How To Become An Economic Developer: What It Is and Career Path

What is an economic developer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

The role of the economic developer today is continually changing. An urban developer focuses on economic growth strategies preparing, developing, and executing them as well as serving as a crucial contact between public and private sectors and the city.

You are overseeing an infrastructure project one minute, then collaborating on publicity strategies for different tourist companies or aiding a prospective small enterprise in looking for a central spot next. The activities include a broad variety of tasks from project management to policy formulation and execution, promotion, tourism, retention of companies, recruiting, and extension.

It's not a job that can be seen in the tunnel. You should know how the economy relates to all facets of the culture, and you should be an authority on all aspects. As demands and perceptions shift, the expertise of a good local economist needs to adapt and change. Economic developers must also fill the holes and offer support where the economies and institutions cannot or do not satisfy the needs of the population.

ScoreEconomic DeveloperUS Average

Salary

4.0

Avg. Salary $51,285

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

4.3

Growth Rate 6%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

2.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.25%

Asian 11.22%

Black or African American 6.35%

Hispanic or Latino 11.91%

Unknown 5.65%

White 64.63%

Gender

female 44.69%

male 55.31%

Age - 43

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 43

Stress Level

4.3

Stress level is moderate

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

10.0

Complexity Level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

5.2

Work Life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an economic developer

Explore economic developer education requirements

Most common economic developer degrees

Bachelor's

64.3 %

Master's

17.9 %

Associate

9.1 %

Start to develop specific economic developer skills

Skills	Percentages
Data Entry	14.04%
Financial Statements	10.36%
Business Community	7.97%
Technical Assistance	7.60%
Business Plan	5.62%

Research economic developer duties and responsibilities

Develop windows forms programs to automate manual in-house processes integrate with third party applications using Microsoft VB.Net.
Research banking trends and deliver weekly PowerPoint presentations on economic conditions and monetary policy.
Perform all aspects of analysis including data acquisition and manipulation, programming, data visualization, and presentation of results.
Research banking trends and deliver weekly PowerPoint presentations on economic conditions and monetary policy.

Prepare your economic developer resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your economic developer resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an economic developer resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Economic Developer Resume templates

Build a professional Economic Developer resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Economic Developer resume.

Apply for economic developer jobs

Now it's time to start searching for an economic developer job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do economic developers rate their job?