Industrial-Organizational Psychologists
Industrial-Organizational Psychologists (SOC 19-3032) earn a median $193,950 a year ($93.24 an hour) in the United States, with 790 employed as of May 2025; the highest-paying state is Oregon.
What industrial-organizational psychologists do
Industrial-organizational psychologists apply psychological research and methods to workplaces. They help organizations decide whom to hire and promote, how to train and develop employees, and how to organize the work setting to improve productivity. Typical tasks include developing and carrying out employee selection or placement programs, building interview techniques, rating scales, and psychological tests to assess skills and traits, and giving advice on best practices for selection systems. They analyze data with statistical methods to evaluate how well programs and policies work, and they observe and interview workers to learn the physical, mental, and educational requirements of jobs. Some help organizations through development and change. The occupation differs from clinical and counseling psychologists, who diagnose and treat mental disorders, from human resources specialists, who administer hiring and benefits programs rather than design the methods, and from management analysts, who advise on organizational structure without a psychological research base. They also advise management on personnel, managerial, and marketing policies and practices.
Typical entry: According to O*NET, the most commonly reported education level is a master's degree.
Also called: Engineering Psychologist, Consulting Psychologist, HR Consultant (Human Resources Consultant), HR Psychologist (Human Resources Psychologist), Industrial Psychologist.
National wage percentiles, May 2025
| Area | Basis | Percentile wage | Mean | Employment | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th | ||||
| United States | Hourly | $37.99 | $51.59 | $93.24 | $106.86 | $118.86 | $81.84 | 790 |
| Annual | $79,010 | $107,310 | $193,950 | $222,280 | $247,220 | $170,230 | ||
Employment per 1,000 jobs and the location quotient are area measures; they appear in the state and metro tables below. To see what a wage in this range leaves after tax, use FastCalc's take-home pay calculator.
Where industrial-organizational psychologists earn and work most
Five highest-paying states
| Area | Basis | Percentile wage | Mean | Employment | Jobs per 1,000 | Location quotient | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th | ||||||
| Oregon | Hourly | $44.45 | $51.05 | $84.13 | $84.13 | $84.13 | $70.87 | 60 | 0.03 | 5.76 |
| Annual | $92,450 | $106,190 | $174,980 | $174,980 | $174,980 | $147,400 | ||||
| Texas | Hourly | $38.86 | $42.42 | $67.08 | $73.23 | $74.30 | $62.71 | 40 | 0.00 | 0.49 |
| Annual | $80,820 | $88,240 | $139,520 | $152,330 | $154,540 | $130,430 | ||||
Five states with the most jobs
| Area | Basis | Percentile wage | Mean | Employment | Jobs per 1,000 | Location quotient | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th | ||||||
| Oregon | Hourly | $44.45 | $51.05 | $84.13 | $84.13 | $84.13 | $70.87 | 60 | 0.03 | 5.76 |
| Annual | $92,450 | $106,190 | $174,980 | $174,980 | $174,980 | $147,400 | ||||
| Texas | Hourly | $38.86 | $42.42 | $67.08 | $73.23 | $74.30 | $62.71 | 40 | 0.00 | 0.49 |
| Annual | $80,820 | $88,240 | $139,520 | $152,330 | $154,540 | $130,430 | ||||
Five highest-paying metropolitan areas
| Area | Basis | Percentile wage | Mean | Employment | Jobs per 1,000 | Location quotient | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th | ||||||
Five metropolitan areas with the most jobs
| Area | Basis | Percentile wage | Mean | Employment | Jobs per 1,000 | Location quotient | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th | ||||||
Top industries employing industrial-organizational psychologists
Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services employ 67.1% of industrial-organizational psychologists nationally (530 jobs) at a median $222,060 a year ($106.76 an hour), followed by Management of Companies and Enterprises (3.8%).
| Industry | Employment | Share of occupation | Median annual | Median hourly |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services NAICS 541600 | 530 | 67.1% | $222,060 | $106.76 |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises NAICS 551100 | 30 | 3.8% | $144,110 | $69.29 |
Share is the industry's employment over the occupation's national employment (790). Industries whose employment BLS withheld are not ranked.
Published medians, May 2021 to May 2025
BLS published a median annual wage of $105,310 for industrial-organizational psychologists in May 2021 and $193,950 in May 2025, with employment of 610 and 790.
| Release | Median annual | Median hourly | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 2021 | $105,310 | $50.63 | 610 |
| May 2022 | $139,280 | $66.96 | 1,280 |
| May 2023 | $147,420 | $70.87 | 1,030 |
| May 2024 | $109,840 | $52.81 | 1,050 |
| May 2025 | $193,950 | $93.24 | 790 |
BLS does not design OEWS as a time series: each release pools three years of samples, and occupational classifications, area definitions and estimation methods change between releases, so a difference between two releases is not a measure of change over time. The figures are shown as published, side by side, and nothing is computed from them. See how often OEWS is updated.
Every state, by median wage
2 states and DC publish a row for this occupation. A linked state has its own page with the within-state metro table and comparison; the others appear here only.
Related occupations
Occupations in the same SOC broad group (19-3030), with their national median annual wage.
Part of Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations. Compare any area in the wage explorer.
Source and notes
Data: BLS OEWS May 2025, released 2026-05-15. Cross-industry estimates, all ownerships. BLS page: OEWS 19-3032 Industrial-Organizational Psychologists.
- Annual wages assume 2,080 hours a year at the hourly rate; occupations BLS publishes on one basis only show an en dash (–) on the other.
- Employment is rounded to the nearest 10 by BLS. Where BLS withholds a cell, nothing is estimated in its place.
- Top industries: nat4d_M2025_dl.xlsx in oesm25in4.zip (BLS OEWS May 2025, national, 4-digit NAICS, cross-ownership). Employment is the industry's rounded total for this occupation; industries whose employment BLS withheld (**) are not ranked.
- Published medians: national_M2021_dl.xlsx to national_M2024_dl.xlsx in oesm21nat.zip to oesm24nat.zip (BLS OEWS May 2021 to May 2024, national, cross-industry, all ownerships) and the May 2025 spine. Each release is shown as published; nothing is computed between them.
Sources
- BLS Standard Occupational Classification 2018, definition of 19-3032, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (public domain).
- O*NET 30.1 Database, 19-3032.00, National Center for O*NET Development, USDOL/ETA (CC BY 4.0).
- OEWS May 2025 national industry-specific estimates, 4-digit NAICS (oesm25in4.zip), US Bureau of Labor Statistics (public domain).
- OEWS May 2021 national estimates (oesm21nat.zip), US Bureau of Labor Statistics (public domain).
- OEWS May 2022 national estimates (oesm22nat.zip), US Bureau of Labor Statistics (public domain).
- OEWS May 2023 national estimates (oesm23nat.zip), US Bureau of Labor Statistics (public domain).
- OEWS May 2024 national estimates (oesm24nat.zip), US Bureau of Labor Statistics (public domain).
- OEWS May 2025 national estimates (oesm25nat.zip), the site's data spine, US Bureau of Labor Statistics (public domain).
Includes information from O*NET 30.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, used under the CC BY 4.0 license.
Description written 2026-10-17 in our own words from the sources above.