Data Scientist salaries and job demand
Last updated
Data Scientist roles typically advertise around US$162,900 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 November 2026, the typical advertised salary is US$162,900 a year, with most postings between US$119,025 and US$207,125.
| 25th percentile | US$119,025 |
|---|---|
| Median (50th percentile) | US$162,900 |
| 75th percentile | US$207,125 |
Advertised base salary, from 286 job postings with pay data, as of November 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$162,900 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 1,013 postings in October 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
- python2874
- data-science2831
- machine-learning2622
- databases-sql2524
- ai-engineering1345
- aws693
- data-visualization595
- apache-spark539
- data-engineering537
- r452
- mlops382
- scikit-learn361
Postings for this role that named each skill, out of the postings we could parse. Bars run to 2874, 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 postings7,536 postings | US$181,900+37% | 73%30 attempts | 32 | Practice |
| Python | 48% of postings50,058 postings | £75,000 | Not enough data yet | — | Practice |
| Databases & SQL | 42% of postings43,299 postings | £75,000 | Not enough data yet | — | Practice |
| AWS | 36% of postings37,858 postings | £80,000+7% | Not enough data yet | — | Practice |
| AI Engineering | 20% of postings20,343 postings | £80,000+7% | Not enough data yet | — | Practice |
| Data Engineering | 9% of postings9,639 postings | £75,000 | Not enough data yet | — | Practice |
| Apache Spark | 6% of postings6,117 postings | £75,000 | Not enough data yet | — | Practice |
| Data Science | 6% of postings6,055 postings | US$165,000+24% | Not enough data yet | — | Practice |
| MLOps | 3% of postings2,803 postings | £100,000+33% | Not enough data yet | — | — |
| Data Visualization | 2% of postings2,540 postings | US$130,000−2% | Not enough data yet | — | Practice |
| R | 1% of postings1,272 postings | A$123,237+12% | Not enough data yet | — | Practice |
| Scikit-learn | 1% of postings1,185 postings | £82,000+9% | Not enough data yet | — | Practice |
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 November 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$104,000 | US$109,000 | US$364,000 | 40 |
| Mid-level | US$120,766 | US$148,990 | US$185,738 | 38 |
| Senior | US$144,975 | US$171,500 | US$205,000 | 156 |
| Staff+ | US$213 | US$137,450 | US$212,300 | 45 |
| City | 25th | Median | 75th | Postings with pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco, CA | US$133,575 | US$193,500 | US$228,400 | 51 |
| New York, NY | US$134,500 | US$182,725 | US$215,925 | 40 |
| Seattle, WA | US$160,000 | US$187,250 | US$246,888 | 38 |
| Chicago, IL | US$115,541 | US$133,500 | US$160,594 | 30 |
| Los Angeles, CA | US$120,000 | US$142,958 | US$162,500 | 25 |
| Boston, MA | US$110,500 | US$157,500 | US$185,000 | 23 |
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
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
Required
Preferred
In the postings’ own words
- Years asked down 0.5 years over the last 5 weeks.
- Python required in only 63% of postings, was 90% 5 weeks ago.
- Apache Spark required in only 6% of postings, was 20% 5 weeks ago.
- Machine Learning required in only 56% of postings, was 70% 5 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 here yet.
Practice interview questions
Vacancy and salary data includes Adzuna.
Disclosed wage data from the U.S. Department of Labor, OFLC.
Prep for these roles
Paste a job ad and practise a quiz built from what it asks, scored on the spot. One a day with no account, two a month on a free one.
Free plan · no card · sign in with an emailed code