11 | $99,545 | $6,727 | $3,545 | $0 | $109,818 | |||||||
| Other | 3 | $82,667 | $3,333 | $0 | $1,000 | $87,000 | |||||||
| Mean | 91 | $84,143 | $6,055 | $1,835 | $956 | $92,989 | |||||||
| Region in which located | |||||||||||||
| Count | Base | Bonus | Div.* | Other* | Total | ||||||||
| North East (CT, MA, ME, NH, RI, VT) | 5 | $87,800 | $4,400 | $0 | $800 | $93,000 | |||||||
| Mid Atlantic (NJ, NY, PA) | 11 | $89,727 | $3,364 | $182 | $1,091 | $94,364 | |||||||
| East North Central (IL, IN, MI, OH, WI) | 13 | $79,846 | $5,462 | $0 | $923 | $86,231 | |||||||
| West N. Central (IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD) | 11 | $84,273 | $18,091 | $1,000 | $273 | $103,636 | |||||||
| S. Atlantic (DC, DE, FL, GA, MD, NC, SC, VA, WV) | 18 | $88,611 | $4,556 | $1,500 | $111 | $94,778 | |||||||
| East South Central (AL, KY, MS, TN) | 1 | $88,000 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $88,000 | |||||||
| West South Central (AR, LA, OK, TX) | 6 | $85,333 | $7,167 | $3,333 | $2,000 | $97,833 | |||||||
| Mountain (AZ, CO, ID, MT, NM, NV, UT, WY) | 5 | $94,800 | $5,600 | $2,200 | $0 | $102,600 | |||||||
| Pacific Coast (AK, CA, HI, OR, WA) | 13 | $94,615 | $3,769 | $7,154 | $1,385 | $106,923 | |||||||
| Canada | 1 | $70,000 | $0 | $0 | $20,000 | $90,000 | |||||||
| Mexico | |||||||||||||
| Central and South America | |||||||||||||
| Eastern Europe | 3 | $29,333 | $3,000 | $1,000 | $1,000 | $34,333 | |||||||
| Western Europe | 3 | $68,000 | $3,667 | $0 | $333 | $72,000 | |||||||
| Asia | |||||||||||||
| Middle East | |||||||||||||
| Africa | |||||||||||||
| Australia/New Zealand | 1 | $5,000 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $5,000 | |||||||
| Mean | 91 | $84,143 | $6,055 | $1,835 | $956 | $92,989 | |||||||
| Annual revenue/sales of organization | |||||||||||||
| Count | Base | Bonus | Div.* | Other* | Total | ||||||||
| < $1 Million US dollars | 1 | $5,000 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $5,000 | |||||||
| $1M - $3M | 1 | $62,000 | $0 | $0 | $5,000 | $67,000 | |||||||
| $3M - $6M | 2 | $84,000 | $3,000 | $2,500 | $0 | $89,500 | |||||||
| $6M - $10M | 2 | $77,500 | $1,000 | $0 | $0 | $78,500 | |||||||
| $10M - $50M | 5 | $64,400 | $1,400 | $8,600 | $200 | $74,600 | |||||||
| $50M - $100M | 2 | $76,000 | $3,000 | $0 | $0 | $79,000 | |||||||
| $100M - $300M | 6 | $64,000 | $2,000 | $0 | $0 | $66,000 | |||||||
| $300M - $500M | 6 | $89,000 | $3,833 | $3,000 | $500 | $96,333 | |||||||
| $500M - $1 Billion | 12 | $93,167 | $6,000 | $2,083 | $1,250 | $102,500 | |||||||
| >$1 Billion US dollars | 48 | $91,458 | $6,563 | $1,354 | $875 | $100,250 | |||||||
| Mean | 85 | $85,765 | $5,212 | $1,835 | $776 | $93,588 | |||||||
| Number of full-time equivalent market researchers on staff | |||||||||||||
| Count | Base | Bonus | Div.* | Other* | Total | ||||||||
| 0 | |||||||||||||
| 1 - 2 | 25 | $77,600 | $3,000 | $2,560 | $640 | $83,800 | |||||||
| 3 - 5 | 28 | $83,679 | $4,964 | $1,393 | $643 | $90,679 | |||||||
| 6 - 10 | 16 | $83,875 | $6,438 | $1,000 | $1,438 | $92,750 | |||||||
| 11 - 15 | 2 | $116,000 | $10,000 | $0 | $0 | $126,000 | |||||||
| 16 - 25 | 5 | $78,200 | $25,600 | $1,800 | $2,400 | $108,000 | |||||||
| >25 | 15 | $93,933 | $5,733 | $2,600 | $1,200 | $103,467 | |||||||
| Mean | 91 | $84,143 | $6,055 | $1,835 | $956 | $92,989 | |||||||
| Number of years of experience in marketing research | |||||||||||||
| Count | Base | Bonus | Div.* | Other* | Total | ||||||||
| < 1 year | |||||||||||||
| 1 - 2 | 5 | $73,800 | $2,600 | $0 | $200 | $76,600 | |||||||
| 3 - 5 | 11 | $79,091 | $1,727 | $3,818 | $364 | $85,000 | |||||||
| 6 - 10 | 20 | $75,200 | $11,800 | $1,250 | $1,650 | $89,900 | |||||||
| 11 - 15 | 22 | $86,455 | $4,773 | $773 | $636 | $92,636 | |||||||
| 16 - 25 | 22 | $90,409 | $5,727 | $1,773 | $1,091 | $99,000 | |||||||
| >25 | 11 | $93,000 | $4,727 | $4,000 | $1,000 | $102,727 | |||||||
| Mean | 91 | $84,143 | $6,055 | $1,835 | $956 | $92,989 | |||||||
| Years at current job | |||||||||||||
| Count | Base | Bonus | Div.* | Other* | Total | ||||||||
| < 1 year | 15 | $89,200 | $5,533 | $1,333 | $1,200 | $97,267 | |||||||
| 1 - 2 | 18 | $82,944 | $11,611 | $4,167 | $111 | $98,833 | |||||||
| 3 - 5 | 24 | $82,917 | $4,750 | $1,458 | $1,375 | $90,500 | |||||||
| 6 - 10 | 19 | $83,316 | $4,737 | $1,842 | $1,158 | $91,053 | |||||||
| 11 - 15 | 14 | $84,143 | $3,929 | $143 | $857 | $89,071 | |||||||
| 16 - 25 | |||||||||||||
| >25 | 1 | $75,000 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $75,000 | |||||||
| Mean | 91 | $84,143 | $6,055 | $1,835 | $956 | $92,989 | |||||||
| Number of employees supervised | |||||||||||||
| Count | Base | Bonus | Div.* | Other* | Total | ||||||||
| 0 (None) | 76 | $82,263 | $6,461 | $1,579 | $882 | $91,184 | |||||||
| 1 - 2 | 12 | $90,833 | $3,667 | $3,917 | $1,667 | $100,083 | |||||||
| 3 - 5 | 3 | $105,000 | $5,333 | $0 | $0 | $110,333 | |||||||
| 6 - 10 | |||||||||||||
| > 10 | |||||||||||||
| Mean | 91 | $84,143 | $6,055 | $1,835 | $956 | $92,989 | |||||||
| Highest degree achieved | |||||||||||||
| Count | Base | Bonus | Div.* | Other* | Total | ||||||||
| High-school graduate | 3 | $81,333 | $4,333 | $0 | $0 | $85,667 | |||||||
| College graduate | 36 | $77,972 | $6,028 | $1,306 | $1,111 | $86,417 | |||||||
| Masters program graduate | 50 | $86,960 | $5,860 | $2,240 | $640 | $95,700 | |||||||
| Ph.D. graduate | 2 | $129,000 | $14,000 | $4,000 | $7,500 | $154,500 | |||||||
| Mean | 91 | $84,143 | $6,055 | $1,835 | $956 | $92,989 | |||||||
| Gender | |||||||||||||
| Count | Base | Bonus | Div.* | Other* | Total | ||||||||
| Male | 30 | $86,800 | $4,633 | $2,600 | $533 | $94,567 | |||||||
| Female | 61 | $82,836 | $6,754 | $1,459 | $1,164 | $92,213 | |||||||
| Mean | 91 | $84,143 | $6,055 | $1,835 | $956 | $92,989 | |||||||
| Age | |||||||||||||
| Count | Base | Bonus | Div.* | Other* | Total | ||||||||
| < 25 | |||||||||||||
| 25 - 30 | 12 | $75,167 | $1,750 | $0 | $250 | $77,167 | |||||||
| 31 - 35 | 18 | $74,056 | $6,611 | $2,500 | $1,000 | $84,167 | |||||||
| 36 - 45 | 26 | $84,077 | $7,577 | $1,769 | $731 | $94,154 | |||||||
| 46 - 55 | 27 | $91,556 | $5,926 | $2,074 | $963 | $100,519 | |||||||
| 56 - 65 | 8 | $95,500 | $6,750 | $2,500 | $2,625 | $107,375 | |||||||
| 66+ | |||||||||||||
| Mean | 91 | $84,143 | $6,055 | $1,835 | $956 | $92,989 | |||||||
*Bonus was defined as bonus or commission for 2016 in US dollars.
*Dividends were defined as compensation in the form of dividends, stock options or profit sharing in US dollars for 2016.
*Other was defined as annual value of other compensation (company car, health club membership, mobile phone etc.) in US dollars.