Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, aged to 2026 using compounded market movement. State selections show BLS state-level figures where published. Actual pay varies with experience, industry, and organization size.
Analyze, manipulate, or process large sets of data using statistical software.
Apply feature selection algorithms to models predicting outcomes of interest, such as sales, attrition, and healthcare use.
Apply sampling techniques to determine groups to be surveyed or use complete enumeration methods.
Clean and manipulate raw data using statistical software.
Compare models using statistical performance metrics, such as loss functions or proportion of explained variance.
Top skills:Reading ComprehensionCritical ThinkingSpeakingActive ListeningWritingActive Learning
Includes information from O*NET OnLine by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (CC BY 4.0).
Data Scientist pay by experience level
Entry level$69,500
Typical starting pay (about the 10th percentile)
Early career$88,500
A few years in (about the 25th percentile)
Experienced$124,500
Mid-career median pay
Senior$164,500
Seasoned professionals (about the 75th percentile)
Top earners$206,000
Highest earners (about the 90th percentile)
Experience tiers are derived from the BLS wage percentile distribution for this occupation, aged to 2026. Actual pay varies by employer, location, and specialization.
Job outlook
+33.5%
projected change in jobs, 2024–2034
23,400
projected openings per year
Growing faster than average
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections program (2024–2034). Openings include growth and replacement needs.
Data Scientist salary by industry
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
69,730 workers
$135,500
Management of Companies and Enterprises
28,620 workers
$140,500
Management of Companies and Enterprises
28,620 workers
$140,500
Computer Systems Design and Related Services
27,590 workers
$140,500
Insurance Carriers and Related Activities
22,510 workers
$121,000
Credit Intermediation and Related Activities
16,500 workers
$138,000
Administrative and Support Services
15,480 workers
$115,000
Insurance Carriers
15,090 workers
$120,500
Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services
15,060 workers
$130,500
Credit Intermediation and Related Activities (5221 and 5223 only)
12,450 workers
$138,000
National sector-level figures, BLS OEWS May 2025, aged to 2026.
How this role compares
Data Scientist pays 6% above the average across 38 roles in the Computer and Mathematical job family (family average $123,500).
Related occupations from O*NET OnLine, U.S. Department of Labor.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a Data Scientist make?
The average base salary for a Data Scientist in the United States is $131,000 per year, or about $62.98 per hour.
What is the typical salary range?
Pay typically falls between $88,500 and $164,500 per year (25th to 75th percentile) depending on experience, location, industry, and organization size.
How does this compare with other Computer and Mathematical roles?
The Computer and Mathematical job family averages $123,500 across 38 roles tracked by WePayFairly.
Need a defensible market price for this role? WePayFairly data is compiled from published survey sources and maintained by compensation professionals.
Need Data Scientist pay benchmarked for your organization, or defensible compensation analysis for a dispute or valuation? Grahall builds it from primary sources, backed by an expert who testifies.
