Data Scientist Salary (2026)
Typical pay is $120,230 a year, with most data scientists earning between $85,660 and $158,880. Based on the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
Salary Calculator›Data Scientist
Nationally, the typical data scientist earns $120,230 a year. Early-career pay starts around $85,660, experienced data scientists earn $158,880 or more, and the top 10% make over $199,130. About 262,440 people work in this occupation in the US. Pay is highest in Washington ($163,350) and, among metro areas, in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($185,080).
Data Scientist salary in the United States
Annual pay, BLS survey of May 2025
What data scientists do
Data scientists use statistics, programming and machine learning to find patterns in data and build models that support business decisions. BLS projects it to be one of the fastest-growing occupations over the next decade.
Data Scientist salary by state
Typical annual pay for data scientists in every state where BLS publishes figures, highest first.
| State | Typical | Early career | Experienced |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | $163,350 | $105,240 | $208,320 |
| California | $141,590 | $103,360 | $186,820 |
| Maryland | $136,370 | $100,370 | $169,510 |
| New Jersey | $135,280 | $101,970 | $167,330 |
| Massachusetts | $131,750 | $101,940 | $166,180 |
| New York | $130,460 | $94,880 | $171,580 |
| Minnesota | $128,800 | $92,490 | $160,910 |
| Vermont | $127,070 | $98,450 | $143,170 |
| District of Columbia | $126,490 | $105,320 | $174,650 |
| Virginia | $126,430 | $97,390 | $165,610 |
| Connecticut | $126,340 | $94,480 | $163,210 |
| Oregon | $125,990 | $96,770 | $163,710 |
| Texas | $122,090 | $83,880 | $146,030 |
| North Carolina | $119,090 | $82,440 | $147,540 |
| Colorado | $117,400 | $96,300 | $152,650 |
| Florida | $115,820 | $84,070 | $140,210 |
| Arkansas | $109,390 | $97,510 | $136,060 |
| Utah | $108,090 | $78,720 | $146,160 |
| Arizona | $107,240 | $80,820 | $134,070 |
| Pennsylvania | $106,850 | $79,220 | $129,160 |
| Wisconsin | $106,680 | $88,060 | $133,860 |
| Illinois | $106,560 | $84,610 | $137,290 |
| Georgia | $104,340 | $84,120 | $136,560 |
| Alabama | $103,120 | $74,140 | $127,660 |
| Ohio | $102,630 | $79,510 | $130,920 |
| Rhode Island | $102,440 | $93,090 | $130,150 |
| Hawaii | $102,130 | $87,640 | $152,980 |
| New Hampshire | $100,620 | $82,750 | $128,540 |
| Michigan | $100,590 | $77,410 | $130,240 |
| Montana | $100,490 | $70,990 | $127,840 |
| Tennessee | $100,330 | $77,770 | $131,930 |
| Nevada | $98,540 | $76,190 | $129,990 |
| Nebraska | $98,230 | $80,900 | $109,860 |
| Kansas | $98,130 | $75,970 | $131,390 |
| Missouri | $97,090 | $74,610 | $127,680 |
| South Dakota | $96,150 | $83,810 | $123,260 |
| New Mexico | $95,850 | $64,250 | $107,540 |
| Iowa | $95,830 | $71,010 | $127,340 |
| South Carolina | $91,990 | $78,550 | $123,880 |
| Kentucky | $91,760 | $75,620 | $121,850 |
| Indiana | $91,470 | $72,670 | $127,510 |
| Maine | $90,880 | $77,340 | $115,170 |
| Idaho | $89,380 | $80,940 | $136,940 |
| Oklahoma | $86,310 | $68,580 | $109,770 |
| West Virginia | $85,090 | $69,790 | $112,770 |
| Alaska | $84,110 | $57,350 | $113,040 |
| North Dakota | $81,900 | $64,270 | $100,110 |
| Louisiana | $78,760 | $63,560 | $110,130 |
| Mississippi | $69,490 | $51,060 | $99,030 |
Highest-paying metro areas
| Metro area | Typical |
|---|---|
| 1. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | $185,080 |
| 2. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $170,110 |
| 3. Idaho Falls, ID | $167,840 |
| 4. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $164,740 |
| 5. Kennewick-Richland, WA | $156,830 |
| 6. Charlottesville, VA | $149,800 |
| 7. North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL | $146,980 |
| 8. Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT | $141,760 |
| 9. Corvallis, OR | $140,190 |
| 10. New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $135,980 |
| 11. Trenton-Princeton, NJ | $135,320 |
| 12. Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD | $134,320 |
| 13. Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA | $134,220 |
| 14. Boulder, CO | $134,040 |
| 15. Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | $132,460 |
Pay in Apollo's markets
| Metro | Typical |
|---|---|
| Atlanta | $108,940 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth | $127,750 |
| Houston | $106,750 |
| Austin | $127,360 |
| Charlotte | $132,460 |
| Raleigh | $120,710 |
| San Antonio | $103,290 |
| Chicago | $107,640 |
| Orlando | $106,590 |
| Tampa | $109,990 |
| Miami | $127,450 |
| Jacksonville | $122,680 |
| Greenville-Spartanburg | $91,490 |
| Columbia, SC | $88,260 |
| Charleston, SC | Not published |
| Savannah | $97,200 |
Related it and software salaries
Data Scientist salary FAQs
How much does a data scientist make in the US?
The typical (median) data scientist in the US earns $120,230 a year, or about $57.80 an hour (BLS, May 2025). Half earn more and half earn less.
What is the entry-level salary for a data scientist in the US?
Early-career data scientists in the US typically earn around $85,660 (the 25th percentile), and the lowest-paid 10% earn under $67,240. Degree, internships, licenses and the industry all move starting pay.
How much do experienced data scientists earn in the US?
Experienced data scientists in the US earn $158,880 or more (the 75th percentile), and the top 10% earn over $199,130.
Which state pays data scientists the most?
Washington has the highest typical pay for data scientists at $163,350 a year. The highest-paying metro area is San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA at $185,080 (BLS, May 2025).
Are data scientists in demand?
BLS projects employment in this occupation to grow 34.6% from 2025 to 2035, compared with 3.5% for all jobs, with about 24,800 openings a year nationally as people retire, change jobs or the field grows.
Hiring data scientists?
Where these numbers come from
Pay figures come from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program (OEWS), which surveys about 1.1 million employer locations and is the government's main source of pay by occupation and location. This page uses the May 2025 survey, released in 2026, and updates itself when BLS publishes the next year's figures. Job outlook comes from the BLS Employment Projections for 2025–35. Cost of living comes from the Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities for 2024, where the US average is 100.
Pay is base wages and salary before tax. It does not include bonuses, overtime, benefits or equity. Early career is the 25th percentile (a quarter of workers earn less), Typical is the median and Experienced is the 75th percentile. The bar shows the full range from the 10th to the 90th percentile. The salary rank check estimates a percentile by drawing straight lines between those five published points.
BLS groups some job titles together. Controls engineers, for example, are counted with electrical engineers, and CAD designers with drafters. Each result names the BLS occupation it uses so you can see exactly what is being measured. BLS does not publish every occupation in every area, for example when too few people in a job were surveyed or when a figure does not meet its reliability standards. When a metro figure is missing, the calculator shows the state figure, or the national figure if the state is also missing, and says so.
BLS occupation used on this page: Data Scientists (SOC 15-2051).