Budget Analysts vs Cost Estimators: $92K vs $79K Median Pay

Budget Analysts vs Cost Estimators: what changes?

Consider Budget Analysts if you want to examine budget estimates for completeness, accuracy, and conformance with procedures and regulations. Consider Cost Estimators if you would rather prepare cost estimates for product manufacturing, construction projects, or services to aid management in bidding on or determining price of product or service. Both list bachelor's degree; compare training and prior experience separately.

Try this next: Compare three local entry-level postings for Budget Analysts and Cost Estimators. List the duties, credentials, prior experience, and paid training each employer actually asks for. Try a supervised class or sample project from each field before choosing a program.

BLS 2025 wages and 2025–2035 projections. National medians are not starting offers. Occupation size is not a count of vacancies. View the BLS data.

Compare the practical differences

Budget Analysts

National median pay (2025): $91,640
Route into the job: Bachelor's degree
Prior related experience: No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing: BLS does not list a separate on-the-job training requirement. Employers may still provide orientation and role-specific training.
Work to investigate: Analyze monthly department budgeting and accounting reports to maintain expenditure controls.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 2,900

Know before you choose

Review the full career brief for day-to-day working conditions.

See the full Budget Analysts brief

Cost Estimators

National median pay (2025): $78,740
Route into the job: Bachelor's degree; More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
Prior related experience: No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing: More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.
Work to investigate: Analyze blueprints and other documentation to prepare time, cost, materials, and labor estimates.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 17,600

Know before you choose

BLS projects employment to shrink 3.1% from 2025 to 2035. Openings can still occur when existing workers leave.

See the full Cost Estimators brief

How the national numbers differ

Cost Estimators has the edge on annual openings

Cost Estimators is at 17,600 annual openings, compared with 2,900 annual openings for Budget Analysts.

Budget Analysts has the edge on projected growth

Budget Analysts is at 1.9% projected growth, compared with -3.1% projected growth for Cost Estimators.

Budget Analysts has the edge on median pay

Budget Analysts is at $91,640, compared with $78,740 for Cost Estimators.

49.4/ 100

Budget Analysts

52.5/ 100

Cost Estimators

Each available metric is ranked from 0 to 100 against the careers on ChooseField. The weighted average uses this profile: pay 30%, growth 25%, openings 30%, preparation level 15%. Missing values are not scored as zero; their weights are redistributed across available metrics. Occupation size has zero weight: employment is not accessible vacancies. Preparation categories do not measure admission difficulty or years without earnings. The score summarizes national measures; local opportunities and personal fit still need separate consideration.

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