Data Scientist salaries and job demand
Last updated
Data Scientist roles typically advertise around US$161,200 a year. Here's the current salary range, hiring demand, and the skills employers ask for most.
What do Data Scientist roles pay in 2026?
As of October 2026, the typical advertised salary is US$161,200 a year, with most postings between US$97,250 and US$209,000.
| 25th percentile | US$97,250 |
|---|---|
| Median (50th percentile) | US$161,200 |
| 75th percentile | US$209,000 |
Advertised base salary, from 285 job postings with pay data, as of October 2026.
Disclosed base wage (H-1B/LCA)
Employers disclose a median base wage of US$143,629 on H-1B/LCA visa filings for this role, between US$110,000 and US$180,000, against the US$161,200 median advertised above.
| 25th percentile | US$110,000 |
|---|---|
| Median (50th percentile) | US$143,629 |
| 75th percentile | US$180,000 |
Disclosed base wage, from 24,894 H-1B/LCA filings, U.S. DOL OFLC, as of Q4 2025.
| Period | 25th percentile | Median | 75th percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q3 2024 | US$116,100 | US$147,513 | US$183,038 |
| Q4 2024 | US$120,000 | US$152,133 | US$185,000 |
| Q1 2025 | US$120,480 | US$155,921 | US$186,368 |
| Q2 2025 | US$100,000 | US$132,500 | US$170,373 |
| Q3 2025 | US$115,000 | US$149,250 | US$186,008 |
| Q4 2025 | US$120,526 | US$154,524 | US$189,327 |
How strong is hiring demand for Data Scientist roles in 2026?
Tarmac tracked 707 postings in September 2026, the most recent month we tracked from start to finish.
We're not publishing a month-by-month series yet: the number of postings Tarmac collects each month is still growing, so a month-on-month change would measure our coverage rather than the job market.
Skills employers ask for
- python3343
- databases-sql3015
- data-science2406
- machine-learning2365
- ai-engineering1770
- aws949
- apache-spark515
- data-visualization511
- system-design411
- r404
- data-engineering385
- scikit-learn376
Postings for this role that named each skill, out of the postings we could parse. Bars run to 3343, the most-asked skill here.
Which skills to study first
These skills matter most for this role, scored together on how often employers ask for them, what they pay, and how often people pass them when they practise.
| Skill | Market demand | Median pay | Pass rate | Leverage | Practice |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Machine Learning | 7% of postings5,684 postings | US$175,000+31% | 73%30 attempts | 30 | Practice |
| Python | 55% of postings44,668 postings | US$167,500+26% | Not enough data yet | — | Practice |
| Databases & SQL | 47% of postings38,689 postings | US$162,913+22% | Not enough data yet | — | Practice |
| AWS | 42% of postings34,123 postings | US$172,500+30% | Not enough data yet | — | Practice |
| System Design | 26% of postings21,200 postings | US$180,347+36% | Not enough data yet | — | Practice |
| AI Engineering | 21% of postings17,148 postings | US$180,000+35% | Not enough data yet | — | Practice |
| Data Engineering | 8% of postings6,336 postings | £77,500+3% | Not enough data yet | — | Practice |
| Apache Spark | 6% of postings5,210 postings | £77,500+3% | Not enough data yet | — | Practice |
| Data Science | 5% of postings4,218 postings | US$166,400+25% | Not enough data yet | — | Practice |
| Data Visualization | 2% of postings1,695 postings | US$130,000−2% | Not enough data yet | — | Practice |
| Scikit-learn | 1% of postings944 postings | £90,000+20% | Not enough data yet | — | Practice |
| R | 1% of postings913 postings | A$121,669 | Not enough data yet | — | — |
Pass rate is the share of correct answers among people who practised that skill on Tarmac, a self-selected group rather than every developer, so read it as relative difficulty, not a universal stat. It comes from how people actually scored, not what anyone claimed, and a dash in that column means not enough people have practised the skill here yet. Leverage scores demand, pay, and difficulty together (out of 100); a higher score means a skill is both worth learning and worth your study time.
Pay by level and city in United States
These figures cover United States postings only, as of October 2026. The median above pools every level and every city; these split it, so you can read the rung you are actually applying for.
| Level | 25th | Median | 75th | Postings with pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Junior | US$98,000 | US$108,240 | US$109,000 | 19 |
| Mid-level | US$120,000 | US$147,979 | US$182,500 | 29 |
| Senior | US$140,293 | US$170,000 | US$211,625 | 154 |
| Staff+ | US$210 | US$230 | US$212,300 | 82 |
| City | 25th | Median | 75th | Postings with pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco, CA | US$238 | US$208,000 | US$230,000 | 61 |
| New York, NY | US$124,800 | US$165,000 | US$281,000 | 37 |
| Seattle, WA | US$148,725 | US$181,100 | US$222,800 | 36 |
| Los Angeles, CA | US$119,250 | US$149,840 | US$191,875 | 22 |
| Washington, DC | US$99,000 | US$146,800 | US$175,000 | 21 |
| Atlanta, GA | US$218 | US$133,983 | US$199,725 | 20 |
Advertised base salary. A level or city with too few postings quoting pay is left out rather than shown on a thin sample.
What it takes
The entry bar and required skills employers ask for. Most job ads reach us as a short summary rather than the full posting, and the percentages below count only the ones we have in full — so they skew toward employers who publish a fuller description. Every bar runs 0 to 60% of those postings: solid is required, outlined is preferred, dashed is the posting's own words.
Australia
Required
Preferred
In the postings’ own words
Required
Preferred
In the postings’ own words
- Databases & SQL now required in 67% of postings, was 44% 4 weeks ago.
- Snowflake now required in 22% of postings, was 11% 4 weeks ago.
- Python required in only 78% of postings, was 89% 4 weeks ago.
Required
Preferred
In the postings’ own words
Not enough postings state a years-of-experience figure for Staff / lead yet.
United States
Required
Preferred
In the postings’ own words
Required
Preferred
In the postings’ own words
- Python now required in 92% of postings, was 80% 8 weeks ago.
Required
Preferred
In the postings’ own words
Not enough postings state a years-of-experience figure for Staff / lead yet.
United Kingdom
Required
In the postings’ own words
Required
Preferred
Not enough postings state a years-of-experience figure for Mid-level and Staff / lead yet.
Practice interview questions
Jobs data powered by Adzuna.
Disclosed wage data from the U.S. Department of Labor, OFLC.
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