Biostatisticians: Career Overview
Develop and apply biostatistical theory and methods to the study of life sciences.
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What Do Biostatisticians Take On?
Typical responsibilities of biostatisticians cover:
- Draw conclusions or make predictions, based on data summaries or statistical analyses.
- Analyze clinical or survey data, using statistical approaches such as longitudinal analysis, mixed-effect modeling, logistic regression analyses, and model-building techniques.
- Write detailed analysis plans and descriptions of analyses and findings for research protocols or reports.
- Calculate sample size requirements for clinical studies.
- Read current literature, attend meetings or conferences, and talk with colleagues to keep abreast of methodological or conceptual developments in fields such as biostatistics, pharmacology, life sciences, and social sciences.
- Design research studies in collaboration with physicians, life scientists, or other professionals.
- Prepare tables and graphs to present clinical data or results.
- Write program code to analyze data with statistical analysis software.
What Biostatisticians Need to Know
Successful biostatisticians draw on a mix of skills and domain knowledge.
Most Important Skills
These are the skills that matter most in this role, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:
Core Knowledge
Other Biostatisticians Job Titles
People in this occupation may also be known by titles such as:
- Bioinformatics Scientist
- Biomathematician
- Biometrician
- Biostatistical Consultant
- Biostatistician
- Clinical Biostatistician
- NGS Biostatistician (Next-Generation Sequencing)
- Postdoctoral Fellow
Job Outlook
The U.S. employs around 71,672 biostatisticians working in the United States today. This occupation is expected to grow by +7.4% over the projection horizon.
How Much Do Biostatisticians Make?
| Statistic | Value |
|---|---|
| Annual median | $121,594 |
| Hourly median | $58.46 |
| 10th percentile | $82,986 |
| 25th percentile | $102,290 |
| 75th percentile | $140,899 |
| 90th percentile | $160,203 |
Compensation varies based on experience, location, and industry.
Pay by State
| State | Annual median salary |
|---|---|
| New York | $150,240 |
| District of Columbia | $133,680 |
| Maryland | $128,940 |
| New Hampshire | $127,870 |
| California | $127,550 |
| Delaware | $126,640 |
| North Carolina | $122,630 |
| Illinois | $116,860 |
| Indiana | $113,030 |
| Georgia | $108,280 |
| Texas | $104,380 |
| Florida | $104,160 |
| Kentucky | $103,400 |
| Virginia | $101,900 |
| Washington | $101,890 |
| New Jersey | $99,510 |
| Massachusetts | $99,230 |
| Colorado | $97,310 |
| Michigan | $96,780 |
| Connecticut | $95,680 |
| Oregon | $93,620 |
| Kansas | $93,330 |
| Rhode Island | $91,680 |
| Arizona | $91,320 |
| Wisconsin | $88,910 |
| Tennessee | $88,760 |
| Utah | $88,060 |
| New Mexico | $86,310 |
| Iowa | $86,160 |
| Ohio | $84,130 |
| Alaska | $83,780 |
| Pennsylvania | $83,660 |
| Nebraska | $82,770 |
| Oklahoma | $81,180 |
| West Virginia | $80,580 |
| Minnesota | $80,140 |
| Montana | $79,100 |
| North Dakota | $78,800 |
| Hawaii | $76,810 |
| Vermont | $73,320 |
| Louisiana | $72,550 |
| Nevada | $71,250 |
| Alabama | $67,490 |
| Maine | $66,620 |
| South Carolina | $65,850 |
| Missouri | $64,460 |
| Mississippi | $59,980 |
| Puerto Rico | $48,210 |
Where Biostatisticians Earn the Most
Earnings for biostatisticians vary by region. These regions lead on median pay:
| Region | Median annual wage | Share of U.S. jobs | Location quotient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Middle Atlantic | $118,823 | 27.5% | 3.28 |
| Far Western US | $111,951 | 21.1% | 2.05 |
| Southeast | $101,801 | 17.2% | 0.98 |
| Great Lakes | $100,519 | 6.6% | 0.49 |
| Southwest | $98,220 | 6.8% | 0.78 |
| New England | $97,242 | 8.9% | 2.42 |
| Rocky Mountains | $96,371 | 3.3% | 1.59 |
| Plains States | $77,337 | 7.2% | 1.31 |
Top Metro Areas
| Metro area | State | Median annual wage | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | CA | $177,740 | 420 |
| Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY | NY | $164,290 | |
| Ames, IA | IA | $150,000 | 30 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | CA | $149,400 | 830 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | NY | $140,610 | 1,260 |
| Boulder, CO | CO | $136,670 | 100 |
| Raleigh-Cary, NC | NC | $136,340 | 330 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | DC | $133,240 | 3,490 |
Industry Breakdown
The largest employers of biostatisticians are concentrated in the following sectors:
| Industry | Employment | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 9,920 | $106,470 |
| Educational Services | 3,790 | $81,810 |
| Health Care and Social Assistance | 2,530 | $99,540 |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises | 1,430 | $117,400 |
| Finance and Insurance | 1,270 | $100,720 |
| Information | 750 | $99,380 |
| Manufacturing | 730 | $140,490 |
| Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services | 580 | $104,000 |
Below are examples of industries where biostatisticians work:
Tech Stack
- Operating system software: Bash (hot technology)
- Object or component oriented development software: C# (hot technology)
- Object or component oriented development software: C++ (hot technology)
- Enterprise application integration software: Extensible markup language XML (hot technology)
- File versioning software: Git (hot technology)
- Analytical or scientific software: IBM SPSS Statistics (hot technology)
- Web platform development software: JavaScript (hot technology)
- Operating system software: Linux (hot technology)
- Data base user interface and query software: Microsoft Access (hot technology)
- Spreadsheet software: Microsoft Excel (hot technology)
- Office suite software: Microsoft Office software (hot technology)
- Presentation software: Microsoft PowerPoint (hot technology)
What the Workplace Is Like
Daily working conditions for biostatisticians is shaped by the following characteristics:
- Spend Time Sitting
- Work With or Contribute to a Work Group or Team
- Importance of Being Exact or Accurate
- Freedom to Make Decisions
Getting Started in This Career
Most biostatisticians positions require a doctoral or professional degree as the typical entry-level education. This career aligns with Extensive Preparation Needed (Job Zone 5), signaling the level of preparation typically expected.
Related Careers
Similar Occupations
- Natural Sciences Managers (Supplemental)
- Clinical Research Coordinators (Primary-Long)
- Financial Quantitative Analysts (Supplemental)
- Health Informatics Specialists (Supplemental)
- Mathematicians (Primary-Long)
- Operations Research Analysts (Supplemental)
- Statisticians (Primary-Short)
- Data Scientists (Primary-Short)
Where to Study
Future biostatisticians commonly pursue programs in:
Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies
6 programs across 3 majors
Social Sciences
3 programs across 2 majors
Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services
1 programs across 1 majors
About the Data
Data on this page comes from the following authoritative sources:
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) for employment and wage data by state and industry.
- BLS Employment Projections for total employment and growth forecasts.
- O*NET (Occupational Information Network) for skills, knowledge, tasks, work activities, work context, technology, and education-zone data.
SOC code: 15-2041.01 (Statisticians).
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