Business Analyst Job Market 2026: Hiring, Pay & Remote Data
US employers posted 3,007 business analyst jobs in the 30 days ending October 15, 2026. Median posted pay is $102K, 17% of roles are fully remote and 6% are entry level. Here's who's hiring and what skills get interviews.
SIMPLEAPPLY JOB MARKET DATA · BUSINESS ANALYSIS
US job postings, September 16 to October 15, 2026
Short answer: business analyst jobs are plentiful and spread across the country, with steady pay and very little AI in the job descriptions so far. In the 30 days ending October 15, 2026, US employers posted 3,007 business analyst jobs in SimpleApply's job data. The median posted salary was $102,500, 17% of roles were fully remote, and 6% were entry level.
At SimpleApply we apply to jobs for job seekers across Workday, Greenhouse, iCIMS and other application systems, so we track these postings every day. Here's what the data says about the business analyst market and how to get more interviews from it.
VOLUME
3,007
US postings in 30 days
PAY
$102K
Median posted salary
LOCATION
11.8%
Of postings are in Texas, the top state
Key takeaways
- Lots of openings. 3,007 postings in 30 days, more than data scientists, data engineers or AI and ML engineers.
- Pay is steady, not flashy. Median posted pay is $102,500, from $75,000 at entry level to $110,000 for senior analysts.
- Texas leads, not California. Texas has 11.8% of postings with a listed state, then New York and Virginia.
- Process skills beat code. Requirements gathering, Jira and user stories each show up in about 1 in 5 postings. SQL is in 25%.
- AI barely shows up yet. Only 9% of postings mention AI or machine learning skills.
How many business analyst jobs are open in 2026?
US employers posted 3,007 business analyst jobs in our data in the 30 days ending October 15, 2026. That includes business analyst titles at every level except internships and managers, with duplicate postings counted once. Related titles like business systems analyst and data analyst aren't counted here.
| Level | Postings | Share | Median posted pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entry level | 172 | 6% | $75,000 |
| Mid level | 1,490 | 50% | $97,500 |
| Senior | 1,291 | 43% | $110,000 |
| Lead / executive | 54 | 2% | $129,950 |
What this means
Business analysis is one of the most realistic paths into tech-adjacent work for people from operations, finance or consulting. Half of the openings are mid-level, and employers often value domain knowledge as much as tools. If you lean technical, our data analyst job market report shows the neighboring market.
Business Analyst salaries in 2026
59% of business analyst postings in our data include a salary range. Using the midpoint of each range, the median is $102,500, and the middle 50% of postings fall between $86,565 and $123,875.
The step from mid level to senior adds about $12K in median posted pay.
Most in-demand business analyst skills
Three things to take from this:
- Show the analyst toolkit: requirements gathering, user stories and stakeholder management are the language of these postings.
- Excel and SQL still matter. Excel is in 26% of postings and SQL in 25%.
- Agile experience helps. Agile or Scrum shows up in 22%, and Jira in 20%.
Put your strongest tools in a dedicated skills line using the posting's exact wording, and check what recruiters look for in a resume and these resume mistakes to avoid.
Who is hiring business analysts?
The most active employers in our data over the last 30 days include Gainwell Technologies, State Street, Lockheed Martin, Capgemini, Amazon, Kearney, CGI, Guidehouse, ICF, PNC, Exelon, Mayo Clinic, CACI and Cisco (staffing agencies and recruiting platforms excluded).
Banks, consultancies, healthcare, utilities and government contractors all hire business analysts. A lot of postings also come through IT staffing firms, which we've left out of this list.
Where business analyst jobs are located (share of postings with a listed state):
| # | State | Share of postings |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Texas | 11.8% |
| 2 | New York | 8.2% |
| 3 | Virginia | 7.8% |
| 4 | California | 7.2% |
| 5 | Georgia | 6.0% |
| 6 | Florida | 5.9% |
| 7 | Illinois | 5.0% |
| 8 | Pennsylvania | 4.3% |
| 9 | New Jersey | 4.2% |
| 10 | North Carolina | 4.2% |
Are business analyst jobs remote?
Of business analyst postings in our data, 65% are on-site, 17% are hybrid and 17% are fully remote. Remote roles draw national applicant pools, so apply early and widely. More tips on our remote job seekers page.
Which application systems do business analyst employers use?
This is an enterprise market. Workday, iCIMS, Oracle/Taleo and ADP host most of the postings that use a major system, and 61% are on company career sites and other systems. Expect long forms with screening questions. SimpleApply applies directly on these systems for you, including Workday, Greenhouse and iCIMS. See how on our features page.
What this means for your business analyst job search
- Mirror the posting's process language: requirements, user stories, UAT, stakeholders.
- List Excel, SQL and one BI tool clearly.
- Look beyond California: Texas, New York, Virginia, Georgia and Florida all rank high.
- Lean on domain experience in finance, healthcare or operations.
- Expect long enterprise forms on iCIMS, Oracle/Taleo and ADP, and answer screening questions consistently.
SimpleApply finds business analyst roles that match your profile and applies for you across these systems, so you can spend your time on interviews. New to it? Here's how a personal job search agent works.
Frequently asked questions
Is business analyst a good career in 2026?
US employers posted 3,007 business analyst jobs in our data in the 30 days ending October 15, 2026, with a median posted salary of $102,500.
How much do business analysts make in 2026?
Median posted pay for US business analyst jobs is $75,000 at entry level, $97,500 at mid level, $110,000 at senior, $129,950 at lead / executive (midpoint of posted salary ranges).
Can I get an entry-level business analyst job?
It's possible but competitive: 6% of business analyst postings are entry level, and most openings are mid or senior.
What skills do business analysts need in 2026?
The most requested skills are Business analysis (55%), Excel (26%), Data analysis (26%), SQL (25%), Agile or Scrum (22%), Requirements gathering (22%).
Are business analyst jobs remote?
About 17% of US business analyst postings are fully remote, 17% are hybrid and 65% are on-site.
Methodology
This analysis uses SimpleApply's job data: US job postings with a posted date between September 16 and October 15, 2026, collected from company career sites and applicant tracking systems. Duplicate postings of the same job are counted once, and listings flagged as likely scams are excluded. Internships and manager titles are excluded. Pay figures use the midpoint of salary ranges published in the posting (estimated salaries excluded). Remote share uses the workplace type listed on the posting. Skills are those listed in each posting. Applicant tracking system share is based on where the job is hosted. Visa figures only count postings that state a sponsorship policy. Groups with fewer than 25 postings are not reported.
Published by Joe Perrotta, Founder of SimpleApply, October 2026. We update this report as new data comes in. Related reading: Data analyst job market 2026 · Product manager job market 2026 · How to job search while employed
