Wisconsin·Business and Financial Operations Occupations·SOC 13-2031

Best Budget Analyst programs in Wisconsin, ranked by enrollment

Examine budget estimates for completeness, accuracy, and conformance with procedures and regulations.

46 schools in Wisconsin run programs that feed this job, graduating 2,761 people a year. The job pays a median of $82,180 in Wisconsin across about 820 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledBudget AnalystBudget OfficerBudget Planning AnalystBudget and Policy AnalystCost AnalystFiscal AgentFiscal AnalystFiscal Officer
Graduates / yr
2,761
in Wisconsin
Median pay · Wisconsin
$82,180
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
820
people employed
Schools
46
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
53%
across those schools
Median net price
$21,076
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in Wisconsin that lead to this job

Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.

2 programs in Wisconsin that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in Wisconsin (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Wisconsin page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
1
CIP 52.0801In Wisconsin
1,382
50.1%
23$53,572$23,672
2
CIP 52.0301In Wisconsin
1,379
49.9%
45$51,824$24,433

Top 25 schools in Wisconsin

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 28 of the 46 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1University of Wisconsin - Madison
Madison, WI Public · 2 feeder programs
549Finance, General$68,68190%45%
2University of Wisconsin - Whitewater
Whitewater, WI Public · 2 feeder programs
285Finance, General$55,87459%86%
3University of Wisconsin - La Crosse
La Crosse, WI Public · 2 feeder programs
240Finance, General$55,96571%76%
4University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee
Milwaukee, WI Public · 2 feeder programs
227Finance, General$52,74449%91%
5Marquette University
Milwaukee, WI Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
188Finance, General$67,88883%$25,37681%
6University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire
Eau Claire, WI Public · 2 feeder programs
179Finance, General$58,81264%82%
7University of Wisconsin - Green Bay
Green Bay, WI Public · 2 feeder programs
96Finance, General48%89%
8Milwaukee Area Technical College
Milwaukee, WI Public · 1 feeder programs
93Accounting25%
9University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh
Oshkosh, WI Public · 2 feeder programs
74Finance, General$58,08546%87%
10Madison Area Technical College
Madison, WI Public · 2 feeder programs
69Accounting$45,33329%
11University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point
Stevens Point, WI Public · 2 feeder programs
59Finance, General51%92%
12Saint Norbert College
De Pere, WI Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
53Finance, General$51,45171%$23,31986%
13Concordia University - Wisconsin
Mequon, WI Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
48Accounting$51,90868%$24,40978%
14Northcentral Technical College
Wausau, WI Public · 1 feeder programs
44Accounting$36,56245%
15Fox Valley Technical College
Appleton, WI Public · 1 feeder programs
43Accounting$41,26165%
16Carthage College
Kenosha, WI Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
42Finance, General$58,54364%$22,84487%
17Northwood Technical College
Rice Lake, WI Public · 2 feeder programs
37Accounting$30,58656%
18Gateway Technical College
Kenosha, WI Public · 1 feeder programs
34Accounting$37,88151%
19University of Wisconsin - Platteville
Platteville, WI Public · 2 feeder programs
34Finance, General56%89%
20Western Technical College
La Crosse, WI Public · 2 feeder programs
34Accounting$42,73234%
21Northeast Wisconsin Technical College
Green Bay, WI Public · 1 feeder programs
32Accounting$40,92551%
22Lakeland University
Plymouth, WI Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
29Accounting$56,11442%$20,76786%
23Mid - State Technical College
Wisconsin Rapids, WI Public · 1 feeder programs
28Accounting52%
24University of Wisconsin - River Falls
River Falls, WI Public · 2 feeder programs
28Accounting$56,82557%82%
25University of Wisconsin - Parkside
Kenosha, WI Public · 1 feeder programs
25Accounting$47,64840%75%

All 46 schools in Wisconsin

Every school in Wisconsin with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.

All schools in Wisconsin that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
University of Wisconsin - MadisonMadisonPublic5492
University of Wisconsin - WhitewaterWhitewaterPublic2852
University of Wisconsin - La CrosseLa CrossePublic2402
University of Wisconsin - MilwaukeeMilwaukeePublic2272
Marquette UniversityMilwaukeePrivate not-for-profit1882
University of Wisconsin - Eau ClaireEau ClairePublic1792
University of Wisconsin - Green BayGreen BayPublic962
Milwaukee Area Technical CollegeMilwaukeePublic931
University of Wisconsin - OshkoshOshkoshPublic742
Madison Area Technical CollegeMadisonPublic692
University of Wisconsin - Stevens PointStevens PointPublic592
Saint Norbert CollegeDe PerePrivate not-for-profit532
Concordia University - WisconsinMequonPrivate not-for-profit482
Northcentral Technical CollegeWausauPublic441
Fox Valley Technical CollegeAppletonPublic431

What budget analysts earn in Wisconsin

What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.

Median annual in Wisconsin
$82,180
Mean annual
$83,900
Jobs in state
820
What the range looks like
10th pct$59,960Median$82,18090th pct$112,610
Versus the national median
-10.3%

U.S. median $91,640. Wisconsin pays below the national figure.

Job concentration
0.92×

1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.

Metro areas in Wisconsin

Madison, WI
$86,340median
280 jobs
Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI
$82,130median
200 jobs
Green Bay, WI
$75,880median
40 jobs

Job outlook

Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.

Projected growth 2024–34
+1.0%
Little or no change
Openings per year
3,100
new jobs plus replacements
Employment change
500
50,400 → 51,000
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree

Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.

How to get in

The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Budget Analysts page.

How to become a Budget Analyst

Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree

Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.

Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.

Top skills

Critical ThinkingMathematicsReading ComprehensionSpeakingActive ListeningActive Learning

The same job in other states

Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.

Related careers in Wisconsin

Every major mapped to this job

The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.

All 4 majors mapped to Budget Analysts4 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
  • 52.0301Accounting
  • 52.0304Accounting and Finance
  • 52.0801Finance, General
  • 52.0808Public Finance

Common questions

Answers for people weighing budget analysts programs in Wisconsin.

What degree do you need to become a Budget Analyst?+

Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Finance, General, which awarded 1,382 degrees in Wisconsin in 2024-25, 50.1% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.

Which college majors lead to becoming a Budget Analyst?+

The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 2 programs to this occupation. The largest are Finance and Financial Management Services, Accounting and Related Services. Together they graduate about 2,761 people a year in Wisconsin.

How much do budget analysts earn in Wisconsin?+

The median is $82,180 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 10.3% below the U.S. median of $91,640. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.

Is demand for budget analysts growing?+

BLS projects a +1.0% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, little or no change, with roughly 3,100 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.

How many schools offer programs for this career in Wisconsin?+

46 institutions in Wisconsin reported graduates from at least one of the 2 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.

What other job titles do budget analysts work under?+

Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Budget Analyst, Budget Officer, Budget Planning Analyst, Budget and Policy Analyst among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 13-2031.

Programs in WisconsinFinance, GeneralAccounting

About the data on this page

Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).

  • BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics

    May 2025

    Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.

  • BLS Employment Projections

    2024–34

    Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.

  • IPEDS Completions

    2024-25 (provisional)

    Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.

  • College Scorecard, Field of Study

    2020-21 cohorts

    Median graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.

  • Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes

    latest available

    Graduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.

  • NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk

    CIP 2020 / SOC 2018

    Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.

  • O*NET Database 30.3

    30.3

    Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.

    Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA

All Clema data sources and release dates →

Explore every U.S. college in one conversation

Clema turns plain-language questions into sourced answers across every U.S. institution — earnings, aid, acceptance, graduation, safety, and athletics from IPEDS, College Scorecard, and 10+ federal datasets, built in.

Free for teams up to 3 · No credit card