# Statisticians

US SOC code 15-2041. Markdown version of https://futurehistory.earth/timeline/15-2041

Also called: Biostatistician, Survey statistician, Government statistician, Research statistician, Mathematical statistician.

## In brief

In May 2025, [BLS](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip) counted **29,030** US statisticians, with median pay of **$105,650** a year. Of the BLS counts since 2021, the highest was **31,370**, in May 2021. The earliest figure here is [an estimate](https://www.amstat.org/about-asa/history-of-the-asa) of **1,200** from 1870, not measured the same way as today's count. The last full technology era for statisticians: Big Data and the Data Scientist divergence, 2008 to 2020.

## What the sources say

### Official outlook

BLS projects employment to grow 11% from 2025 to 2035. Source: [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=15-2041&ioType=o).

### AI exposure studies

- **71.1%** 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)
- **29%** of work tasks in computer and mathematical occupations, this job's group, are exposed to automation by AI. Not a forecast of job losses. [Goldman Sachs, 2023](https://www.gspublishing.com/content/research/en/reports/2023/03/27/d64e052b-0f6e-45d7-967b-d7be35fabd16.pdf)

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.

## Statisticians employment and pay by year

- On record since: 1839
- Latest US employment: 29,030 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [6]
- Latest US median pay: $105,650 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [10]
- Outlook: +11% by 2035. Source: BLS Employment Projections 2025-35 [23]

### All 30 years of cited US data

| Year | US employment | Annual pay (median unless marked) | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1870 | 1,200 (estimate) | n/a | Est., American Statistical Association [1] |
| 1902 | 3,500 (estimate) | n/a | Est., US Census Bureau [2] |
| 1944 | 12,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., Wikipedia [3] |
| 1960 | 22,000 (estimate) | $7,500 (estimate) | Est., American Statistical Association (employment) [1]; Est., US Office of Personnel Management (pay) [7] |
| 1980 | n/a | $24,000 (estimate) | Est., BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook [8] |
| 1990 | 35,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., VSNi [4] |
| 2000 | 17,520 | $51,990 | BLS OEWS 2000 (employment) [5]; BLS OEWS 2000 (pay) [9] |
| 2003 | 18,370 | $59,560 | BLS OEWS May 2003 [6] |
| 2004 | 17,030 | $58,620 | BLS OEWS May 2004 [6] |
| 2005 | 17,480 | $62,450 | BLS OEWS May 2005 [6] |
| 2006 | 19,660 | $65,720 | BLS OEWS May 2006 [6] |
| 2007 | 20,270 | $69,900 | BLS OEWS May 2007 [6] |
| 2008 | 20,680 | $72,610 | BLS OEWS May 2008 [6] |
| 2009 | 21,370 | $72,820 | BLS OEWS May 2009 [6] |
| 2010 | 22,830 | $72,830 | BLS OEWS May 2010 [6] |
| 2011 | 23,770 | $73,880 | BLS OEWS May 2011 [6] |
| 2012 | 25,570 | $75,560 | BLS OEWS May 2012 [6] |
| 2013 | 24,950 | $79,290 | BLS OEWS May 2013 [6] |
| 2014 | 26,970 | $79,990 | BLS OEWS May 2014 [6] |
| 2015 | 29,870 | $80,110 | BLS OEWS May 2015 [6] |
| 2016 | 33,440 | $80,500 | BLS OEWS May 2016 [6] |
| 2017 | 36,540 | $84,060 | BLS OEWS May 2017 [6] |
| 2018 | 39,920 | $87,780 | BLS OEWS May 2018 [6] |
| 2019 | 39,090 | $91,160 | BLS OEWS May 2019 [6] |
| 2020 | 38,860 | $92,270 | BLS OEWS May 2020 [6] |
| 2021 | 31,370 | $95,570 | BLS OEWS May 2021 [6] |
| 2022 | 30,780 | $98,920 | BLS OEWS May 2022 [6] |
| 2023 | 29,950 | $104,110 | BLS OEWS May 2023 [6] |
| 2024 | 29,800 | $103,300 | BLS OEWS May 2024 [6] |
| 2025 | 29,030 | $105,650 | BLS OEWS May 2025 [6] |

## Sources (89)

### Employment series

1. [American Statistical Association — History of the ASA (ASA founded 1839, membership growth documentation)](https://www.amstat.org/about-asa/history-of-the-asa), American Statistical Association
2. [US Census Bureau — Agency History FAQs (permanent Census Bureau established March 6, 1902)](https://www.census.gov/about/history/bureau-history/faq.html), US Census Bureau
3. [Wikipedia — Statistical Research Group (Columbia University WWII unit, 18 statisticians; Wald, Friedman, Mosteller, Wallis, Savage)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statistical_Research_Group), Wikipedia
4. [VSNi — The Evolution of Statistical Computing: A History (SAS and SPSS transformation of the profession in the 1970s-1980s)](https://vsni.co.uk/evolution-of-statistical-computing/), VSNi
5. [BLS OES 2000 national estimates (flat file)](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oes00nat.zip), Bureau of Labor Statistics
6. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2003](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm03nat.zip), [2004](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm04nat.zip), [2005](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm05nat.zip), [2006](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm06nat.zip), [2007](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm07nat.zip), [2008](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm08nat.zip), [2009](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm09nat.zip), [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)

### Wage series

7. [US Office of Personnel Management — General Schedule Pay Scale History (GS salary tables 1960 era)](https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/2024/general-schedule/), US Office of Personnel Management
8. [BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook — Mathematicians and Statisticians (historical wage context)](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/math/mathematicians-and-statisticians.htm), Bureau of Labor Statistics
9. [BLS OES 2000 — Occupational Employment and Wages 2000 (median wages for mathematical and computer science occupations)](https://www.bls.gov/news.release/history/ocwage_11142001.txt), Bureau of Labor Statistics
10. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2003](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm03nat.zip), [2004](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm04nat.zip), [2005](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm05nat.zip), [2006](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm06nat.zip), [2007](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm07nat.zip), [2008](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm08nat.zip), [2009](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm09nat.zip), [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)
11. [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

### Tool eras

12. [American Statistical Association — History of the ASA (founding 1839, early practice of statistics)](https://www.amstat.org/about-asa/history-of-the-asa), American Statistical Association
13. [Wikipedia — History of statistics (development of mathematical statistics through the 19th century)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_statistics), Wikipedia
14. [MacTutor History of Mathematics — American Statistical Association (academic statistics departments 1920s-1940s)](https://mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk/Societies/American_Statistical/), MacTutor / University of St Andrews
15. [Wikipedia — Statistical Research Group (Columbia University WWII unit, Abraham Wald, sequential analysis)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statistical_Research_Group), Wikipedia
16. [FlowingData — "Statisticians in World War II" (overview of wartime statistical contributions)](https://flowingdata.com/2015/01/02/statisticians-in-world-war-ii/), FlowingData
17. [VSNi — The Evolution of Statistical Computing: A History (SPSS 1968, SAS 1972, mainframe-to-PC transition)](https://vsni.co.uk/evolution-of-statistical-computing/), VSNi
18. [SmartData Collective — Tony Barr and the Early History of SAS (SAS 1966-1976 origins)](https://www.smartdatacollective.com/tony-barr-and-early-history-sas/), SmartData Collective
19. [Wikipedia — Data science (professional title "data scientist" attributed to DJ Patil and Jeff Hammerbacher in 2008; HBR "sexiest job" 2012)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_science), Wikipedia
20. [BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook — Data Scientists (15-2051 SOC 2018 introduction)](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/math/data-scientists.htm), Bureau of Labor Statistics
21. [American Statistical Association — Statement on Ethical AI Principles for Statistical Practitioners (October 2024)](https://www.amstat.org/docs/default-source/amstat-documents/asa-statement-on-ethical-ai-principles-for-statistical-practitioners.pdf), American Statistical Association
22. [BLS National Employment Matrix — 15-2041 Statisticians (2024-34 projections, +8.5% growth to 34,900)](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=15-2041&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics

### Forecasts and exposure studies

23. [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35, National Employment Matrix: 15-2041 Statisticians (2025: 31.3 thousand; 2035: 34.7 thousand; +11.0%)](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=15-2041&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics
24. [Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), "GPTs are GPTs", occupation-level exposure data occ\_level.csv (O\*NET-SOC 15-2041.00, human-rated β 0.711)](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv), OpenAI
25. [Briggs & Kodnani, "The Potentially Large Effects of Artificial Intelligence on Economic Growth", Goldman Sachs Global Economics Analyst (26 March 2023), Exhibit 5 (US): computer and mathematical 29%](https://www.gspublishing.com/content/research/en/reports/2023/03/27/d64e052b-0f6e-45d7-967b-d7be35fabd16.pdf), Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research

### Historical notes

26. [American Statistical Association — History of the ASA (founding November 27, 1839)](https://www.amstat.org/about-asa/history-of-the-asa), American Statistical Association
27. [BLS History — Carroll D. Wright, first Commissioner of Labor (1885-1905)](https://www.bls.gov/bls/history/commissioners/wright.htm), Bureau of Labor Statistics
28. [US Census Bureau — Agency History FAQs (permanent Census Bureau established 1902)](https://www.census.gov/about/history/bureau-history/faq.html), US Census Bureau
29. [Wikipedia — Statistical Research Group (Columbia University WWII unit 1942-1945)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statistical_Research_Group), Wikipedia
30. [SmartData Collective — Tony Barr and the Early History of SAS (SAS system 1966-1976, incorporation)](https://www.smartdatacollective.com/tony-barr-and-early-history-sas/), SmartData Collective
31. [VSNi — The Evolution of Statistical Computing: A History (CRAN launch 1997, R ecosystem growth)](https://vsni.co.uk/evolution-of-statistical-computing/), VSNi
32. [American Statistical Association — Statement on Ethical AI Principles for Statistical Practitioners (October 2024)](https://www.amstat.org/docs/default-source/amstat-documents/asa-statement-on-ethical-ai-principles-for-statistical-practitioners.pdf), American Statistical Association

### Predecessors & successors

33. [American Statistical Association — History of the ASA (early members as government clerks and census supervisors)](https://www.amstat.org/about-asa/history-of-the-asa), American Statistical Association
34. [Wikipedia — American Statistical Association (early membership included actuaries and insurance statisticians)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Statistical_Association), Wikipedia

### 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 — Statisticians (15-2041.00)](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/15-2041.00), accessed 2026-05-23
- [BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook — Statisticians (2024–2034, +33% projected growth)](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/math/statisticians.htm), accessed 2026-05-23
- [American Statistical Association — Statement on Ethical AI Principles for Statistical Practitioners (2024)](https://www.amstat.org/docs/default-source/amstat-documents/asa-statement-on-ethical-ai-principles-for-statistical-practitioners.pdf), accessed 2026-09-13
- [ASA Amstat News — How AI Is Changing Statistics Practice (March 2025)](https://magazine.amstat.org/blog/2025/03/01/how-ai-is-changing-statistics-practice/), accessed 2026-05-23
- [McKinsey Global Institute — The Economic Potential of Generative AI (2023)](https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/tech-and-ai/our-insights/the-economic-potential-of-generative-ai-the-next-productivity-frontier), accessed 2026-05-23
- [Goldman Sachs — The Jobs AI Is Likely to Boost and Those It May Disrupt (2025)](https://www.goldmansachs.com/insights/articles/the-jobs-ai-is-likely-to-boost-and-those-it-may-disrupt), accessed 2026-05-23
- [Julius AI — Statistical Analysis Without Code (2026)](https://julius.ai), accessed 2026-05-23
- [JMP Pro (SAS) — AI-Augmented Statistical Discovery (2025)](https://www.jmp.com/en/software/predictive-analytics-software), accessed 2026-06-22
- [GitHub Copilot — AI code generation in Jupyter and RStudio (2025)](https://github.com/features/copilot), accessed 2026-05-23
- [SAS Viya — AI/ML Platform for Advanced Analytics (2025)](https://www.sas.com/en_us/software/viya.html), accessed 2026-05-23
- [Jupyter AI (Jupyternaut) — In-Notebook LLM Assistant (2025)](https://github.com/jupyterlab/jupyter-ai), accessed 2026-05-23

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