Data Scientists Salary in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim
SOC 15-2051 · Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA · BLS OEWS May 2025
Median Annual Salary
$129,750
$62.38/hr
7.9% higher than the US national median ($120,224)
Verified BLS OEWS data · Updated May 18, 2026
Is this a competitive Data Scientists salary in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim in 2026?
Based on BLS OEWS wage percentiles, JOLTS August 2026 demand signals, and ECI Q2 2026 wage growth.
$Competitive · ~P50
P10$71K
P25$91K
P50$130K
P75$168K
P90$208K
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Demand: STABLE. Demand is stable -- tech openings are at 4.3% (JOLTS, August 2026). A standard market: pay near the median, no urgency premium needed.
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Merit budget: Wages in information & tech are rising about 2.9% a year (BLS ECI, Q2 2026). Budget a 2.5-3.0% merit increase to hold this role at market.
Our read
For a competitive 2026 offer, target $129,750 to $168,418 (market median to the 75th percentile). Anchor on the median.
Figures are market benchmarks from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; apply professional judgment before making pay decisions.
How Data Scientists pay is moving in 2026
Trend, demand, and spread context from BLS OEWS, JOLTS, and ECI
Pay trend
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).
Hiring demand · STABLE
the Information sector is running a 4.3% job-openings rate with quits at 1.1% (BLS JOLTS). The openings rate has drifted up from 2.5% to 4.3% over the past quarter.
Pay spread
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.
What changed recently
Sep 29, 2026JOLTS August 2026: sector openings jumped to 4.3% (up 45K; July revised down to 2.8%), but hires fell to a 1.6% rate, the lowest of any major private sector. Quits 1.1%. Postings are up; hiring is not.
Sep 1, 2026JOLTS July 2026: sector openings edged up to 3.3%, still the lowest of any major sector. Quits held at 1.0%. Employers keep hiring leverage.
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.
Commentary is generated from published BLS figures (OEWS May 2025 vs May 2024, JOLTS August 2026, ECI Q2 2026) and refreshed each release. It is interpretation, not a BLS product.
Source: BLS OEWS · Published May 15, 2026
Next refresh: May 2027
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The median salary for Data Scientists in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim is $129,750 per year ($62.38/hr). This is 7.9% higher than the national median of $120,224.
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.
Wage Percentiles: Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim
Hourly & annualized (2,080 hours) · BLS metro data
Percentile
Hourly Rate
Annual Salary
vs National
P10Entry level
$34.17
$71,074
+5.7%
P25
$43.92
$91,354
+6.7%
P50MEDIAN
$62.38
$129,750
+7.9%
P75
$80.97
$168,418
+6.0%
P90Top earners
$100.13
$208,270
+4.6%
How Los Angeles compares for Data Scientists
Computed from this metro's own BLS distribution against national
Pay for Data Scientists in Los Angeles sits above the national range at every level: +5.7% at entry, +7.9% at the median and +4.6% at the top.
An offer at the national median of $120,224 would sit at about the 44th percentile in Los Angeles.
The top of the range earns 2.93 times the bottom here, close to the 2.96 times seen nationally.
Los Angeles employs 9,850 people in this role, 3.8% of the national total.
What employers filed for Data Scientists in Los Angeles
US Department of Labor, Labor Condition Applications · FY2026 Q3 (decisions 1 Oct 2025 to 30 Jun 2026)
Across 720 filings, the median base salary employers stated for this role in Los Angeles was $129,498, which sits at P50 on the Los Angeles BLS pay curve.
What this is, and is not. These are base salaries stated on Labor Condition Applications for visa-sponsored roles, floored by prevailing-wage rules: offered pay on a legal form, not a payroll extract, and base only, with no bonus or equity. It shows how employers position pay for the role, not what the whole market pays.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the median data scientists salary in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim?
The median (P50) annual salary for Data Scientists in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim is approximately $129,750, based on BLS OEWS May 2025 data. This is 7.9% higher than the national median of $120,224. For the full P10–P90 breakdown and market context, open CompSignal.
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.
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.
