Market research analysts and marketing specialists job market in Pennsylvania

Industry trends, wages and hiring signals.

The headline

Industry employment fell while average weekly industry wages rose

A data-driven view of the industries that employ Market research analysts and marketing specialists in Pennsylvania.

Verified QCEW 2026 Q1January to March 2026 · State coverage 88.85% · BLS QCEWCitationEvidence record

Occupation pay

What Market research analysts and marketing specialists earn in Pennsylvania

BLS OEWS occupation-level pay estimates for this role — separate from the industry wage trends used elsewhere in this report.

BLS OEWS source

Median annual wage

$68,760Pennsylvania
Middle 50% of published wages
$49,790 – $96,670
U.S. median annual wage
$78,760
Reference period
May 2025

The middle 50% is the 25th-to-75th percentile wage range, not an experience-level band. Suppressed or unavailable BLS values remain unpublished rather than being estimated.

Pay around Pennsylvania

How median pay varies by metro area

Published BLS OEWS metro estimates for Market research analysts and marketing specialists, compared with the Pennsylvania median of $68,760.

Pennsylvania median$68,760
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD$79,420+15.5% vs. state
Middle 50%$61,260 – $109,350Published employment17,600
Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA$71,500+4.0% vs. state
Middle 50%$56,410 – $92,360Published employment1,560
Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ$67,740−1.5% vs. state
Middle 50%$50,070 – $94,060Published employment1,400
Chambersburg, PA$65,900−4.2% vs. state
Middle 50%$50,780 – $77,030Published employment180
York-Hanover, PA$65,020−5.4% vs. state
Middle 50%$46,760 – $91,460Published employment570
Lancaster, PA$64,790−5.8% vs. state
Middle 50%$51,340 – $84,750Published employment990
View 10 more published metro areas
Pittsburgh, PA$63,190−8.1% vs. state
Middle 50%$50,130 – $82,690Published employment4,940
Reading, PA$63,040−8.3% vs. state
Middle 50%$49,120 – $84,590Published employment520
Lebanon, PA$61,770−10.2% vs. state
Middle 50%$47,830 – $80,190Published employment120
Altoona, PA$61,740−10.2% vs. state
Middle 50%$46,460 – $77,950Published employment150
Williamsport, PA$61,260−10.9% vs. state
Middle 50%$45,900 – $79,990Published employment150
State College, PA$61,050−11.2% vs. state
Middle 50%$44,040 – $82,350Published employment280
Erie, PA$60,700−11.7% vs. state
Middle 50%$46,440 – $76,790Published employment420
Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA$60,440−12.1% vs. state
Middle 50%$46,920 – $77,250Published employment770
Gettysburg, PA$52,370−23.8% vs. state
Middle 50%$42,730 – $64,750Published employment80
Johnstown, PA$50,770−26.2% vs. state
Middle 50%$37,640 – $75,350Published employment110

Areas are ordered by published median wage for readability, not as an overall job-market ranking. The vertical marker is the Pennsylvania median. Some BLS metropolitan areas cross state lines, so a metro estimate can cover workers in more than one state.

Verified snapshot

Market at a Glance

Key changes in Pennsylvania’s weighted industry mix.

-0.3%Industry employmentPennsylvania industry employmentU.S. -0.1%vs. -0.1% U.S.
+1.5%Establishments in weighted industriesPennsylvania establishments in weighted industriesU.S. +2.5%vs. +2.5% U.S.
+4.0%Avg. weekly industry wagePennsylvania avg. weekly industry wageU.S. +4.1% · not occupation payvs. +4.1% U.S. · not occupation pay
-0.2 ppGap vs. U.S. industry employmentState minus U.S. industry employment change

Percentage-point gaps use the original published values and are rounded once; subtracting the rounded percentages can give a slightly different result.

Published coverage: 250,796 represented establishments, 83.48% of the published industry mix.

Local research

What the data shows for market research analysts and marketing specialists in Pennsylvania

Findings describe the published observation periods shown below. Research published Oct 11, 2026.

Private education and health services has the largest positive weighted contribution

The largest positive weighted contribution to the industry employment-growth proxy in Pennsylvania comes from Private education and health services in January to March 2026. Its share of positive weighted contributions is 100.0%, and its own year-over-year employment change is +1.9%. Each leading industry group is weighted using this occupation's national industry mix, of which the groups examined cover 80.1%. This is a proxy comparison, not a count of occupation jobs created.

January to March 2026 · BLS QCEW

Pay differs widely between metro areas

The median wage at the upper end of Pennsylvania's metro comparison is 56.4% above the lower end in OEWS May 2025. The 16 published estimates on a shared wage basis extend from Johnstown, PA at $50,770 to Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD at $79,420. The wage difference alone does not account for living costs or job availability.

OEWS May 2025 · BLS OEWS

Metro estimates may include areas in neighboring states. The comparison covers published metro estimates, not every part of the state.

Published median pay is below the U.S. median

The OEWS May 2025 estimates put median annual pay for market research analysts and marketing specialists at $68,760 in Pennsylvania and $78,760 nationally. The state median is 12.7% lower. Living costs are not included in this comparison, and individual workers' pay varies.

OEWS May 2025 · BLS OEWS

Industry measures describe the industries associated with this occupation. They are not direct occupation employment, current openings or a state-level Job Market Health score. Findings describe published data and do not establish causes. Methodology

Employment trends

Year-over-year change in the weighted industries. The U.S. line is the latest-quarter benchmark because a comparable national quarterly history is not published here.

Latest published values
  • Pennsylvania · 2026 Q1-0.3%
  • U.S. · latest-quarter benchmark-0.1%

The chart will load automatically. Published values remain available in this report.

View every published value
Quarterly Pennsylvania industry employment changes and coverage
QuarterPennsylvaniaCoverage
2024 Q2-0.1%100%
2024 Q3-0.1%100%
2024 Q4+0.1%100%
2025 Q1+0.1%100%
2025 Q2+0.2%100%
2025 Q30.0%100%
2025 Q40.0%100%
2026 Q1-0.3%88.85%

How to read this chart

State trend and national reference

The solid line follows Pennsylvania’s published year-over-year industry employment changes by quarter. The dashed U.S. line is a latest-quarter reference, not a second time series.

Published quarters
8
Earliest quarter
2024 Q2
Latest quarter
2026 Q1
U.S. benchmark
-0.1%

Quarters with no published value are omitted rather than interpolated.

Industry context

Where Market research analysts and marketing specialists Work

The occupation mix determines which Pennsylvania industries are weighted into this view.

Industries weighted into the Pennsylvania Market research analysts and marketing specialists context
Industry groupOccupation mixEmployment changeEstablishmentsAvg. weekly industry wage
Professional and business services39.7%-0.5%83,388$2,370
Trade, transportation, and utilities13.7%-1.3%74,006$1,221
Financial activities12.4%-0.2%33,781$3,184
Information9.0%Not publishedNot publishedNot published
Private education and health services8.5%+1.9%59,621$1,294
Manufacturing5.8%-1.3%14,641$1,643

Which industries are growing?

One weighted industry is growing

Only weighted industries with a published positive Pennsylvania employment change are listed.

  • Private education and health services+1.9%

The remaining weighted industries published a flat or negative change in January to March 2026.

Selected state comparison

Pennsylvania vs. other states

A selected set of other states with valid reports for this occupation, not every available state. Each state’s own published industry employment change for QCEW 2026 Q1, ordered with this report first and then alphabetically. This is not a ranking and there is no state-level score.

Open state comparison

How to read this

Same occupation, same release

Every state shown published its own verified QCEW 2026 Q1 figure for the industries weighted to Market research analysts and marketing specialists. Bars are proportional to each published change; left of centre is a decline.

Current Pennsylvania context

Current Pennsylvania Market Signals

Statewide indicators for all occupations in Pennsylvania. They are not Market research analysts and marketing specialists demand and are not part of the Job Market Health score.

Statewide job postings

Indeed job postings · Pennsylvania

Recent hiring-demand context · separate from the health score

98.3Postings index · February 1, 2020 = 100Observation: Oct 23, 2026
-1.7%Versus the February 2020 baseline
-0.5%Change over about four weeksSep 25, 2026 to Oct 23, 2026

Total postings index (seasonally adjusted) by observation date · baseline 100

The chart will load automatically. Published values remain available in this report.

View values: Indeed postings index
Indeed postings index
Observation dateIndex (Feb 2020 = 100)
Jul 24, 202698.11
Jul 31, 202697.59
Aug 7, 202697.16
Aug 14, 202697.19
Aug 21, 202697.51
Aug 28, 202697.55
Sep 4, 202697.44
Sep 11, 202697.87
Sep 18, 202698.49
Sep 25, 202698.87
Oct 2, 202699.45
Oct 9, 202699.93
Oct 16, 202699.14
Oct 23, 202698.33

This is statewide demand across all occupations, not demand for this specific job. Postings are not a count of vacancies or hires, and Indeed does not cover the entire labor market.

Source: Indeed Hiring Lab · CC BY 4.0. Seven-day average, seasonally adjusted; publisher refreshes weekly and may revise history. Retrieved Nov 1, 2026 · saved source copy. JobMarketHealth calculates the displayed changes and samples weekly observations for the chart.

Explore states and career fields · Methodology and limits

Statewide layoff notices

Monthly WARN notices in Pennsylvania

Monthly measurement

Month received in the official state listing. Exact notice days are not published. Effective layoff dates are not used as notice dates.

Latest three completed calendar months
MonthNotice entries
Aug 20269
Sep 20266
Oct 20267
Three-month total22

Nov 2026: not listed in the source — unavailable, not zero; excluded from the total.

Counts describe published notice entries, not unique employers or confirmed job losses. Explicit revisions are excluded as new notices. Missing months remain unavailable; source revisions may change counts.

Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry

Source last checked . This check does not certify a newly published report.

Career context

Related roles from the occupation’s published O*NET profile.

Questions answered by this release

Market research analysts and marketing specialists in Pennsylvania FAQs

Each answer is limited to what QCEW 2026 Q1 actually publishes for this state.

Is employment growing for Market research analysts and marketing specialists in Pennsylvania?

The available QCEW measure is not direct occupation employment. Employment across the Pennsylvania industries weighted to Market research analysts and marketing specialists changed -0.3% year over year in January to March 2026, compared with -0.1% nationwide.

Are wages for Market research analysts and marketing specialists rising in Pennsylvania?

QCEW does not publish pay for Market research analysts and marketing specialists in this view. Average weekly wages across the weighted industries changed +4.0% year over year; that must not be read as an occupation salary change.

How complete is this Pennsylvania industry view?

The three core state trends each meet the site’s coverage floor; the minimum published coverage is 88.85% of the occupation’s industry mix.

Does this page show current Market research analysts and marketing specialists openings?

No. QCEW measures industry employment, establishments and wages. Any postings, news or WARN figures shown here are statewide context and are not occupation-specific openings.

Methodology & sourcesQCEW 2026 Q1 · coverage 88.85% · full evidence record

Methodology & Sources

Derived by JobMarketHealth from BLS QCEW + published occupation industry mix. This is occupation-weighted industry context, not direct occupation employment and not a count of current job openings.

Occupation
Market research analysts and marketing specialists
SOC code
13-1161
State
Pennsylvania
QCEW release label
QCEW 2026 Q1
Data period
2026 Q1
State industry employment, year over year
-0.3%State data coverage 88.85%
U.S. benchmark, year over year
-0.1%
Difference from U.S. benchmark
-0.2 percentage pointsPercentage-point gaps use the original published values and are rounded once; subtracting the rounded percentages can give a slightly different result.
Establishments, year over year
+1.5%State data coverage 88.85%
Average weekly industry wage, year over year
+4.0%State data coverage 88.85%
Industry mix vintage
EP-2025-2035
BLS publication date
Aug 28, 2026
Source verification
Verified against the committed source snapshotVerified Sep 17, 2026
Canonical record URL
https://jobmarkethealth.com/occupations/market-research-analysts-and-marketing-specialists/pennsylvania#evidence-record
Derived by
JobMarketHealth from BLS QCEW + published occupation industry mix

Weighted industry conditions are not direct occupation employment, occupation wages, current openings or a state-level Job Market Health score. No causal explanation is inferred.

Market research analysts and marketing specialists in other states