Data Scientists · SOC 15-2051

Highest-Paying Metro Areas for Data Scientists

Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025U.S. metropolitan areas

Metro areas ranked by published median annual wage for data scientists. Areas where BLS suppressed the median are not ranked (9 such areas are excluded here). Higher medians often track higher living costs — this is a pay comparison, not a ranking of where the job is “best”.

Top 25 of 282 metro areas

Data Scientists: metro areas with the highest published median annual wages, May 2025
#	Metro area	Median annual	Employment	Per 1,000 jobs
1	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	$185,080	6,060	5.3
2	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$170,110	10,460	4.4
3	Idaho Falls, ID	$167,840	230	2.8
4	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	$164,740	8,370	4.0
5	Kennewick-Richland, WA	$156,830	150	1.2
6	Charlottesville, VA	$149,800	Not published	Not published
7	North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL	$146,980	210	0.6
8	Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT	$141,760	570	1.4
9	Corvallis, OR	$140,190	60	1.5
10	New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	$135,980	23,160	2.4
11	Trenton-Princeton, NJ	$135,320	430	1.8
12	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD	$134,320	1,090	0.8
13	Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA	$134,220	60	0.7
14	Boulder, CO	$134,040	540	2.8
15	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC	$132,460	4,420	3.3
16	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	$132,200	9,260	3.0
17	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	$132,040	7,930	2.9
18	Burlington-South Burlington, VT	$131,820	100	0.9
19	San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA	$130,990	2,830	1.8
20	Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA	$130,980	80	0.9
21	Winchester, VA-WV	$129,990	60	0.9
22	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	$129,780	3,250	1.7
23	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	$129,740	9,850	1.6
24	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA	$129,600	1,700	1.4
25	Barnstable Town, MA	$129,530	70	0.7

Full state and metro tables, the national distribution, and the pay map are on the Data Scientists overview.

About this data. Estimates are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, May 2025 release, retrieved from bls.gov/oes/tables.htm on July 24, 2026. OEWS estimates describe metropolitan/nonmetropolitan areas and states — not city limits — and are not designed for year-over-year comparisons. See BLS methodology, our plain-English methodology, and sources. CitySalaryData is independent and not affiliated with BLS.