# Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists

US SOC code 13-1161. Markdown version of https://futurehistory.earth/timeline/13-1161

Also called: Market research analyst, Marketing analyst, Consumer insights analyst, Consumer insights manager, Market intelligence analyst.

## In brief

In May 2025, [BLS](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip) counted **899,580** US market research analysts and marketing specialists, with median pay of **$78,760** a year. Of the BLS counts since 2012, the May 2025 count is the highest. The earliest figure here is [an estimate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marketing_research) of **2,000** from 1930, not measured the same way as today's count. The last full technology era in this work: Big data + predictive analytics, 2015 to 2023.

## What the sources say

### Official outlook

BLS projects employment to grow 7% from 2025 to 2035. Source: [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=13-1161&ioType=o).

### AI exposure studies

- **57.7%** of this job's tasks are exposed to large language models. Not a forecast of job losses. [Eloundou and others, 2023](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv)

Data as of BLS OEWS May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025-35. BLS publishes these counts as yearly survey snapshots and cautions against reading them as a precise trend. In May 2021 BLS changed how it estimates these counts (a model-based method using three years of survey data) and moved fully to the 2018 occupation codes, so part of a change across 2021 can come from the method rather than the work.

## Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists employment and pay by year

- On record since: 1911
- Latest US employment: 899,580 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [6]
- Latest US median pay: $78,760 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [13]
- Outlook: +7% by 2035. Source: BLS Employment Projections 2025-35 [32]

### In other countries

The latest figure each country's statistics agency publishes for this job. Each uses its own occupation definition, survey basis and currency, so the numbers are not directly comparable with each other or with the US figures.

- **United Kingdom** (UK SOC 3554)
  - Employment, 2025: 133,000. Source: ONS ASHE 2025 [9]. ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (Table 14): employee jobs in SOC 3554 Marketing associate professionals, United Kingdom, 2025 (ASHE "number of jobs", thousands x1000; excludes self-employment). Open Government Licence v3.0.
  - Median pay, 2025: £30,479. Source: ONS ASHE 2025 [17]. ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (Table 14.7a): median gross annual pay for all employee jobs in SOC 3554 Marketing associate professionals, United Kingdom, 2025. Open Government Licence v3.0.
- **Australia** (ANZSCO 2251)
  - Employment, 2025: 101,200. Source: ABS Labour Force Survey [10]. ABS Labour Force Survey (Detailed), table EQ08: employed persons in ANZSCO 2251 Advertising and Marketing Professionals, national (summed across sex and state/territory), annual average of 4 quarterly estimates.
  - Median pay, 2025: A$101,764. Source: ABS Employee Earnings May 2025 [18]. Annualised (x52) from A$1,957 median weekly earnings. ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2025: median pay for full-time non-managerial employees paid at the adult rate, before tax. Surfaced via the Jobs and Skills Australia occupation profile.

### All 21 years of cited US data

| Year | US employment | Annual pay (median unless marked) | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1930 | 2,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., Wikipedia [1] |
| 1950 | 15,000 (estimate) | $4,200 (estimate) | Est., The Origins of Marketing Research (employment) [2]; Est., University of Missouri Libraries (pay) [11] |
| 1970 | 45,000 (estimate) | $12,000 (estimate) | Est., The 100-Year History of Market Research (employment) [3]; Est., University of Missouri Libraries (pay) [12] |
| 1990 | 120,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., BLS [4] |
| 2000 | 200,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., SurveyMonkey [5] |
| 2010 | 261,780 | $60,570 | BLS OEWS May 2010 [6] |
| 2011 | 318,190 | $60,250 | BLS OEWS May 2011 [6] |
| 2012 | 392,740 | $60,300 | BLS OEWS May 2012 [6] |
| 2013 | 430,350 | $60,800 | BLS OEWS May 2013 [6] |
| 2014 | 468,160 | $61,290 | BLS OEWS May 2014 [6] |
| 2015 | 506,420 | $62,150 | BLS OEWS May 2015 [6] |
| 2016 | 558,630 | $62,560 | BLS OEWS May 2016 [6] |
| 2017 | 596,450 | $63,230 | BLS OEWS May 2017 [6] |
| 2018 | 638,200 | $63,120 | BLS OEWS May 2018 [6] |
| 2019 | 678,500 | $63,790 | BLS OEWS May 2019 [6] |
| 2020 | 690,160 | $65,810 | BLS OEWS May 2020 [6] |
| 2021 | 727,540 | $63,920 | BLS OEWS May 2021 [6] |
| 2022 | 798,620 | $68,230 | BLS OEWS May 2022 [6] |
| 2023 | 846,370 | $74,680 | BLS OEWS May 2023 [6] |
| 2024 | 861,140 | $76,950 | BLS OEWS May 2024 [6] |
| 2025 | 899,580 | $78,760 | BLS OEWS May 2025 [6] |

## Sources (97)

### Employment series

1. [Wikipedia -- Marketing research: history section (early professionalization, 1911-1930s)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marketing_research), Wikipedia
2. [The Origins of Marketing Research -- CMB blog (formative period 1911-1950)](https://blog.cmbinfo.com/bid/105602/the-origins-of-marketing-research), CMB (Chadwick Martin Bailey)
3. [The 100-Year History of Market Research -- 1920 to 2020 (Attest blog)](https://www.askattest.com/blog/articles/history-of-market-research), Attest
4. [BLS -- Current Employment Statistics Survey: 100 years of employment, hours, and earnings (Monthly Labor Review, 2016)](https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2016/article/current-employment-statistics-survey-100-years-of-employment-hours-and-earnings.htm), Bureau of Labor Statistics
5. [SurveyMonkey -- Wikipedia (founding 1999; online survey transformation of market research)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SurveyMonkey), Wikipedia
6. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2010](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm10nat.zip), [2011](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm11nat.zip), [2012](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm12nat.zip), [2013](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm13nat.zip), [2014](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14nat.zip), [2015](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15nat.zip), [2016](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm16nat.zip), [2017](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17nat.zip), [2018](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm18nat.zip), [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2024](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)
7. ONS: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Table 14.7a (Annual pay - Gross), 4-digit SOC 3543, United Kingdom. Office for National Statistics, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Table 14. Licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0., Office for National Statistics. Editions: [2002](https://www.ons.gov.uk/file?uri=/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/datasets/occupation4digitsoc2010ashetable14/2002/2002-table-14.zip), [2006](https://www.ons.gov.uk/file?uri=/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/datasets/occupation4digitsoc2010ashetable14/2006consistentw_007methodology/2006-table-14.zip), [2010](https://www.ons.gov.uk/file?uri=/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/datasets/occupation4digitsoc2010ashetable14/2010revised/2010-revised-table-14.zip), [2011](https://www.ons.gov.uk/file?uri=/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/datasets/occupation4digitsoc2010ashetable14/2011revisedbasedonsoc2010/2011-revised-table-14.zip), [2015](https://www.ons.gov.uk/file?uri=/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/datasets/occupation4digitsoc2010ashetable14/2015/table142015revised.zip), [2020](https://www.ons.gov.uk/file?uri=/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/datasets/occupation4digitsoc2010ashetable14/2020revised/table142020revised.zip)
8. [ONS: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Table 14.7a (Annual pay - Gross), 4-digit SOC 3554, United Kingdom, 2022. Office for National Statistics, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Table 14. Licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.](https://www.ons.gov.uk/file?uri=/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/datasets/occupation4digitsoc2010ashetable14/2022revised/ashetable142022revised.zip), Office for National Statistics
9. [ONS: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Table 14.7a (Annual pay - Gross), 4-digit SOC 3554, United Kingdom, 2025. Office for National Statistics, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Table 14. Licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.](https://www.ons.gov.uk/file?uri=/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/datasets/occupation4digitsoc2010ashetable14/2025provisional/ashetable142025provisional.zip), Office for National Statistics
10. [ABS: Labour Force, Australia, Detailed, table EQ08 (Employed persons by Occupation unit group, ANZSCO 2013), latest release](https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/labour/employment-and-unemployment/labour-force-australia-detailed/latest-release), Australian Bureau of Statistics

### Wage series

11. [University of Missouri Libraries -- "Prices and Wages by Decade: 1950-1959" (BLS Bulletin, retail and professional worker earnings)](https://libraryguides.missouri.edu/pricesandwages/1950-1959), University of Missouri Libraries / BLS historical sources
12. [University of Missouri Libraries -- "Prices and Wages by Decade: 1970-1979" (BLS historical wage sources for professional workers)](https://libraryguides.missouri.edu/pricesandwages/1970-1979), University of Missouri Libraries / BLS historical sources
13. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2010](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm10nat.zip), [2011](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm11nat.zip), [2012](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm12nat.zip), [2013](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm13nat.zip), [2014](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14nat.zip), [2015](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15nat.zip), [2016](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm16nat.zip), [2017](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17nat.zip), [2018](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm18nat.zip), [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)
14. [BLS OEWS May 2024, national cross-industry estimates (flat file)](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
15. ONS: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Table 14.7a (Annual pay - Gross), 4-digit SOC 3543, United Kingdom. Office for National Statistics, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Table 14. Licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0., Office for National Statistics. Editions: [2002](https://www.ons.gov.uk/file?uri=/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/datasets/occupation4digitsoc2010ashetable14/2002/2002-table-14.zip), [2006](https://www.ons.gov.uk/file?uri=/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/datasets/occupation4digitsoc2010ashetable14/2006consistentw_007methodology/2006-table-14.zip), [2010](https://www.ons.gov.uk/file?uri=/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/datasets/occupation4digitsoc2010ashetable14/2010revised/2010-revised-table-14.zip), [2011](https://www.ons.gov.uk/file?uri=/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/datasets/occupation4digitsoc2010ashetable14/2011revisedbasedonsoc2010/2011-revised-table-14.zip), [2015](https://www.ons.gov.uk/file?uri=/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/datasets/occupation4digitsoc2010ashetable14/2015/table142015revised.zip), [2020](https://www.ons.gov.uk/file?uri=/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/datasets/occupation4digitsoc2010ashetable14/2020revised/table142020revised.zip)
16. [ONS: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Table 14.7a (Annual pay - Gross), 4-digit SOC 3554, United Kingdom, 2022. Office for National Statistics, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Table 14. Licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.](https://www.ons.gov.uk/file?uri=/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/datasets/occupation4digitsoc2010ashetable14/2022revised/ashetable142022revised.zip), Office for National Statistics
17. [ONS: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Table 14.7a (Annual pay - Gross), 4-digit SOC 3554, United Kingdom, 2025. Office for National Statistics, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Table 14. Licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.](https://www.ons.gov.uk/file?uri=/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/datasets/occupation4digitsoc2010ashetable14/2025provisional/ashetable142025provisional.zip), Office for National Statistics
18. [Jobs and Skills Australia: Advertising and Marketing Professionals (ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2025)](https://www.jobsandskills.gov.au/data/occupation-and-industry-profiles/occupations/2251-advertising-and-marketing-professionals), Jobs and Skills Australia / Australian Bureau of Statistics

### Tool eras

19. [Wikipedia -- Charles Coolidge Parlin (1872-1942): founder of commercial research, Curtis Publishing Company 1911](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Coolidge_Parlin), Wikipedia
20. [CMB -- The Origins of Marketing Research (formative period, Parlin and Starch methodology)](https://blog.cmbinfo.com/bid/105602/the-origins-of-marketing-research), CMB (Chadwick Martin Bailey)
21. [Gallup -- George H. Gallup, Founder: 1901-1984 (American Institute of Public Opinion, 1935)](https://www.gallup.com/corporate/178136/george-gallup.aspx), Gallup
22. [AC Nielsen -- Britannica Money: Arthur C. Nielsen, market research pioneer (Drug Index 1933, Audimeter 1936)](https://www.britannica.com/money/A-C-Nielsen), Britannica
23. [The 100-Year History of Market Research -- Attest blog (conjoint analysis 1970s, CATI technology)](https://www.askattest.com/blog/articles/history-of-market-research), Attest
24. [Quirks -- 5 Founders of Marketing Research (Paul Green, Arthur Nielsen, computer era contributions)](https://www.quirks.com/articles/5-founders-of-marketing-research), Quirks
25. [Wikipedia -- SPSS (history: SPSS Inc. founded 1968, widely adopted in social science and market research through the 1980s-1990s)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SPSS), Wikipedia
26. [SurveyMonkey -- Wikipedia (founded 1999 by Ryan and Chris Finley; transformed survey research from specialist activity to everyday business tool)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SurveyMonkey), Wikipedia
27. [Backlinko -- 23 Key Market Research Statistics for 2026 (global market research industry $140 billion 2024)](https://backlinko.com/market-research-statistics), Backlinko
28. [Scoop Market Research Industry Statistics 2026 (global market research industry grew 37.25% from $102B to $140B between 2021 and 2024)](https://scoop.market.us/market-research-industry-statistics/), Scoop.market.us
29. [Anthropic, "Labor market impacts of AI: A new measure and early evidence" (Massenkoff and McCrory, March 2026): the observed exposure measure](https://www.anthropic.com/research/labor-market-impacts), Anthropic
30. [Anthropic Economic Index dataset, labor\_market\_impacts/job\_exposure.csv: Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists (13-1161) observed exposure 0.6483, 5th of 756 occupations](https://huggingface.co/datasets/Anthropic/EconomicIndex/blob/main/labor_market_impacts/job_exposure.csv), Anthropic
31. [Qualtrics -- AI to Drive Massive Changes to Market Research in 2025 (62% of researchers have used synthetic data)](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ai-to-drive-massive-changes-to-market-research-in-2025-qualtrics-report-says-302282840.html), Qualtrics / PR Newswire

### Forecasts and exposure studies

32. [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35, National Employment Matrix: 13-1161 Market research analysts and marketing specialists (2025: 952.7 thousand; 2035: 1,019.0 thousand; +7.0%)](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=13-1161&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics
33. [Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), "GPTs are GPTs", occupation-level exposure data occ\_level.csv (O\*NET-SOC 13-1161.00, human-rated β 0.577)](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv), OpenAI

### Historical notes

34. [Wikipedia -- Charles Coolidge Parlin (1872-1942)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Coolidge_Parlin), Wikipedia
35. [Britannica Money -- A.C. Nielsen: market research pioneer (Drug Index 1933, "market share" concept)](https://www.britannica.com/money/A-C-Nielsen), Britannica
36. [Gallup -- George H. Gallup, Founder: 1901-1984 (1935 founding; 1936 election validation)](https://www.gallup.com/corporate/178136/george-gallup.aspx), Gallup
37. [American Marketing Association -- official website (founding history)](https://www.ama.org/), American Marketing Association
38. [Quirks -- 5 Founders of Marketing Research (Paul Green: conjoint analysis development at Wharton)](https://www.quirks.com/articles/5-founders-of-marketing-research), Quirks
39. [SurveyMonkey -- Wikipedia (founding 1999; bootstrap phase 1999-2009; impact on market research accessibility)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SurveyMonkey), Wikipedia
40. [O\*NET 13-1161.00 -- occupation summary (2010 SOC revision combining market research analysts and marketing specialists)](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/13-1161.00), O\*NET / BLS
41. [Qualtrics -- AI to Drive Massive Changes to Market Research in 2025 (62% using synthetic data; $140B industry size)](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ai-to-drive-massive-changes-to-market-research-in-2025-qualtrics-report-says-302282840.html), Qualtrics / PR Newswire

### Predecessors & successors

42. [Wikipedia -- Marketing research: history (advertising agencies conducting consumer research in 1920s)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marketing_research), Wikipedia
43. [Gallup -- George H. Gallup, Founder: brought statistical sampling from academic research to commercial practice in 1935](https://www.gallup.com/corporate/178136/george-gallup.aspx), Gallup
44. [O\*NET 13-1161.00 -- occupation summary (research methodology heritage)](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/13-1161.00), O\*NET / BLS
45. [BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook -- Market Research Analysts: career advancement pathways](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/business-and-financial/market-research-analysts.htm), Bureau of Labor Statistics

### Present-day analysis

- [Eloundou et al. 2024 — GPTs are GPTs (Science)](https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130), accessed 2026-05-23
- [O\*NET 30.3 — Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists (13-1161.00)](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/13-1161.00), accessed 2026-05-23
- [BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook — Market Research Analysts (7% growth 2024-2034; 87,200 openings/yr; median $76,950)](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/business-and-financial/market-research-analysts.htm), accessed 2026-05-23
- [Anthropic, "Labor market impacts of AI: A new measure and early evidence" (Massenkoff and McCrory, March 2026): the observed exposure measure](https://www.anthropic.com/research/labor-market-impacts), accessed 2026-10-11
- [Anthropic Economic Index dataset, labor\_market\_impacts/job\_exposure.csv: Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists (13-1161) observed exposure 0.6483, 5th of 756 occupations](https://huggingface.co/datasets/Anthropic/EconomicIndex/blob/main/labor_market_impacts/job_exposure.csv), accessed 2026-10-11
- [Qualtrics — AI to Drive Massive Changes to Market Research in 2025 (62% of researchers have used synthetic data; 71% expect it to be the majority within 3 years)](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ai-to-drive-massive-changes-to-market-research-in-2025-qualtrics-report-says-302282840.html), accessed 2026-05-23
- [HBR — The AI Tools That Are Transforming Market Research (gen AI reshaping the $140 billion market-research industry)](https://hbr.org/2025/11/the-ai-tools-that-are-transforming-market-research), accessed 2026-05-23
- [Goldman Sachs — Generative AI will disrupt white-collar workers; clerical and knowledge-work roles most exposed](https://www.goldmansachs.com/insights/articles/the-jobs-ai-is-likely-to-boost-and-those-it-may-disrupt), accessed 2026-05-23
- [Yabble — Count tool saves up to 70% of analysis time, works 1000x faster than an expert human coder on open-ended verbatims](https://www.yabble.com/), accessed 2026-05-23
- [Yabble — Summarize tool processes a 10-to-15-page transcript in 40-60 seconds, delivering rich summaries that highlight key data points](https://www.yabble.com/case-studies), accessed 2026-05-23
- [Brandwatch — Iris AI processes billions of data points from 100M+ sources with aspect-clustering emotion analysis; official firehose access to X, Reddit, and Tumblr](https://www.brandwatch.com/products/listen/), accessed 2026-05-23
- [Brandwatch — Strengthens AI Leadership with Deeper Insights and Expanded Data Coverage (2025)](https://www.cision.com/about/press-releases/2025-press-releases/brandwatch-strengthens-ai-leadership-with-deeper-insights-and-expanded-data-coverage-302621990/), accessed 2026-05-23
- [Crayon — Sparks AI analyzes competitors' strategic moves and auto-generates summaries synced to Salesforce/Slack; automated battlecard systems reduce competitive content production time by 60-70%](https://www.crayon.co/blog/sparks-content), accessed 2026-05-23

How to read these figures: https://futurehistory.earth/methodology. Every figure links to its own source; gaps stay gaps.