Every year on February 2, our nation’s esteemed animal meteorologist, Punxsutawney Phil, lets the country know if he predicts an early spring or six more weeks of winter.

Meanwhile, local atmospheric and space scientists (Standard Occupational Classification 19-2021), including meteorologists, weather analysts and forecasters, continue to study and predict Idaho’s weather on a daily and long-term basis.

While Phil might not be collecting an annual salary, meteorologists in Idaho had a median wage of $51.76 in 2023, up 10% from the 2018 median wage of $46.98. This is higher than the national median of $44.65 by about 14%.

Thankfully, meteorologists tend to be much more accurate at predicting the weather than a groundhog. In the last 10 years, Phil has gotten it right only 30% of the time, according to National Centers for Environmental Information.

Jordan Hendricksen, research analyst
Idaho Department of Labor
208-246-8868

This Idaho Department of Labor project is 100% funded by the U.S. Department of Labor for SFY25 as part of the Bureau of Labor Statistics Cooperative Agreement award totaling $627,029.