Across the 29 states we track, Massachusetts gives Data Scientists the strongest cost-of-living-adjusted pay: about $134,400 real pay on a median of $145,600. North Carolina follows at about $134,400 real pay, then California at about $129,500. The table ranks every state by real pay, so a high nominal salary in an expensive state cannot masquerade as a raise.
Data Scientist Salary by State (2026): Real Pay Ranked
Massachusetts ranks first for Data Scientist real pay: about $134,400 after cost of living. Median and real pay for all 29 states, ranked.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS) & BEA Regional Price Parities · Updated October 2026
States ranked
29
Metros counted
45
National average
$119,040
Data Scientist pay by state, ranked by real pay
| State | Median pay | Real pay (COL-adjusted) | Metro(s) counted |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Massachusetts | $145,600 | $134,400 | Boston |
| 2. North Carolina | $131,400 | $134,400 | Charlotte, Raleigh |
| 3. California | $142,600 | $129,500 | Los Angeles-Long Beach, San Diego, San Jose, San Francisco-Oakland, Fresno, Sacramento |
| 4. District of Columbia | $135,100 | $124,100 | Washington |
| 5. Washington | $135,600 | $122,100 | Seattle |
| 6. Maryland | $126,400 | $121,000 | Baltimore |
| 7. Oregon | $126,500 | $120,000 | Portland |
| 8. New York | $133,600 | $118,700 | New York |
| 9. Minnesota | $114,600 | $109,400 | Minneapolis |
| 10. Wisconsin | $105,600 | $109,000 | Milwaukee |
| 11. Colorado | $111,800 | $108,300 | Denver, Colorado Springs |
| 12. Arizona | $108,200 | $108,100 | Phoenix-Mesa, Tucson |
| 13. Texas | $104,200 | $106,400 | Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, Austin, El Paso |
| 14. Illinois | $108,600 | $104,800 | Chicago |
| 15. Kansas | $93,000 | $104,600 | Wichita |
| 16. Georgia | $104,600 | $104,500 | Atlanta |
| 17. Pennsylvania | $106,800 | $104,100 | Philadelphia |
| 18. Nebraska | $95,600 | $104,000 | Omaha |
| 19. Tennessee | $98,000 | $103,900 | Nashville, Memphis |
| 20. Ohio | $94,400 | $98,800 | Columbus |
| 21. Michigan | $97,000 | $96,700 | Detroit |
| 22. Oklahoma | $86,800 | $96,700 | Oklahoma City, Tulsa |
| 23. Kentucky | $86,800 | $93,200 | Louisville |
| 24. Missouri | $84,500 | $91,400 | Kansas City |
| 25. Florida | $95,400 | $89,300 | Jacksonville, Miami |
| 26. New Mexico | $82,400 | $86,300 | Albuquerque |
| 27. Louisiana | $79,900 | $86,300 | New Orleans |
| 28. Nevada | $86,400 | $86,200 | Las Vegas |
| 29. Indiana | $81,500 | $85,200 | Indianapolis |
Method: each state aggregates the BLS OEWS metro medians we track for Data Scientist in that state - an employment-weighted mean where every counted metro publishes employment (27 of 29 states), otherwise a simple mean (2 states). Real pay = state median divided by (state RPP / 100), where the state RPP is the mean BEA Regional Price Parity of its counted metros; figures are rounded to the nearest $100. Twin cities sharing one metro estimate (for example Phoenix-Mesa) are counted once. Arlington, TX and Cleveland, OH metros lack a cost-of-living index in our dataset and are excluded from their state's figures. States without a tracked metro are omitted rather than estimated.
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Frequently Asked Questions
On cost-of-living-adjusted pay, Massachusetts leads at about $134,400 real pay (median $145,600), ahead of North Carolina at about $134,400.
We aggregate the BLS median wages of the metros we track in each state (an employment-weighted mean where employment data exists, otherwise a simple average), then divide by the mean Regional Price Parity of those metros to get real pay.
The full city-level table with 10th-90th percentiles and every metro's cost-of-living index is on the Data Scientist salary hub at /salary/data-scientist/.