Occupation salary profile

Industrial-Organizational Psychologists

SOC 19-3032 BLS OEWS May 2025 H-1B LCAs, last 12 months

Apply principles of psychology to human resources, administration, management, sales, and marketing problems. Activities may include policy planning; employee testing and selection, training, and development; and organizational development and analysis. May work with management to organize the work setting to improve worker productivity.

National median · BLS
$193,950
▲ +76.58% YoY
H-1B sponsor median
$115,000
▲ +1.36% YoY · 37 LCAs
Average salary · BLS
$170,230
Mean annual wage
U.S. employment
790
Jobs (BLS)
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Enter your pay and a location to see where you stand against BLS and H-1B pay, your estimated take-home pay, and your purchasing power.

Pay range for Industrial-Organizational Psychologists

Annual base pay at each percentile. BLS covers all U.S. workers in this occupation; H-1B covers 37 certified Labor Condition Applications filed by sponsoring employers in the last 12 months.

Percentile All U.S. workers (BLS) H-1B sponsored
10th — entry pay$79,010$70,845
25th$107,310$82,700
Median (50th)$193,950$115,000
75th$222,280$123,000
90th — top pay$247,220$193,111
H-1B sponsors pay a median of $115,000 for Industrial-Organizational Psychologists — 40.7% below the BLS national median of $193,950.

Hourly ⇄ annual pay

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Based on hrs/week × weeks/year = 2,080 hrs
Projections 2025–2035

Job outlook for Industrial-Organizational Psychologists

BLS projects employment of industrial-organizational psychologists to grow 6.5% from 2025 to 2035, faster than the 3.5% average for all occupations. About 300 openings are projected each year, on average, from new jobs and from replacing workers who retire or move to other occupations.

Jobs 2025 → 2035
4,000 → 4,300
+300 jobs
Projected change
+6.5%
All occupations: +3.5%
Openings per year
300
Average, 2025–2035
Typical entry education
Master's degree
No related experience required
On-the-job training
Internship/residency
Self-employed
80.3% of workers (2025)
Preparation needed (O*NET Job Zone 5)
Extensive Preparation Needed. Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).
Fastest-growing jobs → Best-paying jobs that need a master's degree →

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–2035 · BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook →

H-1B sponsored pay

Pay by H-1B wage level

Employers assign every H-1B filing a Department of Labor prevailing-wage level, from Level I (entry) to Level IV (fully competent). Pay rises steeply with level.

H-1B median $115,000
Change vs prior year +1.36%
After inflation (CPI-U) -1.72%
Wage level LCAs Share P25 Median P75
Level I 16 43.2% $70,845 $78,100 $91,024
Level II 14 37.8% $116,792 $120,100 $122,997
Skills & tools

Skills needed for Industrial-Organizational Psychologists

How important each skill and knowledge area is for this job, rated by O*NET on a 1–5 scale from surveys of workers and occupational analysts.

Top skills
  • Active Listening4.4
  • Reading Comprehension4.4
  • Writing4.3
  • Critical Thinking4.1
  • Judgment and Decision Making4.1
  • Speaking4.1
  • Complex Problem Solving4.0
  • Systems Evaluation4.0
  • Active Learning3.9
  • Monitoring3.9
Top knowledge areas
  • Personnel and Human Resources4.9
  • Psychology4.8
  • Education and Training4.5
  • Administration and Management4.0
  • Mathematics4.0
  • English Language3.8
  • Customer and Personal Service3.6
  • Law and Government3.4
Software and technology used
Adobe AcrobatGoogle SheetsHypertext markup language HTMLIBM SPSS StatisticsMicrosoft AccessMicrosoft ExcelMicrosoft Office softwareMicrosoft OutlookMicrosoft PowerPointMicrosoft ProjectMicrosoft VisioMicrosoft WordOracle PeopleSoftSASAssessment Systems Corporation XCALIBREHuman resource information system (HRIS)Learning management system LMSMentimeter

Highlighted = in demand: frequently listed in employer job postings for this occupation (O*NET).

Source: O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.

About the job

What industrial-organizational psychologists do

  • Provide advice on best practices and implementation for selection.
  • Develop and implement employee selection or placement programs.
  • Analyze data, using statistical methods and applications, to evaluate the outcomes and effectiveness of workplace programs.
  • Develop interview techniques, rating scales, and psychological tests used to assess skills, abilities, and interests for the purpose of employee selection, placement, or promotion.
  • Observe and interview workers to obtain information about the physical, mental, and educational requirements of jobs, as well as information about aspects such as job satisfaction.
  • Facilitate organizational development and change.
  • Analyze job requirements and content to establish criteria for classification, selection, training, and other related personnel functions.
  • Advise management concerning personnel, managerial, and marketing policies and practices and their potential effects on organizational effectiveness and efficiency.
Also called
I-O Psychologist (Industrial-Organizational Psychologist)Organizational ConsultantOrganizational PsychologistResearch ScientistConsulting PsychologistI-O Practitioner (Industrial-Organizational Practitioner)Industrial PsychologistManagement ConsultantOrganizational Development Specialist (OD Specialist)Personnel Research Psychologist
More job titles for this occupation (17)
Engineering PsychologistHR Consultant (Human Resources Consultant)HR OD Consultant (Human Resources Organizational Development Consultant)HR Psychologist (Human Resources Psychologist)Learning and Organizational Development Specialist (Learning and OD Specialist)Management PsychologistOccupational PsychologistOrganizational Development Analyst (OD Analyst)Organizational Development and Training Specialist (OD and Training Specialist)Organizational Development Consultant (OD Consultant)Organizational Research ConsultantPersonnel PsychologistPolicy AdvisorPolicy OfficerPsychologistStaffing ConsultantTraining Specialist

Source: O*NET 31.0 (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0). These are general job titles, not H-1B filings; for titles employers actually filed, see “Job titles” above.