How Much Do Data Specialists Make?

Having a clear understanding of earnings potential is important, especially if you are researching career paths or considering changing jobs. If you're one of those people, and you're curious what kind of salary data specialists make, you've come to the right place.

Using data from Lightcast,™ the Best Adult Colleges and Careers Guide has compiled rich information about salary for data specialists and related jobs, including details about average compensation, salary trends and job growth. We've also gathered advertised salaries from actual job postings to provide insight into what employers of data specialists are offering as compensation.

Keep reading to learn more about how much data specialists can expect to make in the United States.

At a Glance: Salary & Jobs for Data Specialists

According to data from 2023, there were about 195,214 positions for data specialists in the United States. In terms of salary, the national median salary for data specialists was reported to be $108,014. Additionally, when examining job demand, employers across the country posted 213,669 job postings related to positions for data specialists.

How Much Money Do Data Specialists Make?

Median salary is just one data point. To build a better understanding of how much money data specialists and related positions can expect to make in the United States, it can be helpful to look at the full range of compensation for those jobs.

Let's look more deeply at data that was reported to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) for detail into the lowest and highest salary earnings for data specialists.

Annual Salary for Data Specialists

According to the BLS, the lowest earners for data specialists and related professions earned about $61,069 per year in 2023. Meanwhile, at the other end of the spectrum, the highest earners made about $184,101 annually.

As mentioned previously, the median salary for data specialists in the United States in 2023 was $108,014.

Hourly Salary for Data Specialists

The BLS also breaks down compensation for data specialists by hourly salary, and the median average hourly pay for data specialists in 2023 was $52. Lowest hourly earners took home $29 while the highest reported hourly salaries for data specialists was $89.

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Degree Options for Data Specialists

Advertised Compensation for Data Specialists

Data from the BLS is one way to dig into compensation for data specialists, but another way to build a more real-time understanding of salary is to look at actual job postings and see what compensation organizations are currently providing to fill open positions for data specialists.

Keep in mind that salary data is not included in every job posting, so the information compiled here is reflective of the data available through Lightcast.™

Annual Salary from Job Postings for Data Specialists

During a review of 283,789 job postings related to data specialists, advertised salary was included in 97,889 of them, which was 34%. Based on those postings, the median advertised salary for data specialists was $125,312 per year.

Hourly Salary from Job Postings for Data Specialists

A similar analysis of job postings provides insight into advertised hourly salary for data specialists. Based on 46% of postings with advertised compensation, the median hourly salary for open positions for data specialists in the United States is about $60.

Salary Trend for Data Specialists

If you're thinking about pursuing a career in the field, you may want to understand how compensation has changed over time for data specialists. The chart below provides a snapshot of advertised salaries over the past three years.

Based on compensation data that was included in job postings for data specialists dating back to September 2020, advertised salaries for data specialists have increased 34%.

What's the Job Growth for Data Specialists?

Another data point that someone thinking about a career path should consider is whether or not jobs are expected to see growth in the future. The chart below looks at projected employment for data specialists over the next 10 years.

According to the data obtained through Lightcast,™ there were 195,161 jobs for data specialists in the United States in 2023. By 2033, it is expected that about 70,559 jobs will be added. That's a 36.2% increase over the next 10-year period.

Additional Links

Ready to dig deeper into career information about data specialists? Visit our other pages focused on salary and education for data specialists.

What do data specialists do?
Data Specialists: How do you become one?

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