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The national median salary for Data Scientists is $112,590 per year ($54.13/hr) according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2024. The middle 50% of earners make between $82,638 and $155,813 annually. Top earners at the 90th percentile reach $194,418 per year. There are approximately 233,440 data scientists employed in the United States.
About This Role
BLS Standard Occupational Classification 2018
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
BLS Employment Projections · 2024-2034
10-year growth
+33.5%
Much faster than average
Annual openings
23K
per year, on avg
Workforce today
246K
as of 2024
Why those openings exist
35% from new growth65% from people leaving the role
Mixed: openings come from both new growth and people exiting the role.
Typical entry requirements
Education
Bachelor's degree
Experience
None
On-the-job training
None
Industry Wage Breakdown
Top 5 industries by employment · median annual wage, sector-specific
Industry
Workforce
Median Pay
Computer Systems Design and Related Services
NAICS 541500
28K
$128,020
Management of Companies and Enterprises
NAICS 551100
26K
$126,940
Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services
NAICS 541600
14K
$110,240
Insurance Carriers
NAICS 524100
14K
$109,560
Scientific Research and Development Services
NAICS 541700
12K
$120,090
Wage range across top 5 industries: $109,560 to $128,020 (17% spread)
Wage Percentiles
Hourly & annualized (2,080 hours)
Percentile
Hourly Rate
Annual Salary
P10
$30.60
$63,648
P25
$39.73
$82,638
P50MEDIAN
$54.13
$112,590
P75
$74.91
$155,813
P90
$93.47
$194,418
Market Context Signal
JOLTS · tech sector
Cooling
Openings Rate
2.8%
Quits Rate
1.1%
Information sector openings held flat at 81K in March, but layoffs jumped to 66K (+13K, rate 2.4%) -- the highest layoff rate among major sectors. Quit rates dropped to 1.1%. Tech employers retain maximum leverage; cuts continue in pockets.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the average data scientists salary?
The national median salary for Data Scientists is $112,590 per year ($54.13/hr) according to BLS OEWS May 2024 data. The middle 50% earn between $82,638 and $155,813 annually.
How much do top-earning data scientists make?
The 90th percentile salary for Data Scientists is $194,418 per year ($93.47/hr). The 75th percentile is $155,813 per year.
What is the entry-level salary for data scientists?
Entry-level Data Scientists (10th percentile) earn approximately $63,648 per year ($30.60/hr). The 25th percentile is $82,638 per year.
Wage figures on this page come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2024 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.
CompSignal is a free labor market intelligence tool built for HR, compensation, and talent acquisition teams. We make BLS data, the same primary source Mercer and Radford cross-reference in their paid surveys, searchable and actionable without an enterprise subscription.
Built and maintained by Falcon Incentives, a compensation strategy and incentive design consultancy.