As the world continues to generate vast amounts of data, the need for data scientists will be multiplying day by day.
Data scientists are in charge of evaluating data, creating models, and offering insights that may be utilized to make sound business decisions. Because this is a highly sought-after skill set, data scientists may earn significant wages.
As the world continues to generate vast amounts of data, the need for data scientists will be multiplying day by day.
One of the most common questions that people ask is “What is an average data scientist’s salary?”.
According to a survey conducted by LinkedIn, data science is one of the fastest-growing fields in terms of job openings, with a growth rate of 37% per year.
With the increasing importance of data in today’s business landscape, the demand for data scientists has been steadily rising.
If you are also wondering how much a data scientist makes, then follow through till the end, we have some exciting stats and numbers shared.
What does a data scientist do?
Okay, Before we dive into an average data scientist salary, it’s important to understand what a data scientist actually does to earn such demanding salaries.
The role of a data scientist involves collecting and analyzing data, developing models, and providing insights that can be used to make informed decisions that benefit the future of the company in terms of marketing, finance & product placement.
In layman’s words, Data scientists often work with multiple computer programming’s languages such as Python or R to manipulate and analyze data.
Factors that affect data scientist salaries
Here are the most influential factors:
- Education and experience: The more education and experience a data scientist has, the higher their salary will be.
- Industry and company size: Depending on the industry and size of the company data scientist’s salaries can differ. For example, data scientists in tech companies tend to earn more than those in non-tech industries.
- Geographic location: The salaries in locations with large MNCs and tier 1 cities differ in tier 2 & 3 cities.
- Skills and expertise: Data scientists with specialized skills and expertise in areas such as machine learning or artificial intelligence may command higher salaries.
- Job responsibilities: Entry level has fewer responsibilities while a senior data scientist can have more responsibilities with a higher salary.
- Company culture and benefits: Some companies offer additional perks and benefits, such as stock options or remote work opportunities, which can also impact a data scientist’s overall compensation package.
Now, let’s dive into the average salary a data scientist makes based on:
- Experience
- Industry
- Location
Average data scientist salary in terms of Experience in the US
| Entry-level Data Scientist | Mid-level Data scientist | Senior-level data scientist | |
| Experience | 0-1 year | 1-4 years | 5+ years |
| Average
salary Per year |
$86,000 | $123,053 | $111k – $197k |
Source: Indeed & Payscale
Entry-level data scientist salary
As of April 2023, The average earned by a data scientist with less than 1 year of experience is starting from $86,000 to $108,129 which is a pretty good start. However, as this is just an average, this depends on a number of other factors like skills, location & industry.
Mid-level data scientist salary
As of January 2023, Indeed estimated that data scientists with a mid-level experience from 01- 04 years are estimated to earn $123,053 per year, with a base salary of $103,140 and additional pay annually.
Senior-level data scientist salary
According to the Payscale, the average salary earned by Data scientists with more than 10 years of experience is from $137k – $ 197K excluding bonuses & incentives.
Average Data scientist salary by Industry
According to the Burtch Works salary report for data science professionals, the median base salaries by the industry for individual contributors level 2 (IC-2) are as follows:
| Industry | Average Salary |
| Academia/Government | $107,462 |
| Advertising/Marketing | $122,925 |
| Consulting | $115,103 |
| CorporateOther | $108,850 |
| Financial Services | $130,308 |
| Healthcare/Pharma | $128,790 |
| Retail & CPG | $138,067 |
| Technology/Telecom | $149,979 |
Average Data scientist salaries by location
According to Zippia, here are the top 15 cities in the USA that pay the highest to a Data scientist/Analyst.
| Rank | City | Avg. Salary |
| 1 | Richmond, CA | $87,750 |
| 2 | Washington, DC | $82,722 |
| 3 | Jersey City, NJ | $82,520 |
| 4 | Seattle, WA | $81,246 |
| 5 | Baltimore, MD | $79,980 |
| 6 | Boston, MA | $78,717 |
| 7 | New York, NY | $77,671 |
| 8 | Arlington, VA | $76,591 |
| 9 | Raleigh, NC | $73,797 |
| 10 | Chicago, IL | $73,360 |
| 11 | San Antonio, TX | $71,178 |
| 12 | Detroit, MI | $70,301 |
| 13 | Philadelphia, PA | $69,941 |
| 14 | Atlanta, GA | $69,672 |
| 15 | Minneapolis, MN | $68,918 |
Quick Tips to Advance your salary as a Data Scientist
- UpSkill & Downskill every now & then
- Network with Right Professional
- Gain Practical & Industry level experience
- Seek Feedback
- Work on real-time projects
- Take advanced certification courses
- Work on open-source projects & build an online presence
Final Thoughts,
Based on the earning provided above, you might settle that this is one of the highest-earning jobs. Although I cannot dispute it, it is one of the most prestigious and highly skilled jobs of this century. To earn an average data scientist salary, you will need to go through a number of transitions in your career and work on an array of projects both within and outside of the Industry.
If you’re not sure how to get started for your data scientist career and earn like the above figures then make sure to check out this certification course for data scientists, which teaches you all the functional and real-world scenarios you’ll ever need to earn the highest average.
