Intelligence Analyst Salary, Skills & Requirements (2026)
Advertised pay, starting pay, skills and experience from 1,823 US job postings by 331 employers. Data as of October 2026.
What US employers post for intelligence analysts: advertised pay, the skills and experience they ask for, and the job titles they use, from 1,823 open job postings (October 2026).
- The median advertised pay for intelligence analysts in US job postings is $121,000 a year (794 postings from 98 employers, October 2026).
- The middle half of those postings offer $101,000 to $151,000.
- The skills that most set intelligence analyst postings apart are sigint, intelligence analysis, humint.
- Postings that state a minimum ask for a median of 4 years of experience.
Intelligence Analyst job postings in the US, October 2026
- $121,000
- Median advertised pay (794 postings)
- $101,000–$151,000
- Middle 50% of postings
- 1,823
- US job postings from 331 employers
- 4 years
- Median experience asked
How much does an intelligence analyst make?
The median advertised pay is $121,000 a year, from 794 US job postings by 98 employers that state pay. One in ten postings offers $176,000 or more.
Advertised pay in 794 US intelligence analyst job postings: median $121,000 a year, middle half $101,000 to $151,000.
- Median: $121,000
- 25th percentile: $101,000
- 75th percentile: $151,000
The figures as a table
| Annual pay | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| $40K–$50K | 0.3% |
| $50K–$60K | 1.3% |
| $60K–$70K | 2.6% |
| $70K–$80K | 3.4% |
| $80K–$90K | 7.6% |
| $90K–$100K | 5.8% |
| $100K–$110K | 14.8% |
| $110K–$120K | 13.2% |
| $120K–$130K | 7.6% |
| $130K–$140K | 9.5% |
| $140K–$150K | 6.6% |
| $150K–$160K | 6.1% |
| $160K–$170K | 6.6% |
| $170K–$180K | 6.9% |
| $180K–$190K | 2.6% |
| $190K–$200K | 1.8% |
| $200K–$210K | 1.6% |
| $210K–$220K | 0.5% |
| $220K–$230K | 0.5% |
Midpoint of each posting's pay range, hourly pay × 2,080 hours; at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026.
| Median | Middle 50% | Postings | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Postings that state an annual salary | $121,000 | $101K–$151K | 369 |
| All pay postings, annualised | $121,000 | $101K–$151K | 794 |
What is the starting salary for an intelligence analyst?
Figure withheld: fewer than 250 US postings list pay. How we decide.
Highest-paying intelligence analyst jobs
Specializations with at least 250 postings that state pay.
| Specialization | Median pay | Postings with pay | Employers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intelligence Analyst (general) | $120,000 | 552 | 80 |
Intelligence analyst pay by state
Single-location US postings; states with at least 100 postings that state pay. States with pay-transparency laws (such as California, Colorado, New York and Washington) are over-represented among postings that state pay.
| State | Median pay | Middle 50% | Postings with pay | Share of postings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maryland | $132,000 | $115,000–$163,000 | 137 | 28.9% |
| Virginia | $127,000 | $101,000–$146,000 | 126 | 24.1% |
Skills employers ask for in intelligence analyst job postings
| Skill | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| Communication | 26% |
| Analytical skills | 17% |
| Work independently | 15% |
| Sigint | 10% |
| Excel | 10% |
| Attention to detail | 9% |
| Intelligence analysis | 8% |
| Problem-solving | 7% |
| Microsoft Office | 7% |
| Powerpoint | 7% |
Skills named in the posting text; at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026. Methodology.
Skills that set intelligence analysts apart
- Sigint447.6× as often as in all postings · 10%
- Intelligence analysis547.8× as often as in all postings · 8%
- Palantir432.2× as often as in all postings · 5%
- Penetration testing97.2× as often as in all postings · 5%
- Research21.4× as often as in all postings · 6%
Skills named in at least 5% of these postings and at least 3 times as often as in job postings overall.
Have a intelligence analyst job posting in front of you? See which of its skills your resume is missing.
What does an intelligence analyst do?
Employers post these jobs as All Source Analyst, Target Analyst Reporter, Targeting Analyst, INTEL ANALYST, Network Exploitation Analyst and other titles. The largest specializations are OSINT Analyst (3%), Crime Analyst (1%), military planner (1%).
The closest official occupation is Intelligence Analysts (33-3021.06). Its most important tasks:
- Validate known intelligence with data from other sources.
- Gather, analyze, correlate, or evaluate information from a variety of resources, such as law enforcement databases.
- Evaluate records of communications, such as telephone calls, to plot activity and determine the size and location of criminal groups and members.
- Gather intelligence information by field observation, confidential information sources, or public records.
- Analyze intelligence data to identify patterns and trends in criminal activity.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (CC BY 4.0).
How much experience do you need to be an intelligence analyst?
Among 722 postings that state a minimum, the median is 4 years. 2% say 0 years and 8% ask for 1 year or less.
Minimum experience asked in 722 US intelligence analyst job postings: median 4 years, and 8% ask for 1 year or less.
The figures as a table
| Minimum experience asked | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| 0 yr | 2% |
| 1 yr | 7% |
| 2 yrs | 21% |
| 3-4 yrs | 30% |
| 5-7 yrs | 24% |
| 8-9 yrs | 7% |
| 10+ yrs | 10% |
Postings that state a minimum (required or preferred); at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026.
We do not show a degree figure: in our checks, degree requirements in posting text were found too rarely to publish one. Why.
Other names for an intelligence analyst: job titles employers use
| Job title | Employers using it |
|---|---|
| Intelligence Analyst | 123 (37.2%) |
| All Source Analyst | 31 (9.4%) |
| Target Analyst Reporter | 26 (7.8%) |
| Targeting Analyst | 25 (7.5%) |
| INTEL ANALYST | 23 (7.0%) |
| Network Exploitation Analyst | 22 (6.7%) |
| Signals Analyst | 21 (6.3%) |
| All-Source Intelligence Analyst | 20 (6.0%) |
| Imagery Analyst | 16 (4.8%) |
| Crime Analyst | 15 (4.5%) |
| Counterintelligence Analyst | 15 (4.5%) |
| Intelligence Planner | 15 (4.5%) |
| Desk Officer | 12 (3.6%) |
| OSINT Analyst | 12 (3.6%) |
| GEOINT Analyst | 11 (3.3%) |
| SIGINT Analyst | 11 (3.3%) |
| Network Analyst | 10 (3.0%) |
| Intelligence Analyst II | 10 (3.0%) |
| Senior Intelligence Analyst | 9 (2.7%) |
| Intelligence Research Specialist | 8 (2.4%) |
Titles read in our audit and used by at least 3 employers.
Intelligence Analyst compared with similar careers
| Career | Median pay | Median experience | Postings | Shares N of top 25 skills |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intelligence Analyst | $121K | 4 years | 1,823 | – |
| GIS Analyst | – | 3 years | 700 | 14 |
| Research Scientist | $96K | 3 years | 7,571 | 16 |
| Policy Analyst | – | 5 years | 402 | 15 |
| Aerospace Engineer | $148K | 5 years | 4,045 | 13 |
Similar careers
| Career | Shares N of the top 25 skills | Median pay |
|---|---|---|
| GIS Analyst | 14 | – |
| Research Scientist | 16 | $96K |
| Policy Analyst | 15 | – |
| Aerospace Engineer | 13 | $148K |
| Economist | 10 | – |
| Geologist | 15 | – |
Applying for intelligence analyst jobs?
- Intelligence analyst resume examples: one-page examples for these roles
- Match your resume to a job: paste a posting and see the skills your resume is missing
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- Find intelligence analyst jobs: search open postings
Frequently asked questions
How much does an intelligence analyst make?
Source and method
Open US job postings collected from employers' applicant tracking systems, de-duplicated, counted only when their job title was read in our audit. Shares count at most 20 postings per employer, and franchise locations of one brand count as one employer. Pay uses hourly and annual figures only; a figure is shown when leaving out the largest employer moves it by 10% or less. Every figure states its number of postings. Methodology and measured accuracy.
Accuracy check: we read 20 randomly chosen postings counted on this page in full; 18 of them were this career or a closely related one (October 2026).
Download the figures on this page (CSV): every number above with its count of postings. Aggregate figures are licensed CC BY 4.0; cite the page when you reuse them.