Occupation salary profile

Social Science Research Assistants

SOC 19-4061 BLS OEWS May 2025 H-1B LCAs, last 12 months

Assist social scientists in laboratory, survey, and other social science research. May help prepare findings for publication and assist in laboratory analysis, quality control, or data management. Excludes “Teaching Assistants, Postsecondary” (25-9044).

National median · BLS
$61,990
▲ +6.81% YoY
H-1B sponsor median
$65,560
▲ +1.76% YoY · 307 LCAs
Average salary · BLS
$66,140
Mean annual wage
U.S. employment
30,640
Jobs (BLS)
Highest-paying state (cost-adjusted) Loading…
Most jobs Loading…
Highest-paying metro (cost-adjusted) Loading…

Check your salary

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 Social Science Research Assistants

Annual base pay at each percentile. BLS covers all U.S. workers in this occupation; H-1B covers 307 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$38,090$49,000
25th$48,620$56,509
Median (50th)$61,990$65,560
75th$77,760$78,590
90th — top pay$102,070$98,355
H-1B sponsors pay a median of $65,560 for Social Science Research Assistants — 5.8% above the BLS national median of $61,990.

Hourly ⇄ annual pay

Type in either box; the other updates instantly.

Monthly—
Every 2 weeks—
Weekly—
Daily—
Based on hrs/week × weeks/year = 2,080 hrs
Projections 2025–2035

Job outlook for Social Science Research Assistants

BLS projects employment of social science research assistants to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, faster than the 3.5% average for all occupations. About 4,900 openings are projected each year, on average, from new jobs and from replacing workers who retire or move to other occupations.

Jobs 2025 → 2035
38,400 → 40,400
+1,900 jobs
Projected change
+5%
All occupations: +3.5%
Openings per year
4,900
Average, 2025–2035
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree
No related experience required
Self-employed
7.7% of workers (2025)
Preparation needed (O*NET Job Zone 4)
Considerable Preparation Needed. Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
Fastest-growing jobs → Best-paying jobs that need a bachelor's degree →

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–2035

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 $65,560
Change vs prior year +1.76%
After inflation (CPI-U) -1.33%
Wage level LCAs Share P25 Median P75
Level I 87 28.3% $48,620 $56,056 $62,826
Level II 95 30.9% $56,277 $65,000 $70,000
Level III 56 18.2% $65,375 $70,000 $80,750
Level IV 53 17.3% $79,181 $95,000 $105,000
H-1B job titles

Salaries by job title in Social Science Research Assistants

The 5 most-filed job titles inside SOC 19-4061, from 307 H-1B filings. Seniority words and level numbers are grouped (“Senior Data Engineer II” counts as Data Engineer). Tap a title for its full range, wage levels and the exact titles employers used.

Job title LCAs Share P25 Median P75 YoY
Research Associate 45 14.66% $55,000 $65,560 $87,984 +3.02%
Research Assistant 28 9.12% $48,153 $55,004 $60,134 +10.01%
Research Analyst 12 3.91% $58,750 $70,000 $77,156 +4.63%
Lead Research Analyst 11 3.58% $70,000 $70,000 $80,631 —
Postdoctoral Associate 10 3.26% $65,822 $67,182 $69,432 +7.49%

Titles are cleaned from the employer's own LCA text (codes and typos removed, nothing invented). Rows need 10+ filings in this SOC.

Skills & tools

Skills needed for Social Science Research Assistants

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
  • Reading Comprehension4.0
  • Active Listening3.8
  • Critical Thinking3.8
  • Writing3.8
  • Complex Problem Solving3.4
  • Speaking3.4
  • Science3.3
  • Active Learning3.1
  • Judgment and Decision Making3.1
  • Mathematics3.1
Top knowledge areas
  • English Language4.3
  • Computers and Electronics3.5
  • Administrative3.2
  • Mathematics3.1
  • Customer and Personal Service3.0
  • Education and Training2.9
  • Psychology2.5
  • Administration and Management2.5
Software and technology used
Microsoft ExcelMicrosoft Office softwareMicrosoft PowerPointPythonRAdobe IllustratorAdobe InDesignC++ESRI ArcGIS softwareExtensible markup language XMLIBM SPSS StatisticsJavaScriptMicrosoft AccessMicrosoft OutlookMicrosoft SQL ServerMicrosoft Visual BasicMicrosoft WordOracle Java

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 social science research assistants do

  • Design and create special programs for tasks such as statistical analysis and data entry and cleaning.
  • Provide assistance with the preparation of project-related reports, manuscripts, and presentations.
  • Prepare tables, graphs, fact sheets, and written reports summarizing research results.
  • Perform descriptive and multivariate statistical analyses of data, using computer software.
  • Verify the accuracy and validity of data entered in databases, correcting any errors.
  • Develop and implement research quality control procedures.
  • Prepare, manipulate, and manage extensive databases.
  • Perform data entry and other clerical work as required for project completion.
Also called
Graduate Research AssistantResearch AssistantResearch AssociateSocial Research AssistantClinical Research AssistantGraduate AssistantResearch AideResearch Technician
More job titles for this occupation (20)
Bilingual Research InterviewerData AnalystEconomic Research AssistantEconomist Research AssistantHistorian Research AssistantLaboratory AssistantMarket Research InterviewerPolitical Affairs InternPolitical Science Research AssistantPostdoctoral Associate (Postdoc Associate)Postdoctoral Fellow (Postdoc Fellow)Postdoctoral Research AssociatePostdoctoral Scholar (Postdoc Scholar)Psychologist Research AssistantResearch Data AnalystResearch InterviewerResearch ScientistSocial Science Research Assistant (Social Science RA)Sociology Research AssistantUX Research Assistant (User Experience Research Assistant)

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.