TL;DR
You’re staring at an offer letter, and you have no idea if the number is good. That’s the real problem with most Data Scientist Salary by City: Highest Paying US Metros searches, they throw one national average at you and call it a day, when your actual paycheck depends entirely on your zip code.
A $150,000 offer in Austin and a $150,000 offer in San Francisco are not the same deal. One buys a comfortable life, the other barely covers rent. Guess wrong, and you could be leaving tens of thousands of dollars on the table every single year.
This guide fixes that. I pulled 2026 compensation data from Levels.fyi, Built In, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics to show you exactly what data scientists earn, metro by metro. For the full picture on IT pay across roles, check out our complete salary guide hub before you dive in.
What Data Scientists Earn Nationally in 2026
Different platforms measure different crowds of workers, so the numbers will not match each other, and that gap tells you something useful on its own. Levels.fyi, which pulls submissions mostly from stock granting tech employers, puts the median total compensation for a data scientist at $176,000 nationally in 2026, with the 75th percentile at $245,000 and the 90th percentile at $330,000.
Built In reports a lower average base of $128,067 with a median of $120,000, because its sample leans on a broader mix of employers, not just Big Tech. ZipRecruiter lands in between at an average of $122,738 a year.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics, which tracks every industry that hires data scientists including insurance, retail, and government, reported a 2024 median wage of $112,590. It is the most conservative figure of the bunch, and arguably the most neutral one, since it is not weighted toward Silicon Valley payrolls.
| Metro / Benchmark | Avg. Total Comp | Typical Range | Source |
| San Francisco Bay Area, CA | $250,000 | $183,000 – $342,000 | Levels.fyi |
| Seattle, WA | $228,000 | $176,000 – $313,000 | Levels.fyi |
| New York City, NY | $192,000 | $140,000 – $267,588 | Levels.fyi |
| Washington, DC | $145,200 | $125,000 – $190,000 | Levels.fyi |
| Charlotte, NC | N/A (base only) | $96,000 – $133,000 | Syracuse iSchool |
| National Avg. (tech employers) | $180,000 | Median $176,000 | Levels.fyi |
| National Median (all employers) | $112,590 (base, 2024) | — | U.S. BLS |
The Highest Paying Metros for Data Scientists
San Francisco Bay Area, California
The Bay Area still tops every ranking I checked for 2026. Levels.fyi puts average total compensation at $250,000, with reported packages ranging from $183,000 to $342,000. Google alone averages $368,000 in total comp for the role there.
Staffing firm KORE1 separately estimates average base pay around $172,345, roughly 30 percent above the national base figure. That said, median one bedroom rent in San Francisco still eats a bigger share of that paycheck than almost anywhere else in the country.
Seattle, Washington
Seattle data scientists average $228,000 in total compensation, ranging from $176,000 to $313,000, according to Levels.fyi. Amazon and Microsoft drive most of the local demand, and Meta’s Seattle offices average $288,000 for the role.
Washington State has no state income tax, so a Seattle package keeps more of its face value than an equivalent number in California or New York.
New York City
New York data scientists average $192,000 in total compensation, with a typical range from $140,000 to about $267,588, per Levels.fyi. Meta’s New York office reports an average of $335,000, pulled up by finance adjacent product teams.
Hedge funds and fintech firms in the city often pay senior data scientists well above the metro median, especially for anyone comfortable with quantitative modeling.
Washington, DC
Washington data scientists average $145,200 in total compensation, with reported packages between $125,000 and $190,000. Amazon is the top payer locally at an average of $304,000.
Government contracting, defense analytics, and policy work with a security clearance premium keep this market steady even when private sector hiring slows elsewhere.
Charlotte and the Rising Mid Tier Metros
Charlotte has quietly become one of the more interesting markets to watch. Base pay there runs from $96,000 to $133,000, according to Syracuse University’s iSchool analysis, largely thanks to what locals call the fintech factor.
Bank of America and Wells Fargo are both headquartered there, which keeps demand for data talent high without the coastal cost of living attached to it.
Salary by Experience Level
Entry level data scientists with 0 to 2 years of experience typically earn between $95,000 and $165,000 nationally, according to Levels.fyi. Mid level professionals with 3 to 6 years usually land in the $140,000 to $180,000 range depending on employer type.
Senior data scientists with 5 to 8 years run $160,000 to $210,000 in base pay according to KORE1, and total compensation at strong employers clears $300,000 once equity is included. Staff and principal roles go higher still, since that level is paid for judgment, not just output. Our data scientist salary by experience guide walks through each stage in more detail.
Data Scientist vs Data Analyst Pay
A lot of readers researching this topic are actually deciding between two paths, not just two cities. Data analysts generally earn less than data scientists at every experience level, though the gap narrows in cities where analytics work carries more statistical weight.
Our data analyst vs data scientist salary comparison breaks down the pay difference stage by stage, and our data analyst salary by experience level guide shows what analysts specifically earn as they move up. For the full national picture on analyst pay, the Data Analyst Salary in the US 2026: Complete Guide covers average pay, top paying industries, and the certifications that move the needle.
Total Compensation vs Base Salary
This is where most job seekers misread an offer. Base salary is only one line item. Restricted stock units, usually shortened to RSUs, vest over a set schedule, typically four years with a one year cliff, meaning nothing unlocks until year one and then a chunk vests every quarter after that.
A signing bonus softens the first year but usually does not repeat. Annual performance bonuses can swing 10 to 20 percent depending on company performance.
I have seen candidates accept a lower base because the RSU grant made the four year total worth more, and others walk away from a bigger number because the vesting schedule back loaded everything to year three and four. Read every offer as a four year total, not a single year snapshot.
Cost of Living and State Taxes
A $160,000 salary in Seattle or Austin, both no income tax states, often outperforms a $190,000 salary in New York or California once state tax brackets and rent are factored in. This is exactly the state by state math our data analyst salary by state resource lays out, and the same logic applies almost identically to data scientist pay, since both roles cluster in the same metro areas for the same reasons.
What Moves Your Salary From One City to the Next
Four things explain most of the variation between metros. Industry concentration matters first, since finance and healthcare data science roles tend to pay a premium over general tech. Specialization matters second, and shipping generative AI systems or doing genuine causal inference work adds $30,000 to $60,000 over a generalist role, according to KORE1’s 2026 desk data.
Remote work matters third, since fully remote roles now average around $159,290, ahead of several major metros but still below in office Bay Area and Seattle pay.
Company funding stage matters fourth, since a well funded growth stage company will simply outpay a small local SaaS shop in the same city, regardless of what the city’s average implies.
Where Data Science Fits in the Broader Tech Career Map
Data science rarely exists in isolation on an org chart. Plenty of professionals move between analytics, data science, and security adjacent roles over a career, and the pay ceilings differ across each path.
If security work interests you as a next step, our cybersecurity career path guide maps out how people typically move through the field, and our piece on becoming a cybersecurity analyst without a degree is worth a look if you are weighing credentials against hands on experience.
For anyone eyeing the executive end of that track eventually, our CISO salary guide shows what that ceiling looks like in dollar terms. And if you want the broader national context for this role before comparing paths, our data scientist salary in the US overview is a good place to start.
When to Stop Researching and Start Negotiating
At some point, more research just becomes a way to delay the conversation you are avoiding. A few tactical points actually move an offer. First, a competing offer in hand is worth more than any salary survey, even an informal one from a recruiter reaching out.
Second, negotiate the RSU grant and signing bonus separately from base, since hiring managers often have more flexibility on those two levers. Third, ask for more without threatening to walk, since a statement like the offer is close but the equity is below what I am seeing elsewhere tends to work better than an ultimatum.
Fourth, timing matters, and offers extended near the end of a fiscal quarter sometimes have more room in them than they will three weeks later.
Common Misconceptions About Data Scientist Pay by City
The first myth is that remote roles pay the same everywhere. They do not, since many employers still tie remote pay to a location band even when the job never requires an office. The second myth is that San Francisco numbers translate directly to take home pay.
They do not once you subtract California’s income tax and Bay Area rent. The third myth is that a title alone determines pay. It does not, since a data scientist doing machine learning engineering work often earns closer to that adjacent role’s band.
The fourth myth is that smaller cities always mean smaller paychecks. Charlotte and similar fintech adjacent metros prove that assumption wrong more often each year.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Which city pays data scientists the most in 2026?
The San Francisco Bay Area leads every major tracker, with Levels.fyi reporting average total compensation near $250,000.
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Is $130,000 a good data scientist salary?
Yes, in most mid cost metros that figure sits above the national median base pay and provides solid purchasing power.
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Do data scientists earn more than data analysts?
Generally yes, at nearly every experience level, though the gap narrows for analysts working in highly technical, statistics heavy roles.
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Does remote work close the pay gap between cities?
Partially. Fully remote roles average close to the national median but still trail in office pay in the Bay Area and Seattle.
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Why do salary sites report such different numbers for the same role?
Each platform samples a different pool of workers. Levels.fyi leans toward stock granting tech employers, Built In and ZipRecruiter cover a broader mix, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics covers every industry, which is why its figure reads lower.
Share Your Experience
If you have negotiated a data scientist offer recently, or moved cities and watched your real purchasing power change, I would genuinely like to hear how it played out. Real offer experiences are what make guides like this one useful for the next person reading it.
How This Article Was Created
Every figure here comes from Levels.fyi, Built In, ZipRecruiter, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and KORE1’s published 2026 salary analysis, accessed and cross checked in September 2026. No salary figures were estimated or invented. This article was written to help job seekers understand what they are worth in the current market, not to recruit for any platform mentioned above.
Shahzada Muhammad Ali Qureshi (Leeo)
I’m Shahzada — a software engineer by education and an SEO professional by trade. I built WhatIsTheSalary.com to go beyond just showing salary numbers — every page is manually researched across sources like BLS, Glassdoor, LinkedIn Salary, and PayScale to give you the full picture in one place. If you found what you were looking for here, that’s exactly the point.
