Expert Data Scientist salary in Charlotte, NC

Based on 117 certified H-1B filings at DOL wage level IV in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC metro area, FY2025–FY2026. Includes Fort Mill, Concord, Huntersville, Indian Trail, Mooresville.

Also listed as: Machine Learning Scientist

Median salary$155,700
Middle 50%$154k–$173.6k
vs. all levels here+34%comparison median $116,158
Filings117FY2025–FY2026 · latest two fiscal years

Salary range

Box: middle 50% of filings. Whiskers: 10th–90th percentile. 99% of filings are between $153,005 and $211,974.
PercentileSalary
10th$153,005
25th$153,962
50th (median)$155,700
75th$173,604
90th$198,730

Salary by year

Median salary

$110k $140k $170k FY2022: median $133,120 (45 filings) FY2023: median $147,918 (41 filings) FY2024: median $154,000 (31 filings) FY2025: median $155,685 (56 filings) FY2026: median $155,700 (61 filings) FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25 FY26

Filings per year

FY2020: 4 filings FY20 FY2021: 9 filings FY21 FY2022: 45 filings FY22 FY2023: 41 filings FY23 FY2024: 31 filings FY24 FY2025: 56 filings FY25 FY2026: 61 filings FY26 61
Shaded: FY2025–FY2026, the years behind the figures above. Median shown for years with at least 10 filings. FY2026 covers Q1–Q3 only.
Show as table
Fiscal yearMedianP25P75Filings
FY2020–––4
FY2021–––9
FY2022$133,120$116,272$155,00045
FY2023$147,918$146,390$170,00041
FY2024$154,000$148,949$165,00031
FY2025$155,685$153,005$176,29356
FY2026$155,700$153,962$173,35261

Cost of living

Charlotte's median expert Data Scientist salary of $155,700 is worth about $159,900 at national average prices.

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024 (U.S. = 100; Charlotte = 97.3).

Compared with all workers here

All Data Scientists in the Charlotte, NC area earned a median of $132,460 in May 2025 (4,420 employed). The H-1B median here is $155,700, 18% higher.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS metropolitan area estimates. BLS wages include some incentive pay; H-1B figures are base salary.

Employers filing at this level

EmployerMedianFilings
Lowe's Companies$153,96210
Wells Fargotoo few9
Charter Communicationstoo few6
Insight Globaltoo few5
Cognizanttoo few3
The Vanguard Grouptoo few3
Cititoo few2
Accordion Partnerstoo few2
Elevance Healthtoo few2
Exzactoo few2

Employers with at least 2 filings here. Median shown at 10+ filings.

By experience level

Wage levelMedianFilings
Entry-level · Level I $84,032 131
Mid-level · Level II $107,016 325
Senior · Level III $130,021 171
Expert · Level IV $155,700 117

Median shown when a level has at least 10 filings.

Minimum H-1B salary by level

Wage levelPrevailing wage (most common)Median offered salaryFilings
Entry-level · Level I$84,032$84,032131
Mid-level · Level II$105,747$107,016325
Senior · Level III$129,854$130,021171
Expert · Level IV$153,962$155,700117

The prevailing wage is the minimum an employer must pay for this job and area. Amounts vary by county within a metro and by wage source.