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Salary · Data Scientist · United States

Data Scientist salary: $120,230 median, and how to negotiate yours.

The full pay range by percentile, every state, the top-paying metro areas and similar roles, from the latest BLS survey. Place your own offer on the range.

Updated Oct 24, 2026 · Data: BLS OEWS May 2025
Annual wage range · U.S. · BLS May 2025
$120,230median ($57.80/hr)

Quick answer

The median annual wage for data scientists in the United States was $120,230 in May 2025 (BLS). The lowest-paid 10% earned less than $67,240 and the top 10% earned more than $199,130. That median is 2.4 times the $50,980 median for all occupations. The highest-paying state was Washington ($163,350).

10th percentile
$67,240
lowest-paid 10% earn less
25th percentile
$85,660
a quarter earn less
75th percentile
$158,880
a quarter earn more
90th percentile
$199,130
top 10% earn more
Pay by state

Data Scientist salary in every state

Data BLS state estimates, May 2025. 49 states and DC published a median for this occupation. Sort by pay or by number employed.

Highest median pay
  1. Washington$163,350
  2. California$141,590
  3. Maryland$136,370
  4. New Jersey$135,280
  5. Massachusetts$131,750
Most people employed
  1. California39,310
  2. Texas25,860
  3. New York23,970
  4. Pennsylvania13,810
  5. North Carolina11,430
Median annual wage by state
State10th–90th percentile
Washington$163,350$79,930–$220,0409,600
California$141,590$77,480–$224,92039,310
Maryland$136,370$77,930–$213,2703,340
New Jersey$135,280$80,720–$203,9506,430
Massachusetts$131,750$81,030–$206,2209,420
New York$130,460$73,330–$214,08023,970
Minnesota$128,800$65,730–$179,6404,020
Vermont$127,070$76,570–$160,430200
District of Columbia$126,490$89,750–$209,7302,680
Virginia$126,430$76,420–$207,8908,920
Connecticut$126,340$75,700–$204,6801,760
Oregon$125,990$78,110–$206,5502,140
Texas$122,090$64,540–$170,78025,860
North Carolina$119,090$65,970–$172,83011,430
Colorado$117,400$74,470–$189,6306,280
Florida$115,820$63,080–$174,14010,240
Arkansas$109,390$67,090–$169,110530
Utah$108,090$60,680–$167,8904,360
Arizona$107,240$65,200–$161,7304,560
Pennsylvania$106,850$63,340–$162,29013,810
Wisconsin$106,680$76,300–$168,8104,370
Illinois$106,560$68,810–$168,88010,520
Georgia$104,340$67,750–$170,0109,260
Alabama$103,120$59,130–$161,5901,740
Ohio$102,630$61,710–$160,6506,100
Rhode Island$102,440$75,310–$158,8201,160
Hawaii$102,130$77,270–$172,870300
New Hampshire$100,620$73,480–$155,0201,100
Michigan$100,590$60,830–$162,6707,360
Montana$100,490$67,120–$167,150220
Tennessee$100,330$60,200–$156,1602,790
Nevada$98,540$57,150–$164,1101,680
Nebraska$98,230$66,230–$133,1401,980
Kansas$98,130$60,520–$154,990490
Missouri$97,090$58,960–$151,3804,730
South Dakota$96,150$67,510–$145,510220
New Mexico$95,850$49,990–$133,660560
Iowa$95,830$56,070–$146,7002,300
South Carolina$91,990$61,600–$156,0003,750
Kentucky$91,760$61,990–$156,4801,540
Indiana$91,470$58,750–$141,2503,580
Maine$90,880$60,280–$138,5301,210
Idaho$89,380$63,980–$169,0101,350
Oklahoma$86,310$58,690–$145,5801,900
West Virginia$85,090$57,500–$125,100390
Alaska$84,110$51,550–$138,400230
North Dakota$81,900$59,030–$126,710210
Louisiana$78,760$53,050–$128,2101,300
Mississippi$69,490$43,940–$125,990440
Top-paying metro areas

Where the median is highest

Data Metropolitan areas with at least 100 people employed in the occupation, BLS May 2025.

  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. North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL$146,980
  7. Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT$141,760
  8. New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ$135,980
  9. Trenton-Princeton, NJ$135,320
  10. Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD$134,320
Similar roles

How the pay compares

Data National medians for related occupations (O*NET related roles, BLS pay).

  1. Data Scientist$120,230
  2. Biomedical Engineer$109,370
Negotiation script builder

Ask for more, calmly and in writing

Advice Uses only what you type. Replace anything in brackets with something true.

Our view If you cite market data, cite this page's source: the BLS median for your state and the percentile your offer sits at. A specific, sourced number is easier to agree to than a feeling.

Method

How this page is built

Wages are BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics estimates for May 2025 (national, state and metropolitan area), for the occupation shown. OEWS wages are straight-time gross pay: they include base pay, commissions, production bonuses and tips, and exclude overtime, shift differentials, non-production bonuses and benefits. Percentiles describe all workers in the occupation, not entry or senior levels.

What this page can't tell you
  • Pay at a specific employer, or for self-employed workers (OEWS covers employees).
  • Experience level: percentiles are not seniority bands.
  • Equity, bonuses outside OEWS's definition, and benefits.
Sources
  1. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).
  2. O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. TryHired selected, ranked and combined the data; O*NET is not responsible for these pages.
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