The Louisiana economy reached historic levels in 2018 as the state’s total gross domestic product grew to more than $250 billion after a few up-and-down years. Since the depths of the Great Recession in 2009, Louisiana’s economy has expanded by nearly 25%.
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Today, Louisiana is home to more than 100,000 employer firms across the state and nearly 2 million people are employed in a diverse array of industries. The transportation/utilities sector is Louisiana’s largest, providing about 20% of the jobs in the state, followed by government and education/health services, which each account for about 16% of jobs in Louisiana.
Three companies on the Fortune 1,000 list of the largest U.S. companies call Louisiana home, and the state drew about $15 million in startup funding during the third quarter of 2019 alone. All of those factors add up to make Louisiana an exciting place for professionals of all kinds, especially those with training and experience in business analytics. That’s because such professionals are in high demand in every conceivable industry and within every possible type of business, organization or employer.
What salaries can business analytics professionals expect to earn in Louisiana, what does the future hold for these workers, and what are some real-life examples of Louisiana employers looking to add to their business analytics staff?
Business Analytics Salaries in Louisiana
There are virtually limitless possibilities for job titles that fit under the very big umbrella of business analytics. That’s because every for-profit business, nonprofit agency, government body and even church — any organization that needs to use data to help guide decision-making — requires the services of individuals who are experts in harnessing data. So that means jobs as, yes, Business Analysts, but there are dozens of other possible job titles.
Here’s a look at just a sampling of those that can be found right here in Louisiana:
- Market Research Analyst
- Decision Engineer
- Marketing Engagement Analyst
- Data Scientist
- Management Consultant
- Financial Analyst
- Budget Analyst
- Insights Analyst
- Business Intelligence Specialist
- Research Executive
- Quantitative Modeler
- Operations Research Analyst
What are some typical wages for business analytics jobs in Louisiana, how does the state compare to others and what does the future hold? To understand that, we’ll use a sampling of job titles that exist within business analytics and compare them using data published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
SEE ALSO: Masters in Business Analytics Salary Outlook
All five of the business analytics jobs we studied are less well-paying in Louisiana than in the U.S. as a whole, with wages the highest among the five for Management Analysts and lowest for Market Research Analysts. However, each of the five has considerably higher wages than the state’s overall median full-time annual wage, $33,384.
Median annual wage, Louisiana vs. U.S.
| Job Title | Louisiana | U.S. |
| Budget Analyst | $63,270 | $76,220 |
| Financial Analyst | $67,760 | $85,660 |
| Management Analyst | $72,900 | $83,610 |
| Market Research Analyst | $48,470 | $63,120 |
| Operations Research Analyst | $52,720 | $83,390 |
Not only does Louisiana tend to lag quite a bit behind the nation as a whole, the state often ranks among the bottom states when it comes to salaries for business analytics professionals. For instance, Louisiana’s median annual wage for Budget Analysts ranks 49th among the states and the District of Columbia.
Median annual wage, Budget Analyst, highest and lowest
| Highest | |
| District of Columbia | $100,210 |
| Virginia | $89,710 |
| Maryland | $89,710 |
| California | $86,730 |
| Massachusetts | $83,240 |
| Connecticut | $81,850 |
| Alabama | $80,910 |
| New Jersey | $80,740 |
| Rhode Island | $80,320 |
| Colorado | $79,630 |
| Lowest | |
| Arkansas | $47,480 |
| Kentucky | $53,050 |
| Nebraska | $53,930 |
| South Dakota | $59,860 |
| Montana | $60,990 |
| Mississippi | $61,330 |
| Idaho | $62,740 |
| Louisiana | $63,270 |
| West Virginia | $63,730 |
| Missouri | $63,870 |
If Louisiana offers wages that don’t exactly set the world on fire, there are ample reasons to believe that could change in the coming years. That’s because for all five jobs, demand for business analytics is rising, and qualified individuals may benefit in a seller’s market. In fact, Louisiana has the 10th-highest projected growth rate for Operations Research Analysts through 2026.
Operations Research Analyst long-term job opening growth rate, top 15
| Utah | 60.3% |
| South Dakota | 50.0% |
| Nevada | 48.6% |
| Arizona | 47.1% |
| Tennessee | 45.6% |
| Colorado | 42.5% |
| Iowa | 39.7% |
| North Dakota | 38.5% |
| South Carolina | 37.6% |
| Louisiana | 37.0% |
| Virginia | 36.5% |
| Texas | 36.2% |
| Oregon | 33.9% |
| Arkansas | 33.3% |
| Florida | 32.7% |
All five business analytics jobs we studied should see steady growth over the next year and for the next several years, and all five jobs are expected to post double-digit gains in Louisiana through 2026.
Louisiana job opening growth rate, short- and long-term
| Job Title | Short-term | Long-term |
| Budget Analyst | 2.3% | 10.0% |
| Financial Analyst | 1.0% | 13.1% |
| Management Analyst | 1.3% | 15.7% |
| Market Research Analyst | 1.2% | 25.0% |
| Operations Research Analyst | 2.1% | 37.0% |
Note: Short-term 2016-2020; long-term 2016-2026
Typical wages for business analytics professionals vary across the state, but major Louisiana cities tend to offer better wages than the state as a whole, with a high of $81,840 in Baton Rouge for Management Analysts.
Median annual wage, Louisiana vs. select cities
| Job Title | Louisiana | Baton Rouge | New Orleans | Shreveport |
| Budget Analyst | $63,270 | $66,640 | $55,660 | $71,410 |
| Financial Analyst | $67,760 | $62,760 | $74,010 | — |
| Management Analyst | $72,900 | $81,840 | $71,330 | $80,720 |
| Market Research Analyst | $48,470 | $54,160 | $45,530 | $46,610 |
| Operations Research Analyst | $52,720 | $62,580 | $50,100 | — |
Louisiana Business Analytics Degree Programs
Louisiana is home to many well-regarded institutions of higher learning, offering students the chance to study in a challenging, future-forward setting whether they seek public education or opt for a private institution.
Here’s a look at some of the colleges and universities in Louisiana that offer degrees in business analytics and related areas:
Business Analytics Degree Jobs in Louisiana
The future should be bright for Louisiana business analytics professionals, but the present isn’t too shabby. Our research found dozens of job openings in the field across the state, with employers running the gamut when it comes to industry and even organizational structure.
Here are just a handful of the many real-world examples of employers that were looking to hire business analytics professionals in Louisiana in late 2019:
- CenturyLink
- American Express Global Business Travel
- Jobot
- AmeriHealth Caritas
- Premier Health Consultants
- State of Louisiana
- General Dynamics Information Technology
- PosiGen
- GE Healthcare
- Amedisys Home Health
- Sunpro Solar
- Ramsoft Systems
- S. Navy
- Boardwalk Pipelines
- DatamanUSA
- Hancock and Whitney Bank
- Comcentric
- Woman’s Hospital
- Bizzell Corp.
- Presbyterian Healthcare Services
Conclusion
The future looks bright for business analytics professionals, and in few places does it look brighter than in Louisiana. With a diverse and growing economy, now may be the ideal time to begin your educational journey in business analytics right here in Louisiana.
References
Note: Information on recent job openings was gathered from Indeed.com and Glassdoor.com in late 2019.
U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Economy at a Glance, Louisiana. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.bls.gov/eag/eag.la.htm
PWC/CB Insights, MoneyTree Report, Q3 2019. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.pwc.com/us/en/moneytree-report/assets/moneytree-report-q3-2019.pdf
U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment Statistics Query System, Custom Tables. (Undated). Accessed from https://data.bls.gov/oes/#/home
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Total Gross Domestic Product for Louisiana. (2019). Retrieved from https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LANGSP
U.S. Census Bureau, Quick Facts, Louisiana. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/LA/PST045218