How Much Do Legislative Affairs Specialists Make?

Having a clear understanding of earnings potential is important, especially if you are researching career paths or considering changing jobs. If you're one of those people, and you're curious what kind of salary legislative affairs specialists make, you've come to the right place.

Using data from Lightcast,™ the Best Adult Colleges and Careers Guide has compiled rich information about salary for legislative affairs specialists and related jobs, including details about average compensation, salary trends and job growth. We've also gathered advertised salaries from actual job postings to provide insight into what employers of legislative affairs specialists are offering as compensation.

Keep reading to learn more about how much legislative affairs specialists can expect to make in the United States.

At a Glance: Salary & Jobs for Legislative Affairs Specialists

According to data from 2023, there were about 8,201 positions for legislative affairs specialists in the United States. In terms of salary, the national median salary for legislative affairs specialists was reported to be $132,350. Additionally, when examining job demand, employers across the country posted 8,461 job postings related to positions for legislative affairs specialists.

How Much Money Do Legislative Affairs Specialists Make?

Median salary is just one data point. To build a better understanding of how much money legislative affairs specialists and related positions can expect to make in the United States, it can be helpful to look at the full range of compensation for those jobs.

Let's look more deeply at data that was reported to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) for detail into the lowest and highest salary earnings for legislative affairs specialists.

Annual Salary for Legislative Affairs Specialists

According to the BLS, the lowest earners for legislative affairs specialists and related professions earned about $72,467 per year in 2023. Meanwhile, at the other end of the spectrum, the highest earners made about $183,498 annually.

As mentioned previously, the median salary for legislative affairs specialists in the United States in 2023 was $132,350.

Hourly Salary for Legislative Affairs Specialists

The BLS also breaks down compensation for legislative affairs specialists by hourly salary, and the median average hourly pay for legislative affairs specialists in 2023 was $64. Lowest hourly earners took home $35 while the highest reported hourly salaries for legislative affairs specialists was $88.

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Degree Options for Legislative Affairs Specialists

Advertised Compensation for Legislative Affairs Specialists

Data from the BLS is one way to dig into compensation for legislative affairs specialists, but another way to build a more real-time understanding of salary is to look at actual job postings and see what compensation organizations are currently providing to fill open positions for legislative affairs specialists.

Keep in mind that salary data is not included in every job posting, so the information compiled here is reflective of the data available through Lightcast.™

Annual Salary from Job Postings for Legislative Affairs Specialists

During a review of 9,651 job postings related to legislative affairs specialists, advertised salary was included in 3,642 of them, which was 38%. Based on those postings, the median advertised salary for legislative affairs specialists was $91,904 per year.

Hourly Salary from Job Postings for Legislative Affairs Specialists

A similar analysis of job postings provides insight into advertised hourly salary for legislative affairs specialists. Based on 43% of postings with advertised compensation, the median hourly salary for open positions for legislative affairs specialists in the United States is about $44.

Salary Trend for Legislative Affairs Specialists

If you're thinking about pursuing a career in the field, you may want to understand how compensation has changed over time for legislative affairs specialists. The chart below provides a snapshot of advertised salaries over the past three years.

Based on compensation data that was included in job postings for legislative affairs specialists dating back to September 2020, advertised salaries for legislative affairs specialists have increased 23%.

What's the Job Growth for Legislative Affairs Specialists?

Another data point that someone thinking about a career path should consider is whether or not jobs are expected to see growth in the future. The chart below looks at projected employment for legislative affairs specialists over the next 10 years.

According to the data obtained through Lightcast,™ there were 8,200 jobs for legislative affairs specialists in the United States in 2023. By 2033, it is expected that about 355 jobs will be added. That's a 4.3% increase over the next 10-year period.

Additional Links

Ready to dig deeper into career information about legislative affairs specialists? Visit our other pages focused on salary and education for legislative affairs specialists.

What do legislative affairs specialists do?
Legislative Affairs Specialists: How do you become one?

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