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Best states for Data Scientists in 2026: cost-of-living adjusted ranking
$120,042
Data Scientists earn a $120,042 national median in 2025. See which states win on cost-of-living adjusted pay and why Washington beats California.
TL;DR
The national median for Data Scientists is $120,042 in 2025. Raw pay figures lie: California tops the nominal list, but cost-of-living adjustments shift the winner board significantly. States in the Midwest and South routinely beat coastal metros on purchasing power. Pull the COL-adjusted figures below, find your target state, and bring the number to your next salary conversation or relocation decision.
The Number (with source)
Data Scientists (SOC 15-2051) earned a national median annual wage of $120,042 in 2025, with a mean of $126,321 across 262,410 employed workers (BLS OES, May 2025, retrieved 2026).
From here we shorten to $120k for readability, except where precision matters.
The BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program surveys employers directly. It is not a crowdsourced average. It covers the full employed population, not a self-selected sample of job posters.
What the Number Does Not Say
The $120k national median is a single-point summary of a wide distribution. BLS OES suppresses state-level wage cells when employment counts are too small to protect confidentiality, so a handful of lower-population states have no published median for this occupation.
The figure also reflects wages paid in May 2025. It does not capture sign-on bonuses, equity grants, or profit-sharing, which can represent 15–40% of total compensation at large tech employers. For total-comp comparisons, use this number as a floor, not a ceiling.
Finally, BLS OES wages are nominal. A $150,000 salary in San Francisco and a $110,000 salary in Raleigh are not straightforwardly comparable. The rest of this article applies the Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities (BEA RPP) to make them comparable.
The Decision Frame: COL-Adjusted State Rankings
How We Built the Ranking
Our methodology:
- Source: BLS OES May 2025 state-level median wages for SOC 15-2051 (see /salary/data-scientists for state drill-downs).
- Adjustment: We divided each state's nominal median by its BEA RPP index (2023, the most recent available), then re-indexed to the national average price level (RPP = 100).
- Formula: Adjusted wage = (Nominal median ÷ State RPP) × 100.
- Result: A purchasing-power-equivalent salary expressed in national-average dollars.
Where BLS suppressed the state median, we note the suppression and use the state mean only where it was explicitly published. We do not silently substitute one for the other.
The Ranked Table
Nominal medians are drawn from BLS OES 2025 state data. RPP indices are BEA 2023. Adjusted figures are RateOrchard calculations.
| Rank | State | Nominal Median | BEA RPP | COL-Adjusted Wage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Carolina | $124,000 | 95.2 | $130,252 |
| 2 | Texas | $122,500 | 95.5 | $128,272 |
| 3 | Virginia | $130,000 | 101.1 | $128,586 |
| 4 | Tennessee | $112,000 | 91.8 | $121,568 |
| 5 | Georgia | $118,000 | 94.6 | $124,735 |
| 6 | Colorado | $128,000 | 103.4 | $123,790 |
| 7 | Washington | $145,000 | 110.6 | $131,102 |
| 8 | California | $155,000 | 118.3 | $131,022 |
| 9 | New York | $148,000 | 121.1 | $122,213 |
| 10 | Illinois | $121,000 | 98.7 | $122,594 |
Washington and California lead on COL-adjusted pay, but their margin over North Carolina and Texas shrinks to under $2,000 once prices are factored in.
What the Table Reveals
Three patterns stand out:
- The Sun Belt holds its own. North Carolina, Texas, and Georgia all clear $120k in adjusted terms while carrying RPP scores below 100, meaning prices run below the national average.
- New York underperforms its nominal wage. A nominal $148,000 collapses to $122,213 adjusted, placing New York below Illinois on purchasing power.
- Washington outperforms California on adjusted pay despite a lower nominal figure, because Seattle's RPP is meaningfully lower than the San Francisco Bay Area's.
Non-Pay Factors That Move the Decision
Adjusted salary is one input. Three others belong in the same spreadsheet:
- State income tax. Texas and Washington have no state income tax. California tops out at 13.3%. On a $145,000 salary, that difference exceeds $10,000 per year in after-tax income.
- Job density. BLS employment counts show 262,410 Data Scientists nationwide. California, Texas, Washington, and New York hold the largest employer clusters. A higher-density state means more fallback options if a job ends.
- Career network. Data science hiring concentrates in tech, finance, and healthcare hubs. Seattle, Austin, Research Triangle (NC), and New York City each offer dense practitioner networks. Smaller markets may offer lower COL but fewer lateral moves.
Trajectory: Is This Occupation Worth Relocating For?
BLS projects Data Scientist employment to grow 33.5% from 2024 to 2034, from 246,000 to 328,000 jobs — classified as "much faster than average" (BLS Employment Projections, retrieved 2026).
That growth rate matters for a relocation decision. A state with a strong Data Science cluster today is likely to deepen that cluster over the next decade.
States to watch:
- Texas is expanding its tech sector aggressively. Austin and Dallas have drawn major cloud and AI infrastructure investment. Job density will likely rise relative to COL.
- North Carolina's Research Triangle (Raleigh-Durham) hosts SAS, Red Hat, and a growing biotech corridor. Entry-level and senior roles both appear in volume.
- Washington remains anchored by Microsoft and Amazon. The adjusted pay advantage is real and persistent.
If you are earlier in your career, see how to become a data scientist for the credential and skills path that feeds these markets.
Using This in a Negotiation or Relocation Conversation
When you walk into a salary discussion or a relocation offer review, bring three numbers:
- The BLS national median: $120,042 — your floor.
- The state-level BLS figure for your target location (linked at /salary/data-scientists).
- The COL-adjusted equivalent from the table above — the number that answers "what does this salary actually buy?"
The sequence matters. Anchor first to the federal figure. It is public, employer-verified, and harder to dispute than a recruiter's assertion about "market rate."
Pull the BLS OES page for your state before the conversation. Save it as a PDF. Walk in with it on your phone or printed. A recruiter's verbal estimate versus a federal survey is not a fair fight — in your favor.
Sources and Methodology
| Source | Observation Date | How We Used It |
|---|---|---|
| BLS OES SOC 15-2051 | May 2025 | National median ($120,042) and mean ($126,321); state-level medians for ranking table |
| BLS Employment Projections | 2024–2034 cycle | Growth rate (33.5%) and employment count trajectory |
| O*NET 15-2051.00 | 2025 | Education requirements, job zone, bright outlook classification |
| BEA Regional Price Parities | 2023 (most recent available) | COL adjustment divisor applied to state nominal medians |
Note on rounding: State nominal medians in the ranking table are rounded to the nearest $1,000 for readability. The national figures ($120,042 and $126,321) are reproduced exactly from BLS.
Note on BEA RPP vintage: The 2023 RPP is one to two years behind the 2025 wage data. Price levels shift slowly at the state level. We flag this as a minor limitation; the directional rankings are stable across recent vintages.
FAQ
What is the median salary for a Data Scientist in 2025?
The BLS OES May 2025 national median for Data Scientists (SOC 15-2051) is $120,042. The mean is $126,321, which is higher because top earners at large tech firms pull the average up. Use the median as your negotiation anchor unless your target employer is a major tech company, in which case total compensation will be the more meaningful figure.
Which state pays Data Scientists the most after cost of living?
Based on BLS OES 2025 state wages adjusted by BEA 2023 Regional Price Parities, Washington state and California rank highest on COL-adjusted pay, both above $131,000 in purchasing-power-equivalent dollars. However, Washington carries a lower RPP than California, which means it delivers comparable adjusted pay at a lower nominal salary and without a state income tax.
Is Data Science still a growing field in 2026?
Yes. BLS projects 33.5% employment growth for Data Scientists between 2024 and 2034, rising from 246,000 to 328,000 jobs. That rate is classified as "much faster than average." Demand is concentrated in tech, finance, and healthcare, with geographic expansion into Sun Belt metro areas visible in recent hiring data.
How does Texas compare to California for Data Scientists?
Texas posts a nominal median roughly $32,500 below California's. After COL adjustment and state income tax (Texas has none; California tops out at 13.3%), the effective gap narrows to under $10,000 in most scenarios. Texas also offers lower housing costs and a growing tech employer base in Austin and Dallas.
What education does a Data Scientist need?
O*NET classifies this role at Job Zone 4, requiring a bachelor's degree with no mandatory prior experience. In practice, the market rewards graduate degrees and demonstrated project work. For a full credential and skills breakdown, see our guide on how to become a data scientist.
Where can I find state-by-state Data Scientist salaries?
BLS OES publishes state-level wage tables at bls.gov/oes. RateOrchard aggregates and annotates these at /salary/data-scientists, including direct links to each state's BLS source file.