Anonymous
Post 01/07/2026 18:42     Subject: How much do lobbyists earn?
Anonymous wrote:Reviving this thread, any updated comp benchmarks? I'm a lobbyist for a public tech company and wondering how our comp stacks up against the trade associations, K street shops, other public companies, etc.


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Anonymous
Post 01/07/2026 17:11     Subject: How much do lobbyists earn?
Anyone who works on K St want to share salary? Is it more eat what you kill vs the more standardized paycheck of corporate lobbying?
Anonymous
Post 01/07/2026 13:53     Subject: How much do lobbyists earn?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Agree, it can vary so much. Both my husband and I are registered lobbyists. He is also a lawyer and works at a big firm, but the majority of his job is taking clients to the Hill and trying to influence policy (environmental arena). He makes $500+. I am also a registered lobbyist, I work for a think tank and lobby on their policy proposals. I make $210k. We both have 20 years work experience and began our careers on the Hill. I like to think we aren't jerks! [/quote

It depends on who and what you are lobbying for. If your husband is polite and humble but getting 500k yearly to loosen environmental regulations for client profits, then he is a polite, humble, jerk. If he is getting paid handsomely to keep our water clean, food safe, and forests protected, power to him, polite or not. If thanks to your efforts the rich get richer and more influential and the majority gets poorer, sicker, and less able to influence their representatives, same. It really just depends.


Thanks for being so sanctimonious, this wouldn’t be DCUM without people like you popping in to feel heard.



If you believe that it doesn’t matter what you do, or create through your efforts, as long as it’s for an employer paying you money, then a little sanctimony might be called for.
Anonymous
Post 01/07/2026 13:42     Subject: How much do lobbyists earn?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I know a shill for the oil industry who clears over a mil. She's an awful human being.


Sure, Jan. You know she works for a company, under the direction of a CEO and presumably a board, right? Why aren't they the recipients of your ire?


This thread is about lobbyist, but is your position that she is “just doing her job?” Of course the others are a problem but so is she.
Anonymous
Post 01/07/2026 13:31     Subject: How much do lobbyists earn?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Agree, it can vary so much. Both my husband and I are registered lobbyists. He is also a lawyer and works at a big firm, but the majority of his job is taking clients to the Hill and trying to influence policy (environmental arena). He makes $500+. I am also a registered lobbyist, I work for a think tank and lobby on their policy proposals. I make $210k. We both have 20 years work experience and began our careers on the Hill. I like to think we aren't jerks! [/quote

It depends on who and what you are lobbying for. If your husband is polite and humble but getting 500k yearly to loosen environmental regulations for client profits, then he is a polite, humble, jerk. If he is getting paid handsomely to keep our water clean, food safe, and forests protected, power to him, polite or not. If thanks to your efforts the rich get richer and more influential and the majority gets poorer, sicker, and less able to influence their representatives, same. It really just depends.


Thanks for being so sanctimonious, this wouldn’t be DCUM without people like you popping in to feel heard.
Anonymous
Post 01/07/2026 13:31     Subject: How much do lobbyists earn?
Some of the most obnoxious advocates and registered lobbyists I ever ran into in 12 years on the Hill were advocating privacy and civil liberties and copyright issues. Kudos to the first two. The third was a mixed bag, depending on if their interests aligned with small authors and artists, the public, and/or movie studios and recording labels. Their salaries ranged accordingly.
Anonymous
Post 01/07/2026 13:15     Subject: How much do lobbyists earn?
Anonymous wrote:Agree, it can vary so much. Both my husband and I are registered lobbyists. He is also a lawyer and works at a big firm, but the majority of his job is taking clients to the Hill and trying to influence policy (environmental arena). He makes $500+. I am also a registered lobbyist, I work for a think tank and lobby on their policy proposals. I make $210k. We both have 20 years work experience and began our careers on the Hill. I like to think we aren't jerks!


It depends on who and what you are lobbying for. If your husband is polite and humble but getting 500k yearly to loosen environmental regulations for client profits, then he is a polite, humble, jerk. If he is getting paid handsomely to keep our water clean, food safe, and forests protected, power to him, polite or not. If thanks to your efforts the rich get richer and more influential and the majority gets poorer, sicker, and less able to influence their representatives, same. It really just depends.
Anonymous
Post 01/06/2026 13:55     Subject: How much do lobbyists earn?
I have my own lobbying firm and make 360K working only for nonprofits. I could make more/have more clients but this is a good work/life balance. I previously worked on the hill and have expertise in one field.
Anonymous
Post 01/04/2026 00:23     Subject: How much do lobbyists earn?
I’m a nonprofit lobbyist in a smaller state and earn $260K. Our junior lobbyist earns $160K. Do I make less than some in-house lobbyists? Probably. But those roles often cover multiple states, while my focus is entirely on one.
Anonymous
Post 01/03/2026 23:17     Subject: Re:How much do lobbyists earn?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Basically the more odious the client and positions you lobby, the more money you make.


This. Non-profit lobbyists are poorly paid and don't have good job security.


Accurate. I work for a small (30 FTE) trade association and our “senior” lobbyist makes $120k and she’s the 4th person in the role in 5 years. We tend to hire underqualified, early-career people, work them to the bone, and let them quit.


Anecdotal of course but this tracks with what I’ve seen - they’ll have big flashy titles and make $150K while the in-house manager-level lobbyists at public companies (say 8-10 YOE) make $300-500K and it only goes up from there as they hit director +.
Anonymous
Post 01/03/2026 19:21     Subject: Re:How much do lobbyists earn?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Basically the more odious the client and positions you lobby, the more money you make.


This. Non-profit lobbyists are poorly paid and don't have good job security.


Accurate. I work for a small (30 FTE) trade association and our “senior” lobbyist makes $120k and she’s the 4th person in the role in 5 years. We tend to hire underqualified, early-career people, work them to the bone, and let them quit.
Anonymous
Post 01/03/2026 18:42     Subject: Re:How much do lobbyists earn?
Anonymous wrote:Basically the more odious the client and positions you lobby, the more money you make.


This. Non-profit lobbyists are poorly paid and don't have good job security.