Expert Data Scientist salary in San Jose, CA
Based on 368 certified H-1B filings at DOL wage level IV in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA metro area, FY2025–FY2026. Includes Sunnyvale, Mountain View, Santa Clara, Palo Alto, Cupertino.
Also listed as: Machine Learning Scientist
Salary range
| Percentile | Salary |
|---|---|
| 10th | $211,536 |
| 25th | $211,536 |
| 50th (median) | $257,000 |
| 75th | $280,000 |
| 90th | $321,480 |
Salary by year
Median salary
Filings per year
Show as table
| Fiscal year | Median | P25 | P75 | Filings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2020 | $175,500 | $163,800 | $194,849 | 58 |
| FY2021 | $170,936 | $163,800 | $197,250 | 50 |
| FY2022 | $186,800 | $174,524 | $207,570 | 120 |
| FY2023 | $191,817 | $183,310 | $215,000 | 177 |
| FY2024 | $227,750 | $211,536 | $295,194 | 70 |
| FY2025 | $222,569 | $211,536 | $260,000 | 246 |
| FY2026 | $280,000 | $275,850 | $313,750 | 122 |
Cost of living
San Jose's median expert Data Scientist salary of $257,000 is worth about $232,700 at national average prices.
Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024 (U.S. = 100; San Jose = 110.4).
Compared with all workers here
All Data Scientists in the San Jose, CA area earned a median of $185,080 in May 2025 (6,060 employed). The H-1B median here is $257,000, 39% 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
| Employer | Median | Filings |
|---|---|---|
| Netflix | $275,850 | 47 |
| Apple | $211,536 | 41 |
| TikTok | $308,000 | 41 |
| $275,300 | 34 | |
| ByteDance | $290,400 | 32 |
| Adobe | $235,000 | 16 |
| Atlassian | too few | 9 |
| Microsoft | too few | 8 |
| Accenture | too few | 7 |
| PayPal | too few | 7 |
Employers with at least 2 filings here. Median shown at 10+ filings.
By experience level
| Wage level | Median | Filings |
|---|---|---|
| Entry-level · Level I | $123,531 | 599 |
| Mid-level · Level II | $174,304 | 1,231 |
| Senior · Level III | $210,000 | 582 |
| Expert · Level IV | $257,000 | 368 |
Median shown when a level has at least 10 filings.
Minimum H-1B salary by level
| Wage level | Prevailing wage (most common) | Median offered salary | Filings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entry-level · Level I | $123,531 | $123,531 | 599 |
| Mid-level · Level II | $148,699 | $174,304 | 1,231 |
| Senior · Level III | $180,128 | $210,000 | 582 |
| Expert · Level IV | $211,536 | $257,000 | 368 |
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.