Data Scientists Salary - BLS OEWS Wage Benchmarks
SOC 15-2051 · National · May 2025 OEWS Data
Is this a competitive Data Scientists salary in 2026?
Based on BLS OEWS wage percentiles, JOLTS June 2026 demand signals, and ECI Q2 2026 wage growth.
How Data Scientists pay is moving in 2026
Trend, demand, and spread context from BLS OEWS, JOLTS, and ECI
Median pay for this role rose 6.8% between the May 2024 and May 2025 BLS surveys, outpacing the 2.9% wage growth of the Information sector (BLS ECI).
the Information sector is running a 3.1% job-openings rate with quits at 1.1% (BLS JOLTS). The openings rate has drifted up from 2.9% to 3.1% over the past quarter.
Top earners (P90) make about 3.0 times what entry-level (P10) workers make in this role. That spread is wider than typical, so expect large pay differences by experience, employer size, and geography; build generous ranges and differentiate strongly.
- Aug 4, 2026JOLTS June 2026: sector openings rebounded to 3.1% (up 0.6pp) but remain the lowest of any major sector. Employers keep hiring leverage.
- Jul 31, 2026ECI Q2 2026: sector wages growing 2.9% per year, down from 3.5% the prior quarter.
Commentary is generated from published BLS figures (OEWS May 2025 vs May 2024, JOLTS June 2026, ECI Q2 2026) and refreshed each release. It is interpretation, not a BLS product.
The national median salary for Data Scientists is $120,224 per year ($57.80/hr) according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025. The middle 50% of earners make between $85,654 and $158,891 annually. Top earners at the 90th percentile reach $199,139 per year. There are approximately 262,440 data scientists employed in the United States.
About This Role
Develop and implement a set of techniques or analytics applications to transform raw data into meaningful information using data-oriented programming languages and visualization software. Apply data mining, data modeling, natural language processing, and machine learning to extract and analyze information from large structured and unstructured datasets. Visualize, interpret, and report data findings. May create dynamic data reports.
Career Outlook
About This Data
Wage figures on this page come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025 release. OEWS surveys roughly 1.1 million establishments annually. It is the most comprehensive employer-reported wage dataset in the United States.
P10 through P90 percentiles represent the wage distribution across all surveyed employers (not self-reported by workers). Geographic adjustments use BLS-derived cost multipliers calibrated from regional wage variation.
Wages are estimates. Individual compensation depends on experience, education, employer size, industry, and negotiation. Use this as benchmark context, not absolute ground truth.
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