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A Complete Guide to Business Analyst Salaries in 2024
When you’re searching for a new job, one of your first thoughts might be: What will they pay me? If you’re looking for opportunities as a business analyst, then there is a wealth of available roles to fill with competitive salaries.
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that demand will increase by 10% between 2022 and 2032, faster than average for all occupations. Business analysts are already in huge demand, and it seems that demand will only increase with time.
The COVID-19 pandemic has catalyzed the digital revolution, which is a large factor driving the demand for business analysts. Thanks to increased investments in business analysis during the pandemic, all kinds of industries are building their data analyst teams and departments to grow with the digital revolution.
However, there is a shortage of analytically savvy candidates to fulfill such roles—a shortage of 140,000 to 190,000 people in the US alone. The hot demand for analysts puts BAs in good stead to earn a handsome salary, competitive amongst other tech careers.
Business analysts support many functions of a business, and their salaries can vary depending on their specific role, their skills, experience level, location, and even the industry they work within.
This article will study how such criteria influence a business analyst’s salary in 2024. We’ve based our overview on data from several job portals, including Glassdoor and PayScale, public data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and job surveys. This focus will cover the United States, United Kingdom, European Union, and Canada to give great insights wherever you are based.
Business Analyst Salaries by Experience
Average business analyst salaries
How much does a business analyst earn on average? According to Indeed, the average total pay for business analysts in the U.S is $84,778 per year. The confidence estimate on this figure is high, and they’ve based it on over 7,000 reported salaries.
Image source: Indeed
Entry-level business analyst salaries
However, a business analyst’s salary will vary with experience. Keeping our focus on the US, we can see that as someone entering the business analyst field, you might expect to earn about $54,739 per year.
Senior business analyst salaries
Whereas if you are a senior business analyst, your experience grants you an average yearly salary of $131,300. It is clear to see that pay reliably increases with seniority for business analysts.
Image source: Payscale
Looking at this graph from PayScale we can see a more detailed report of how years of experience directly affect pay level. With their data, entry-level BAs can expect to earn $62k, whereas with 20 years experience or more, that salary can grow to $81k. These figures are based on a smaller sample size than Glassdoor, which could account for the difference we've seen.
Business Analyst Salaries by Location
Location is another variable that will change your expected income. Let’s see the breakdown for these areas:
Business analyst salaries in the United States
Business analysts make the most in Washington, California, New Hampshire, New Jersey, and Oregon, according to data collected by Zippia. In Washington, which is the highest paid, the average business analyst salary is $88,037, which is down compared to 2022, when it was $93,191. Whereas Florida has one of the lowest average business analyst salary of $61,057 — which is still higher than the national annual wage across roles and industries.
Image source: Zippia. The darker areas on the map show where business analysts earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.
Business analyst salaries in the United Kingdom
In the UK, the average BA salary is £51,617, less than the base pay for an analyst in the U.S. On top of this, the salary trajectory for a BA is not such a steady upward curve in the U.K.
There is little difference in salary for an entry-level BA until they become a senior analyst, when they can earn around £68,512 a year. This presents some improvement; however, it’s not as competitive as U.S. salaries.
Image source: Glassdoor
Business analyst salaries in the European Union
With 27 countries in the EU, there is plenty of scope for a wide range of salaries. We will give a few examples to show an example of the range in salaries across Europe.
One of the most lucrative places in the EU to be a business analyst is Germany. On average, a BA in Germany can expect to earn €55,000 a year, which is considered an average wage. As a Senior BA, this goes up to €77,008 on average per year.
Similarly, in Amsterdam and the Netherlands, you can expect a base pay of €52,645, which increases to €71,603 as a senior analyst.
In France, the average pay base is a little less at €42,308 a year, with little difference in rate as an entry-level candidate. Other areas of the Mediterranean, such as Spain and Italy, have a considerably lower rate of pay for business analysts. On average, your salary in Spain would be €32,868 and €27,500 in Italy.
Business analyst salaries in Canada
Image source: Indeed
Canada, much like the US, can offer a generous salary for business analysts. On average, this looks to be around $75,334.
Business Analyst Salaries by Job Title
“Business analyst” is a job title that covers many different kinds of roles, from Junior IT business analyst to business intelligence analyst. Here we break down the average pay for some of the roles that fall under BA, with around $30,000 difference between the lowest and highest paying roles.
A business analyst’s seniority and involvement with tech generally affords higher compensation. (Data for roles in the United States, via Payscale).
Business management analyst salaries
Provides high-level analytic expertise for the development of complex reporting and analytical Business Intelligence (BI) solutions utilizing various tools such as Oracle. Must have strong managerial and analytical experience.
Average salary $60,428.
Business performance analyst salaries
Evaluates the performance of systems and outcomes. Using strong research and analytical skills, a performance analyst works across teams and with leadership to optimize client growth.
Average salary $60,678.
Business analyst II salaries
Collect and analyze data for potential business expansion. A Business Analyst II will need to be fluent in statistics, certified in programs such as SQL, and able to take on leadership roles.
Average salary $64,981.
Business intelligence analyst salaries
Combine technical ability with business acumen to provide valuable insight into the driving forces behind every aspect of the business. Perform competitor and industry analysis to ensure the long-term viability of the business. BI analysts need to have expertise in a range of skills, including statistics, data visualization and management, computer programming, and more. Many companies will require entry-level BI analysts to have several years of experience as a data analyst or related role.
Average salary $66,791.
Application business analyst salaries
Serve as part of an organization’s IT team, taking an analytic role to ensure that the computer application systems being used meet the organization's needs. Application analysts need to have technical skills, including an understanding of computer languages.
Average salary $66,882.
Technical business analyst salaries
Oversees and implements technical projects and solutions. The primary aim is to convert business requirements into technical specifications easily understood by the development and technical teams. This requires around 3+ years of experience in data analysis as well as understanding BI tools and programming languages.
Average salary $71,489.
Agile business analyst salaries
Provides guidance and advice to various lines of business in the use of various data management tools and processes. They often require a couple of years of experience in case modeling and solid experience in Agile and Scrum.
Average salary $74,000.
Business solutions analyst salaries
Provides leadership and expertise on industry-leading technologies, reporting tools, data management methodologies, infrastructure, and best practices within data science-driven environments. This role requires several years of experience in finance solutions.
Average salary $75,243.
Systems business analyst salaries
Help with the technological integration of business IT and software. They need a technical background in business systems analyses and strong communication skills to address the gap between the technical and non-technical aspects of the client’s business.
Average salary $78,095.
Senior IT business analyst salaries
Responsible for enhancing the quality of IT products and services, analyzing data to inform business decisions, and finding technological solutions to business needs.
Average salary $90,201.
Notably, PayScale’s average base pay for business analysts is a little lower than the data collected from Glassdoor. However, the salary range corresponding to job titles match the trends shown by Glassdoor’s findings.
What other roles make up a data team, and what are their expected salary ranges?
Check out our infographic on the Anatomy of a Data Team to learn more.
Business Analyst Salaries for Freelancers
With the advantages of working from home growing, more and more people are wondering if now is the right time to try out freelancing. Data professionals are not exempt. In recent months, the number of business analyst jobs available on popular freelancer platforms, such as Upwork, has skyrocketed.
If you are considering this option, you may be wondering how much freelance business analysts make. According to Glassdoor, their mean salary in the US is $89,000, with a salary range of $73,000 to $108,000.
Image source: Glassdoor
In any case, it is difficult to provide a clear estimate, as the earnings of freelance business analysts are highly dependent on factors such as their skills, experience, and reviews.
Business Analyst Salaries Across Industries
Data from both PayScale and Zippia correspond to suggest finance offers some of the highest starting salaries. For technology and manufacturing companies, the lowest salary (annual) for business analysts was estimated between $58,000 and $55,000, respectively.
Healthcare: Average business analyst salaries
Image source: Zippia
Finance: Average business analyst salaries
Image source: Zippia
Manufacturing: Average business analyst salaries
Image source: Zippia
Technology: Average business analyst salaries
Image source: Zippia
Insurance: Average business analyst salaries
Image source: Zippia
Image source: Payscale
Overall, data professionals working in the computer industry (e.g. computer hardware, cloud services, cybersecurity, or software development), reported the highest salaries, with average compensations ranging from $171,000 (for computer hardware) to $164,000 (for software). The data also shows highly competitive salaries (over $100,000) across industries outside computing, including banking, retail, fashion, and insurance. This is consistent with the latest occupation data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Business Analyst Salaries by Skills
As business analysts wear many hats, it’s important to have a range of tech and soft skills. The balance between business acumen and tech knowledge will vary between job titles and companies. However, some highly valuable skills can perk up your earning potential.
Skills in business analysis, requirements analysis, project management, and data analysis correlate to above-average pay.
Data from PayScale reveals how specific skills can directly affect your salary as a business analyst, particularly looking at tech skills. For example, experience with Oracle eBusiness Suite can increase your salary by 43%.
Image source: Payscale
What You Can Do to Increase Your Business Analyst Salary
As discussed throughout this guide, business analysts are responsible for many tasks and, as such, require various skills, both hard and soft.
Considering the ever-developing digital landscape, it’s critical that business analysts keep increasing their skills to match industry demands. With this in mind, continuous training is key for data professionals not only to keep up with the speed of innovation and achieve salary increases or promotions.
Consider how to bump up your salary with these tips:
Advanced degrees
Gaining a master's or PhD in data science or relevant subjects can improve chances of promotion within your organization. Most big tech companies encourage their employees to pursue these kinds of programs.
Upskill with courses
Use platforms like Datacamp to improve your programming language literacy and more. Don’t miss the opportunity to explore our large catalog of courses, or sign up for one of our skill tracks to expand your areas of expertise.
Gain certifications
Getting certified is one of the fastest ways to pick up or improve new business analyst skills. According to the O’Reilly 2021 Data/AI Salary Survey, cloud certifications, specifically in AWS and Microsoft Azure, were most strongly associated with salary increases. For business analysts, consider business-specific certifications as well, such as IIBA Certification of Competency in Business Analysis (CCBA) or IIBA Certified Business Analysis Professional (CBAP) if you’re a more experienced BA. You can read more about the best Business Analyst certifications in a separate article.
Managing experience
Look for opportunities to take on managerial or leadership roles in your work. For example, if you oversee more junior business analysts, this experience validates expertise and seniority, which can increase the likelihood of earning more.
Change of employer
Consider a career move to a new employer that is willing to pay more for your skills.
Relocate
One of the more drastic moves, but sure to have a dramatic effect, is to move to an area that has a much higher rate of pay for business analysts.
Explore different industries
As we have seen, BA salary can differ industry-to-industry. Consider transferring your skills and experience to an industry that can offer more rewards.
Business Analyst Salary Future Trends
The Linkedin 2021 Report for Jobs on the Rise highlighted the increasing demand for digital skills, with no signs of slowing down. The report predicts that there will be 150 million tech-related jobs expected to be added globally over the next five years. Emsi Burning Glass predicts that business analyst positions, in particular, will grow 5.9 percent over the next 10 years.
During the pandemic, investments in data and analytics increased with the reliance on data and the digital world. According to an EY study, 93% of companies indicated that they plan to continue to increase investments in the area of data and analytics. According to a 2021 report from Allied Market Research, the big data and data analytics market was valued at over $198.08 billion in 2020 and is expected to grow to $684.12 billion by 2030.
As the market increases, so does investment in data analytics, and thus the demand for BA professionals increases. Competition to hire business analysts will sharpen between businesses, pushing them to incentivize candidates with better salaries.
If you are considering starting a new adventure in the world of Data, Datacamp is the best place to get started. Check out our course catalog and begin your learning journey today.
Interested in other roles? Check out our other articles:
Ready for a new role as a business analyst?
Check out DataCamp Jobs, our free jobs platform specifically for data professionals.
FAQs
What educational background is typically required to become a business analyst?
Most business analysts have a bachelor’s degree in fields such as business administration, finance, computer science, or related areas. Advanced degrees or certifications, such as an MBA or certifications like CBAP (Certified Business Analysis Professional), can enhance job prospects and earning potential.
How does the role of a business analyst differ across industries?
The core responsibilities of a business analyst remain similar, but specific tasks can vary by industry. For example, in finance, a business analyst might focus more on financial modeling and risk analysis, while in IT, they might work on software development and systems integration.
What are some common career paths for business analysts?
Business analysts can advance to roles such as senior business analyst, project manager, product manager, data analyst, or management consultant. With experience, they may also move into executive positions like Chief Data Officer (CDO) or Chief Information Officer (CIO).
What are the most valuable certifications for business analysts to pursue?
Some valuable certifications include CBAP (Certified Business Analysis Professional), PMI-PBA (Professional in Business Analysis), IIBA-AAC (Agile Analysis Certification), and certifications in specific tools like Tableau or SQL.
What impact does remote work have on business analyst salaries and job opportunities?
Remote work can broaden job opportunities and allow business analysts to work for companies in higher-paying regions without relocating. However, it can also lead to increased competition for roles as employers have access to a global talent pool.
Are there specific software tools or platforms that business analysts should be proficient in?
Business analysts should be proficient in tools like Microsoft Excel, SQL, Tableau, Power BI, Jira, and project management software like Asana or Trello. Familiarity with programming languages like Python or R can also be beneficial.
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