Data Scientist Salary: What You’ll Make and Why
Data scientists make around $97,358 to $136,309 on average in the US, depending on experience, location, skills, and other factors.
According to various salary aggregate websites, a data scientist’s salary in the US ranges between $97,358 and $136,309, with an average salary of $118,822. As of July 2022, the base salaries for data scientists are listed as follows:
| Payscale | ZipRecruiter | Indeed | Salary.com | Glassdoor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $97,358 | $119,587 | $121,934 | $136,309 | $118,923 |
Keep in mind: Salary aggregate websites typically rely on data submitted anonymously by individuals using their site. Some websites may have received larger amounts of data of either higher or lower than average salaries, which may affect the site’s calculated average.
Read more: What Is a Data Scientist? How to Become One
What influences a salary?
The salary of a Data Scientist is determined by a number of factors, including education, experience, and job location. In this article, we will take a closer look at how these factors impact salary.
Years of experience
Salary increases are generally tied to your experience level. In general, the more years you spend working as a data scientist, the more you can expect to earn. Here’s how experience can impact your data scientist salary, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the National Compensation Survey.
| Level of experience | Salary |
|---|---|
| Entry-level (less than 1 year) | $68,855 |
| Early career (1 to 4 years) | $89,206 |
| Mid career (5 to 9 years) | $118,247 |
| Experienced (10 to 19 years) | $149,051 |
| Late career (20+ years) | $188,906 |
Location
Where you live can also impact how much you can make as a data scientist. Typically, working in a large metropolitan area correlates to a higher salary, as well as a higher cost of living.
Here is a list of some major cities with their corresponding average data scientist salary according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
| City | Average Salary |
|---|---|
| San Francisco, CA | $169,984 |
| New York City, NY | $147,770 |
| Charlotte, NC | $142,740 |
| Seattle, WA | $138,441 |
| Los Angeles, CA | $134,394 |
| Pittsburgh, PA | $81,448 |
| Omaha, NE | $79,287 |
| Virginia Beach, VA | $73,799 |
| New Orleans, LA | $72,713 |
| Oklahoma City, OK | $72,313 |
How does this compare to similar jobs?
Here’s how a data scientist’s salary stacks up against similar jobs.
| Related Jobs | Average Salary |
|---|---|
| Data Analyst | $67,294 |
| Business Analyst | $82,343 |
| Statistician | $97,643 |
| Operations Research Analyst | $87,744 |
| Market Research Analyst | $63,344 |
| Financial Analyst | $67,900 |
| Database Administrator | $86,833 |
| Computer Systems Analyst | $72,176 |
| Information Security Analyst | $99,944 |
How to increase your data scientist salary
Now that you have a better idea of what you could expect to earn as a data scientist, let’s look at ways to boost your salary.
1. Strengthen your skills
Pursuing and improving in-demand skills could make you more competitive for promotions and higher-paying positions. These skills include:
- Programming: Know how to code in at least one statistical programming language, such as R or Python
- Data Wrangling: Understand how to clean, organize, and transform data for analysis
- Exploratory Data Analysis: Conduct initial analyses of data to identify patterns and trends
- Inferential Statistics: Use statistical methods to draw conclusions from data
- Communication: Be able to effectively communicate results of data analysis to non-technical audiences
2. Seek regular feedback
As a data scientist, it’s important to be constantly learning and growing in your role. One way to do this is to seek regular feedback from your manager or other senior members of your team. This feedback can help you identify areas where you can improve, and also give you a sense of how your work is valued by your company. When it comes time to negotiate a raise, this feedback can be invaluable in demonstrating your worth to your employer.
3. Get a good performance review
A great way to increase your salary as a data scientist is to make sure you’re doing a great job and impressing your boss. This means being on top of your projects, being proactive about solving problems, and generally going above and beyond. If you can get a good performance review, you’ll be in a much stronger position to negotiate a raise.
Article Sources
1. US Bureau of Labor Statistics. “National Compensation Survey, https://www.bls.gov/ncs/.” Accessed July 2, 2022.
2. US Bureau of Labor Statistics. “Occupational Employment and Wages, https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes152098.htm.” Accessed July 2, 2022.
3. Payscale. “Data Scientist Salary, https://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Data_Scientist/Salary.” Accessed July 2, 2022.
4. Ziprecruiter. “DATA Scientist Annual Salary, https://www.ziprecruiter.com/Salaries/DATA-Scientist-Salary.” Accessed July 2, 2022.
5. Indeed. “Indeed Salary Finder, https://www.indeed.com/career/salaries.” Accessed July 2, 2022.
6. Salary.com. “Data Scientist Salary, https://www.salary.com/research/salary/listing/data-scientist-salary.” Accessed July 2, 2022.
7. Glassdoor. “Data Scientist Salaries, https://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/data-scientist-salary-SRCH_KO0,14.htm.” Accessed July 2, 2022.