Data scientist H-1B salaries
Published November 10, 2026 · Data through FY2026 Q3
Data science is one of the most common occupations in H-1B filings. This guide shows what employers report paying H-1B data scientists, how pay changes with wage level, which employers and metro areas file the most, and how the median has moved since FY2020.
The main figures cover fiscal years FY2025–FY2026, with FY2026 covering only Q1–Q3 (the federal fiscal year runs October 1 to September 30). All figures are annual base salaries from certified Labor Condition Application (LCA) filings. They exclude bonuses and stock. A certified LCA is not a visa approval, and one filing can cover more than one worker.
The national picture
Across the window there are 58,256 certified data scientist filings.
| Percentile | Annual base salary |
|---|---|
| 10th | $80,995 |
| 25th | $96,034 |
| Median | $123,531 |
| 75th | $158,642 |
| 90th | $190,000 |
The median of $123,531 is almost identical to the median for all H-1B filings in the same window ($122,699). The spread is wide: the 90th percentile is more than double the 10th. Where you land in that range depends mostly on experience level, employer and location.
Pay by wage level
Each LCA lists a prevailing wage level from I (entry) to IV (fully competent). For data scientists:
| Wage level | Share of filings | 25th pct. | Median | 75th pct. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Level I | 20% | $73,195 | $83,200 | $102,275 |
| Level II | 42% | $96,034 | $110,739 | $135,000 |
| Level III | 21% | $122,990 | $145,000 | $172,170 |
| Level IV | 17% | $145,000 | $170,000 | $200,000 |
Level II is the most common, at 42% of filings. The step from Level II to Level III is the largest: the median rises by $34,261, or about 31%. A Level IV median ($170,000) is roughly double a Level I median ($83,200).
Ranges overlap between levels. The 75th percentile at Level II ($135,000) is above the 25th percentile at Level III ($122,990), so a strong Level II salary can exceed a typical Level III one. Level I filings make up a fifth of the total, which is one reason the national 25th percentile sits below $100,000.
The level on your LCA is set by the employer based on the job's requirements, so it is a useful clue when comparing an offer with these numbers.
Employers that file the most
The 15 employers with the most data scientist filings in the window:
| Employer | Filings | Median |
|---|---|---|
| Amazon | 4,068 | $140,000 |
| Capital One | 1,560 | $115,939 |
| Microsoft | 1,532 | $172,564 |
| Walmart | 1,454 | $150,000 |
| Meta | 1,034 | $191,131 |
| 999 | $186,000 | |
| JPMorgan Chase | 772 | $142,100 |
| TikTok | 608 | $195,576 |
| Adobe | 432 | $174,304 |
| Apple | 398 | $163,322 |
| Goldman Sachs | 330 | $110,400 |
| CVS Health | 306 | $133,626 |
| FedEx | 303 | $119,205 |
| Citi | 296 | $153,350 |
| 290 | $174,502 |
Amazon files far more than any other employer, about 2.6 times as many as Capital One in second place. The list mixes technology companies with banks, retail, health care and logistics firms, which reflects how widely the role is used. Medians among these 15 range from $110,400 at Goldman Sachs to $195,576 at TikTok.
Highest-paying employers
Among employers with at least 50 data scientist filings, the highest medians are:
| Employer | Filings | Median |
|---|---|---|
| Netflix | 75 | $275,850 |
| ByteDance | 283 | $211,000 |
| TikTok | 608 | $195,576 |
| Block | 85 | $195,264 |
| Salesforce | 73 | $195,100 |
| SoFi | 50 | $192,500 |
| Meta | 1,034 | $191,131 |
| Atlassian | 88 | $190,625 |
| 999 | $186,000 | |
| eBay | 86 | $180,614 |
Several of these employers file relatively few cases, so one or two hiring patterns can move their medians. Netflix's median is the same as its 75th percentile, which suggests many of its filings list the same salary.
The two lists overlap. Meta, Google and TikTok appear on both: they file in large numbers and pay near the top. By contrast, some of the largest filers, such as Capital One, Goldman Sachs and FedEx, report medians below the national data scientist median. TikTok is owned by ByteDance but files under its own U.S. companies; Wage Record counts TikTok's U.S. filers (including TikTok Inc. and TT Commerce and Global Services) as one employer and ByteDance as another, so the two appear separately.
Where data scientists work
The 15 metro areas with the most filings:
| Metro area | Filings | Median |
|---|---|---|
| New York, NY | 8,216 | $139,506 |
| Seattle, WA | 5,393 | $152,133 |
| Dallas, TX | 5,300 | $100,000 |
| San Jose, CA | 4,476 | $174,304 |
| San Francisco, CA | 3,920 | $170,000 |
| Chicago, IL | 2,556 | $116,334 |
| Washington, DC | 2,388 | $115,939 |
| Boston, MA | 2,022 | $125,819 |
| Atlanta, GA | 1,853 | $112,736 |
| Austin, TX | 1,828 | $124,530 |
| Los Angeles, CA | 1,525 | $120,000 |
| Philadelphia, PA | 1,223 | $105,100 |
| Houston, TX | 982 | $90,000 |
| Charlotte, NC | 816 | $116,158 |
| Fayetteville, AR | 748 | $135,000 |
San Jose has the highest median of these metros ($174,304), followed by San Francisco and Seattle. Dallas has almost as many filings as Seattle but a median about $52,000 lower. Houston has the lowest median on the list ($90,000).
Texas is a good example of how much location matters within a single state. Austin's median ($124,530) is $24,530 higher than Dallas ($100,000) and $34,530 higher than Houston. Fayetteville, AR, a smaller metro, appears in the top 15 with a median of $135,000, above Boston and Chicago. That is mostly Walmart's headquarters in Bentonville: Walmart filed 651 of the metro's 748 data scientist filings. When you compare an offer, the metro-level figure is usually more useful than the national median.
How pay has changed since FY2020
| Fiscal year | Filings | Median |
|---|---|---|
| FY2020 | 4,932 | $105,000 |
| FY2021 | 6,223 | $110,000 |
| FY2022 | 11,254 | $120,000 |
| FY2023 | 19,667 | $119,983 |
| FY2024 | 23,693 | $117,963 |
| FY2025 | 31,544 | $120,480 |
| FY2026 (Q1–Q3) | 26,712 | $125,000 |
Filing volume has grown sharply: FY2025 had about six times as many data scientist filings as FY2020. The median rose quickly to FY2022, stayed close to $120,000 through FY2025, and is $125,000 in the partial FY2026 data, about 19% above FY2020. These are nominal figures, not adjusted for inflation.
Using these numbers
- Compare an offer with the figures for the same wage level and, if possible, the same metro.
- Remember that total pay at many employers includes bonus and stock that LCA data does not show.
- Job titles vary. This guide uses the data scientist occupation code, so some filings with other titles are included and some data roles filed under other codes are not.
This guide is general information and is not legal, tax or immigration advice.
How we calculated this
We used certified H-1B LCA filings in the data scientist occupation for FY2025 and FY2026 (Q1–Q3), with annualized base wages. Employer lists, metro lists and medians are calculated across filings. The yearly trend uses all fiscal years from FY2020 onward. See the methodology for details.