Data and reporting analyst education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become a data and reporting analyst. Data and reporting analysts usually study business, computer science, or finance. 65% of data and reporting analysts hold a bachelor's degree, and 18% hold an master's degree. We analyzed 984 real data and reporting analyst resumes to see exactly what data and reporting analyst education sections show.

The most common colleges for data and reporting analysts are the University of Phoenix and the University of Phoenix.

There are also many online data and reporting analyst courses to help get the education required to be a data and reporting analyst.

What education do you need to become a data and reporting analyst?

What degree do you need to be a data and reporting analyst?

The most common degree for data and reporting analysts is bachelor's degree, with 65% of data and reporting analysts earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are master's degree degree at 18% and master's degree degree at 10%.

Bachelor's, 65%

Master's, 18%

Associate, 10%

High School Diploma, 3%

Other Degrees, 4%

What should I major in to become a data and reporting analyst?

You should major in business to become a data and reporting analyst. 28% of data and reporting analysts major in business. Other common majors for a data and reporting analyst include computer science and finance.

Business, 28%

Computer Science, 12%

Finance, 8%

Accounting, 7%

Other Majors, 45%

Most common colleges for data and reporting analysts

Data and reporting analysts often get their degrees at University of Phoenix, California Lutheran University, and DeVry University. Here are the most common colleges for data and reporting analysts in the US based on their resumes.

Data and reporting analyst common college	Percentages
University of Phoenix	15.89%
California Lutheran University	6.54%
DeVry University	6.54%
University of Maryland - College Park	6.54%
Pennsylvania State University	5.61%

Show more common data and reporting analyst colleges

Best majors for data and reporting analysts

Rank	Major	Percentages
1	Business	27.5%
2	Computer Science	12.0%
3	Finance	7.8%
4	Accounting	7.0%
5	Computer Information Systems	6.8%

Show more common data and reporting analyst majors

Best colleges for data and reporting analysts

The best colleges for data and reporting analysts are Northwestern University, University of Pennsylvania, and University of Southern California.

A data and reporting analyst with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for data and reporting analysts. We based this list on several metrics: admissions rate, retention rate, mean earnings of graduates, the ratio of working vs. non-working students ten years after admission, the average cost of attendance, and median debt for graduates who become data and reporting analysts.

1. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

In-state tuition

$54,568

Enrollment

8,451

2. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

3. New York University

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$51,828

Enrollment

26,339

4. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$56,225

Enrollment

19,548

5. George Washington University, The

Washington, DC • Private

In-state tuition

$55,230

Enrollment

12,161

6. Pennsylvania State University

University Park, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$18,454

Enrollment

40,108

7. Lehigh University

Bethlehem, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$52,930

Enrollment

5,030

8. Harvard University

Cambridge, MA • Private

In-state tuition

$50,420

Enrollment

7,582

9. University of Georgia

Athens, GA • Private

In-state tuition

$11,830

Enrollment

29,474

10. Ball State University

Muncie, IN • Private

In-state tuition

$9,896

Enrollment

15,529

20 best online courses for data and reporting analysts

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4.4

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4.2

(350)

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14. Data Warehouse Developer-SQL Server/ETL/SSIS/SSAS/SSRS/T-SQL

4.3

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Develop and Implement a Data Warehouse Solution Step by step...

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4.6

(2,088)

Implementing a Data Warehouse with SQL Server 2012 (Exam 70-463)...

16. Data Engineering - ETL, Web Scraping ,Big Data,SQL,Power BI

4.2

(300)

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17. Tableau Certified Data Analyst: Top Exam Prep Course

4.6

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3 Practice Tests Tableau Data Analyst Tableau Certification Tableau BI Data Analysis Data Visualization...

18. SQL Course 2023: SQL for Data Analysis and Data Science.

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19. Learn Data Analysis with SQL and Tableau (2 Courses in 1)

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Improve your Business Analytical Skills and Data Visualization in SQL and Tableau...

20. Data Warehousing & Visualization in Microsoft BI & Power BI

4.3

(481)

Learn ETL, Data Analysis and Visualization using Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Business Intelligence tools and Power BI...

Top 10 most affordable universities for data and reporting analysts

The most affordable schools for data and reporting analysts are Baruch College of the City University of New York, university of florida, and suny farmingdale.

If the best universities for data and reporting analysts are out of your price range, check out these affordable schools. After factoring in in-state tuition and fees, the average cost of attendance, admissions rate, average net price, and mean earnings after six years, we found that these are the most affordable schools for data and reporting analysts.

1. Baruch College of the City University of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,262

Cost of attendance

14,046

2. University of Florida

Gainesville, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,381

Cost of attendance

21,034

3. SUNY Farmingdale

Farmingdale, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$8,306

Cost of attendance

16,091

4. Brigham Young University

Provo, UT • Private

In-state tuition

$5,620

Cost of attendance

18,136

5. Florida State University

Tallahassee, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$5,656

Cost of attendance

21,623

6. California State University - Bakersfield

Bakersfield, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,309

Cost of attendance

16,714

7. University of South Florida

Tampa, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,410

Cost of attendance

20,456

8. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,798

Cost of attendance

18,306

9. USF Sarasota-Manatee

Sarasota, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$5,587

Cost of attendance

13,043

10. University of Houston - Victoria

Victoria, TX • Private

In-state tuition

$6,491

Cost of attendance

19,075

Top 10 hardest universities to get into for data and reporting analysts

The hardest universities for data and reporting analysts to get into are Northwestern University, University of Pennsylvania, and University of Southern California.

Some great schools for data and reporting analysts are hard to get into, but they also set your career up for greater success. The list below shows the most challenging universities to get into for data and reporting analysts based on an institution's admissions rates, average SAT scores accepted, median ACT scores accepted, and mean earnings of students six years after admission.

1. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,508

2. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,492

3. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

13%

SAT average

1,445

4. New York University

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

20%

SAT average

1,419

5. Harvard University

Cambridge, MA • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,520

6. Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD • Private

Admissions rate

11%

SAT average

1,513

7. Washington University in St Louis

Saint Louis, MO • Private

Admissions rate

15%

SAT average

1,506

8. Lehigh University

Bethlehem, PA • Private

Admissions rate

22%

SAT average

1,380

9. Boston University

Boston, MA • Private

Admissions rate

22%

SAT average

1,420

10. University of Rochester

Rochester, NY • Private

Admissions rate

29%

SAT average

1,422

Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for data and reporting analysts

The easiest schools for data and reporting analysts to get into are Notre Dame de Namur University, wayland baptist university, and oklahoma wesleyan university.

Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a data and reporting analyst without much hassle, check out the list of schools where you will be accepted in no time. We compiled admissions rates, average SAT scores, average ACT scores, and average salary of students six years after graduation to uncover which were the easiest schools to get into for data and reporting analysts.

1. Notre Dame de Namur University

Belmont, CA • Private

Admissions rate

82%

SAT average

983

2. Wayland Baptist University

Plainview, TX • Private

Admissions rate

98%

SAT average

1,003

3. Oklahoma Wesleyan University

Bartlesville, OK • Private

Admissions rate

68%

SAT average

964

4. Mount Saint Mary's University

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

84%

SAT average

1,031

5. Felician University

Lodi, NJ • Private

Admissions rate

81%

SAT average

999

6. Holy Names University

Oakland, CA • Private

Admissions rate

70%

SAT average

849

7. University of the Incarnate Word

San Antonio, TX • Private

Admissions rate

88%

SAT average

1,044

8. University of North Texas at Dallas

Dallas, TX • Private

Admissions rate

83%

SAT average

992

9. Life University

Marietta, GA • Private

Admissions rate

94%

SAT average

979

10. University of Baltimore

Baltimore, MD • Private

Admissions rate

78%

SAT average

1,020

Average data and reporting analyst salary by education level

According to our data, data and reporting analysts with a Doctorate degree earn the highest average salary, at $85,541 annually. Data and reporting analysts with a Master's degree earn an average annual salary of $82,261.

Data and reporting analyst education level	Data and reporting analyst salary
Master's Degree	$82,261
Bachelor's Degree	$76,676
Doctorate Degree	$85,541

Data and reporting analyst education FAQs

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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

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