Salary data / SOC 15-2051
Data scientist salary: what employers post against what BLS reports.
Employers hiring data scientists post a median of $145,000 a year on live listings, 21% above the BLS median of $120,230.
Posted pay as of November 4, 2026, from 6,232 postings by 2,376 employers. BLS: OEWS May 2025.
- Posted median
- $145,000
- Middle half $107,491 to $187,200
- BLS median
- $120,230
- OEWS May 2025
- Posted against BLS
- +21%
- Posted median over BLS median
- Sample
- 6,232
- Live postings with pay, 2,376 employers
- Posted on live listings
- BLS OEWS, May 2025
- Median
Posted on live listings
Posted on live listings
- 25th percentile
- $107,491
- Median
- $145,000
- 75th percentile
- $187,200
BLS OEWS, May 2025
BLS OEWS, May 2025
- 10th percentile
- $67,240
- 25th percentile
- $85,660
- Median
- $120,230
- 75th percentile
- $158,880
- 90th percentile
- $199,130
| Series | Statistic | Annual pay |
|---|---|---|
| Posted on live listings | 25th percentile | $107,491 |
| Posted on live listings | Median | $145,000 |
| Posted on live listings | 75th percentile | $187,200 |
| BLS OEWS, May 2025 | 10th percentile | $67,240 |
| BLS OEWS, May 2025 | 25th percentile | $85,660 |
| BLS OEWS, May 2025 | Median | $120,230 |
| BLS OEWS, May 2025 | 75th percentile | $158,880 |
| BLS OEWS, May 2025 | 90th percentile | $199,130 |
| Annual pay | BLS OEWS | Posted on live listings |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $67,240 | Not measured |
| 25th percentile | $85,660 | $107,491 |
| Median | $120,230 | $145,000 |
| 75th percentile | $158,880 | $187,200 |
| 90th percentile | $199,130 | Not measured |
| Sample | 262,440 employed | 6,232 postings, 2,376 employers |
60% of live US listings for this occupation state pay. Posted ranges give no 10th or 90th percentile. Source: BLS OEWS(opens in new tab)
Top-paying metros
Where employers post the most for data scientists.
The highest posted medians among the 26 metros with at least 50 postings with pay from 10 or more employers. Metros below that floor are left out.
| Metro | Posted median | Middle half | BLS metro median | Gap | Postings with pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $200,000 | $160,125 to $237,897 | $170,110 | +18% | 722 from 313 employers |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | $198,250 | $165,525 to $237,794 | $185,080 | +7% | 595 from 167 employers |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $171,000 | $149,750 to $208,800 | $164,740 | +4% | 510 from 137 employers |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $167,500 | $123,760 to $210,500 | $135,980 | +23% | 1,011 from 465 employers |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | $165,360 | $128,650 to $190,125 | $130,990 | +26% | 131 from 55 employers |
Metros are 2023 Census core-based statistical areas, which include smaller micropolitan areas; BLS publishes no wage estimate for some of them. A small market's posted median rests on the employers hiring there now. Each metro name links to live data scientist jobs there.
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Method
How the two numbers are made.
Posted pay comes from live US job postings in Metaintro's index, read from employer career sites and applicant tracking systems and coded to the 2018 SOC. A posting counts when it states pay in US dollars; we annualize the midpoint of its range and keep values between $15,000 and $1,000,000 a year. These figures are from the November 4, 2026 edition of the Direct Hiring Demand Monitor, covering postings live through November 3, 2026.
We publish an occupation only when at least 300 live postings state pay and at least 10 employers post them. A metro is listed only with at least 50 postings with pay from 10 or more employers. Anything below those floors is left out, not estimated.
BLS pay is the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025: annual wages of people already employed in the occupation. See the BLS figures for this occupation(opens in new tab) or the full OEWS tables(opens in new tab).
The gap is the posted median divided by the BLS median, minus one. The two measure different things: posted pay is what employers offer new hires today, the BLS figure is what everyone in the job earned at the survey date. Wage growth since then, which jobs are being advertised, and pay that a range leaves out all move the gap. Read it as a market signal, not a correction to BLS.
How to cite
Free to reuse with attribution.
Quote, chart or republish these figures with a credit and a link. Please name the edition date, since posted pay moves with the market.
Metaintro, "Metaintro Salary Data: posted pay against BLS OEWS", data scientist, edition of November 4, 2026. https://www.metaintro.com/data/salaries/data-scientist
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