Quick answer
Data scientists in the US earn a median of $57.80 an hour ($120,230 a year), according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data for May 2025. The middle half earn $41.18 to $76.39. Self-employed data scientists usually bill more, about $133 an hour at the median wage, to cover taxes, overhead, unbilled time, and profit.
Data scientists pay in the US
Hourly wages for 262,440 employed data scientists, May 2025.
| Lowest 10% | 25th percentile | Median | 75th percentile | Top 10% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $32.33 | $41.18 | $57.80 | $76.39 | $95.74 |
Turn a wage into a billing rate
Wages above are what employers pay data scientists. If you work for yourself, your rate also has to cover what an employer would pay for. Change any number to match your business.
Starts at the national median for data scientists
Self-employment tax, liability insurance, benefits
Hours you can charge for after quotes, travel, and admin
Tools, vehicle, software, marketing
What the business keeps after paying you
$133 per hour
Pay x (1 + taxes) x (1 + overhead) x (1 + profit), divided by billable time. This is an estimate to start from, not a market price.
Pay by state
Median hourly pay in the 49 states with published data, highest first.
| State | Median | Middle half | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | $78.54 | $50.60 to $100.15 | 9,600 |
| California | $68.07 | $49.69 to $89.82 | 39,310 |
| Maryland | $65.56 | $48.25 to $81.50 | 3,340 |
| New Jersey | $65.04 | $49.02 to $80.45 | 6,430 |
| Massachusetts | $63.34 | $49.01 to $79.90 | 9,420 |
| New York | $62.72 | $45.62 to $82.49 | 23,970 |
| Minnesota | $61.92 | $44.46 to $77.36 | 4,020 |
| Vermont | $61.09 | $47.33 to $68.83 | 200 |
| District of Columbia | $60.81 | $50.64 to $83.97 | 2,680 |
| Virginia | $60.79 | $46.82 to $79.62 | 8,920 |
| Connecticut | $60.74 | $45.42 to $78.47 | 1,760 |
| Oregon | $60.57 | $46.53 to $78.71 | 2,140 |
| Texas | $58.70 | $40.33 to $70.21 | 25,860 |
| North Carolina | $57.25 | $39.63 to $70.93 | 11,430 |
| Colorado | $56.44 | $46.30 to $73.39 | 6,280 |
| Florida | $55.69 | $40.42 to $67.41 | 10,240 |
| Arkansas | $52.59 | $46.88 to $65.41 | 530 |
| Utah | $51.97 | $37.85 to $70.27 | 4,360 |
| Arizona | $51.56 | $38.85 to $64.46 | 4,560 |
| Pennsylvania | $51.37 | $38.09 to $62.09 | 13,810 |
| Wisconsin | $51.29 | $42.34 to $64.36 | 4,370 |
| Illinois | $51.23 | $40.68 to $66.01 | 10,520 |
| Georgia | $50.16 | $40.44 to $65.66 | 9,260 |
| Alabama | $49.58 | $35.64 to $61.38 | 1,740 |
| Ohio | $49.34 | $38.23 to $62.94 | 6,100 |
| Rhode Island | $49.25 | $44.76 to $62.57 | 1,160 |
| Hawaii | $49.10 | $42.13 to $73.55 | 300 |
| New Hampshire | $48.37 | $39.78 to $61.80 | 1,100 |
| Michigan | $48.36 | $37.22 to $62.62 | 7,360 |
| Montana | $48.31 | $34.13 to $61.46 | 220 |
| Tennessee | $48.24 | $37.39 to $63.43 | 2,790 |
| Nevada | $47.37 | $36.63 to $62.50 | 1,680 |
| Nebraska | $47.23 | $38.90 to $52.82 | 1,980 |
| Kansas | $47.18 | $36.52 to $63.17 | 490 |
| Missouri | $46.68 | $35.87 to $61.39 | 4,730 |
| South Dakota | $46.22 | $40.29 to $59.26 | 220 |
| New Mexico | $46.08 | $30.89 to $51.70 | 560 |
| Iowa | $46.07 | $34.14 to $61.22 | 2,300 |
| South Carolina | $44.23 | $37.77 to $59.56 | 3,750 |
| Kentucky | $44.12 | $36.35 to $58.58 | 1,540 |
| Indiana | $43.98 | $34.94 to $61.30 | 3,580 |
| Maine | $43.69 | $37.18 to $55.37 | 1,210 |
| Idaho | $42.97 | $38.91 to $65.84 | 1,350 |
| Oklahoma | $41.49 | $32.97 to $52.78 | 1,900 |
| West Virginia | $40.91 | $33.55 to $54.21 | 390 |
| Alaska | $40.44 | $27.57 to $54.34 | 230 |
| North Dakota | $39.37 | $30.90 to $48.13 | 210 |
| Louisiana | $37.86 | $30.56 to $52.95 | 1,300 |
| Mississippi | $33.41 | $24.55 to $47.61 | 440 |
States are left out when BLS does not publish an estimate for them.
Data scientists pay FAQ
How much do data scientists make an hour?
The national median is $57.80 an hour. The lowest-paid 10% earn under $32.33 and the top 10% earn over $95.74. Pay depends on location, experience, and specialty.
Which state pays data scientists the most?
Washington has the highest median at $78.54 an hour, and Mississippi the lowest at $33.41, among the 49 states with published data. Higher-paying states usually have higher living costs too.
How much should a self-employed data scientist charge per hour?
Start from the pay you want, then add taxes and insurance, overhead, and profit, and divide by the share of hours you can bill. At the median wage and our default assumptions, that comes to about $133 an hour. Use the calculator on this page to plug in your own numbers.
Where does this pay data come from?
From the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey (May 2025), occupation "Data Scientists". It covers employees on payrolls, not self-employed workers or business owners.
Source
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, occupation 15-2051 "Data Scientists". Figures are wages for employees and do not include self-employed workers. The billing rate is our estimate using the assumptions in the calculator.