Data Scientist salaries and job demand
Last updated
Data Scientist roles typically advertise around US$163,250 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 September 2026, the typical advertised salary is US$163,250 a year, with most postings between US$59,900 and US$209,000.
| 25th percentile | US$59,900 |
|---|---|
| Median (50th percentile) | US$163,250 |
| 75th percentile | US$209,000 |
Advertised base salary, from 249 job postings with pay data, as of September 2026.
Disclosed base wage (H-1B/LCA)
Employers disclose a median base wage of US$145,000 on H-1B/LCA visa filings for this role, between US$111,700 and US$180,363, against the US$163,250 median advertised above.
| 25th percentile | US$111,700 |
|---|---|
| Median (50th percentile) | US$145,000 |
| 75th percentile | US$180,363 |
Disclosed base wage, from 29,123 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 947 postings in August 2026, the most recent month we tracked from start to finish.
We need 3 complete months of tracking before we publish a month-by-month series. Months we only partly covered are left out rather than shown as low demand.
Skills employers ask for
- python2629
- databases-sql2468
- ai-engineering1726
- machine-learning1371
- data-science1319
- aws928
- system-design495
- data-visualization275
- apache-spark265
- scikit-learn245
- r237
- data-engineering197
Postings for this role that named each skill, out of the postings we could parse. Bars run to 2629, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Python | 57% of postings33,051 postings | US$170,000+28% | Not enough data yet | — | Practice |
| Databases & SQL | 52% of postings29,701 postings | US$166,400+25% | Not enough data yet | — | Practice |
| AWS | 46% of postings26,710 postings | US$171,289+29% | Not enough data yet | — | Practice |
| System Design | 30% of postings17,517 postings | US$181,600+36% | Not enough data yet | — | Practice |
| AI Engineering | 23% of postings13,419 postings | US$180,705+36% | Not enough data yet | — | Practice |
| Data Engineering | 6% of postings3,603 postings | £80,000+14% | Not enough data yet | — | — |
| Machine Learning | 6% of postings3,219 postings | US$175,500+32% | Not enough data yet | — | Practice |
| Apache Spark | 5% of postings3,091 postings | £75,000+7% | Not enough data yet | — | Practice |
| Data Science | 4% of postings2,409 postings | US$174,775+31% | Not enough data yet | — | — |
| Data Visualization | 2% of postings992 postings | US$143,454+8% | Not enough data yet | — | Practice |
| Scikit-learn | 1% of postings635 postings | £90,000+29% | Not enough data yet | — | Practice |
| R | 1% of postings568 postings | A$122,010 | 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 September 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$86,113 | US$98,079 | US$120,660 | 10 |
| Mid-level | US$118,983 | US$146,750 | US$182,600 | 27 |
| Senior | US$140,743 | US$170,750 | US$208,913 | 126 |
| Staff+ | US$210 | US$230 | US$212,175 | 85 |
| City | 25th | Median | 75th | Postings with pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco, CA | US$234 | US$193,500 | US$225,900 | 59 |
| New York, NY | US$126,100 | US$169,875 | US$265,050 | 38 |
| Seattle, WA | US$153,210 | US$184,725 | US$222,800 | 30 |
| Los Angeles, CA | US$107,473 | US$140,158 | US$188,750 | 19 |
| Atlanta, GA | US$213 | US$167,500 | US$205,547 | 18 |
| Remote | US$250 | US$144,092 | US$170,000 | 17 |
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
- Years asked up 3 years over the last 6 weeks.
- Python now required in 93% of postings, was 29% 6 weeks ago.
- Databases & SQL now required in 40% of postings, was 14% 6 weeks ago.
Required
Preferred
In the postings’ own words
- Years asked up 7 years over the last 5 weeks.
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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