Budget Analysts
Examine budget estimates for completeness, accuracy, and conformance with procedures and regulations. Analyze budgeting and accounting reports.
What it pays
Budget Analysts earn a median of $44.06/hr — about $91,500 a year. The lowest-paid 10% earn $29.93/hr; the top 10% earn $65.70/hr. (Annual figures are approximate: hourly × 2,080.)
Budget Analysts earn a median of $44.06/hr — about $91,500 a year. The lowest-paid 10% earn $29.93/hr; the top 10% earn $65.70/hr. (Annual figures are approximate: hourly × 2,080.)
What you'd actually do
- Analyze monthly department budgeting and accounting reports to maintain expenditure controls.
- Provide advice and technical assistance with cost analysis, fiscal allocation, and budget preparation.
- Review operating budgets to analyze trends affecting budget needs.
- Compile and analyze accounting records and other data to determine the financial resources required to implement a program.
- Examine budget estimates for completeness, accuracy, and conformance with procedures and regulations.
- Summarize budgets and submit recommendations for the approval or disapproval of funds requests.
How you get there
Typical entry-level education: Bachelor's degree. Overall preparation: considerable preparation (Job Zone 4 of 5).
The feel of the work
The work is mostly indoors; time pressure is a real part of the job; precision matters — small details carry weight. (Compared against the other 818 careers in the guide.)
Working for yourself
About 0% of budget analysts are self-employed.
Who it tends to fit
This work tends to fit people who are organized and detail-focused, take-charge and analytical.
Work a simulated shift in this job — freeMake the real decisions this job involves, then see what your choices say about you.Related careers
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Quick questions
- How much does a budget analyst make?
- The median pay is $44.06 per hour — roughly $91,500 a year, with the real range running from about $29.93/hr (10th percentile) to $65.70/hr (90th percentile). Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- Do you need a degree to be a budget analyst?
- The typical entry-level education is: Bachelor's degree. Overall preparation level: considerable preparation (Job Zone 4 of 5).
- What does a budget analyst actually do all day?
- Analyze monthly department budgeting and accounting reports to maintain expenditure controls. Provide advice and technical assistance with cost analysis, fiscal allocation, and budget preparation. Review operating budgets to analyze trends affecting budget needs.
Wages: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS. Tasks & interests: O*NET. Career pathways shown in the app are draft archetypes — verify before relying on them. Trailhead is a free career guide for students — honest numbers, no hype.
Trailhead is operated by FLEXVermont LLC. It is intended for high-school students age 13 and older, and the educators and families who support them, and is not directed to children under 13. Trailhead is provided for general informational and educational purposes only. It does not offer professional, financial, or career advice, and its wage figures and pathways are estimates that may not fit your situation — they should not be relied on as the sole basis for any decision.
Trailhead is operated by FLEXVermont LLC. It is intended for high-school students age 13 and older, and the educators and families who support them, and is not directed to children under 13. Trailhead is provided for general informational and educational purposes only. It does not offer professional, financial, or career advice, and its wage figures and pathways are estimates that may not fit your situation — they should not be relied on as the sole basis for any decision.