Data engineer pay and education: what BLS data shows for 4 related occupations.
“Data engineer” is a job title, not a government occupation. O*NET lists it under 4 official occupations, and 4 of them have their own BLS wage data. Here is what each of those occupations pays, the education BLS lists to start, and where it is heading. Every figure belongs to its own occupation, not to data engineers.
4 official occupations
BLS does not publish Data Engineer as a standalone occupation, so there is no data engineer median. The table below shows each related occupation's own figures.
BLS does not publish Data Engineer as a standalone occupation. O*NET lists “Data Engineer” as a job title in four occupations that have their own BLS wage data; their median annual wages in the United States in May 2025 were: Database Architects (SOC 15-1243) $139,500; Data Scientists (SOC 15-2051) $120,230; Statisticians (SOC 15-2041) $105,650; Database Administrators (SOC 15-1242) $104,620 (BLS OEWS). None of these figures is a data engineer salary.
What the official data covers
O*NET 31.0 lists the exact job title “Data Engineer” under 4 O*NET-SOC occupations; 4 of them are BLS occupations with their own wage data.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Job Titles, August 2026
Data Scientists (SOC 15-2051) is the largest of these occupations, with 262,440 employed in the United States in May 2025 (BLS).
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025
BLS projects employment of data scientists (SOC 15-2051) to change +34.6% from 2025 to 2035, the fastest projected change among these occupations.
Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35
Where government data puts the Data Engineer job title
Data One row per BLS occupation in which O*NET lists the exact title “Data Engineer”, sorted by median annual pay. Hourly pay only where BLS publishes it.
| BLS occupation (SOC) | O*NET lists “Data Engineer” | Median annual pay | Median hourly | Employed | Typical entry-level education | Projected change 2025–35 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Database Architects (15-1243) | 1 job title · 1 reported | $139,500 | $67.07 | 67,140 | Bachelor's degree | +9.4% |
| Data Scientists (15-2051) | 1 job title | $120,230 | $57.80 | 262,440 | Bachelor's degree | +34.6% |
| Statisticians (15-2041) | 1 job title | $105,650 | $50.79 | 29,030 | Master's degree | +11.0% |
| Database Administrators (15-1242) | 1 job title | $104,620 | $50.30 | 69,990 | Bachelor's degree | -0.1% |
Each row is a different BLS occupation with its own figures. None of these figures is a data engineer salary, and they are not combined.
How this page is built
“Data Engineer” is a job title, not an occupation in the Standard Occupational Classification, so BLS publishes no wage, employment or outlook figure for it. An official occupation appears on this page only when the O*NET 31.0 Job Titles or Sample of Reported Titles file contains the exact title “Data Engineer” for that occupation; the count is shown in the table. Pay and employment are BLS OEWS national estimates for May 2025, for each occupation listed; typical entry-level education and projected change are from BLS Employment Projections 2025–35. Hourly pay is shown only where BLS publishes it. No figure is averaged, combined or estimated by TryHired.
- What a specific employer pays for a job titled Data Engineer.
- Which of these occupations matches a particular job posting.
- Certification or degree requirements set by employers.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections, 2025–35 (public domain): typical entry-level education and projected employment change.
- This page includes information from the O*NET® 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. TryHired has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.