Data scientist demographics and statistics in the US
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Data scientist demographics by:
Data scientist gender statistics
20.4% of data scientists are women and 79.6% of data scientists are men.
- Male, 79.6%
- Female, 20.4%
Data scientist gender ratio
| Gender | Percentages |
|---|---|
| Male | 79.6% |
| Female | 20.4% |
Data scientist gender pay gap
Women earn 96¢ for every $1 earned by men
Male income
$108,366
Female income
$103,681
Data scientist gender ratio over time
This data breaks down the percentage of men and women in data scientist positions over time. Currently, 20.4% of data scientists are female.
Data scientist gender ratio by year
| Year | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 69.29% | 30.71% |
| 2011 | 78.23% | 21.77% |
| 2012 | 78.90% | 21.10% |
| 2013 | 80.39% | 19.61% |
| 2014 | 86.04% | 13.96% |
| 2015 | 75.26% | 24.74% |
| 2016 | 82.83% | 17.17% |
| 2017 | 78.38% | 21.62% |
| 2018 | 79.35% | 20.65% |
| 2019 | 73.31% | 26.69% |
| 2020 | 87.35% | 12.65% |
| 2021 | 79.64% | 20.36% |
Data scientist related jobs gender ratio
We compared data scientists with similar job titles to see how gender ratios vary. As you can see, dell certified systems expert and software applications architect have the biggest gender ratio gaps.
| Job title | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|
| Informatics Nurse Specialist | 13% | 87% |
| Clinical Support Specialist | 22% | 78% |
| Clinic Administrator | 23% | 77% |
| Data Scientist | 80% | 20% |
| Senior Data Center Engineer | 98% | 2% |
| Software Applications Architect | 98% | 2% |
| Dell Certified Systems Expert | 99% | 1% |
Male
Female
100%
75%
50%
25%
0%
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
Data scientist demographics by race
The most common ethnicity among data scientists is White, which makes up 64.2% of all data scientists. Comparatively, 18.8% of data scientists are Asian and 6.9% of data scientists are Hispanic or Latino.
- White, 64.2%
- Asian, 18.8%
- Hispanic or Latino, 6.9%
- Unknown, 5.4%
- Black or African American, 4.2%
- American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
Data scientist race
| Data scientist race | Percentages |
|---|---|
| White | 64.2% |
| Asian | 18.8% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 6.9% |
| Unknown | 5.4% |
| Black or African American | 4.2% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.5% |
Data scientist race and ethnicity over time
See how data scientist racial and ethnic diversity trended since 2010 according to the United States Census Bureau data.
Data scientist race and ethnicity by year
| Year | White | Black or African American | Asian | Hispanic or Latino |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 71.59% | 7.21% | 16.34% | 3.36% |
| 2011 | 79.58% | 2.62% | 12.57% | 3.66% |
| 2012 | 72.20% | 5.89% | 15.47% | 4.42% |
| 2013 | 73.61% | 5.06% | 14.05% | 3.93% |
| 2014 | 74.74% | 2.87% | 14.95% | 4.02% |
| 2015 | 63.26% | 4.19% | 26.05% | 4.19% |
| 2016 | 71.49% | 3.31% | 16.94% | 4.55% |
| 2017 | 69.31% | 6.24% | 17.33% | 3.47% |
| 2018 | 70.26% | 5.78% | 17.93% | 3.18% |
| 2019 | 66.15% | 1.04% | 25.00% | 5.21% |
| 2020 | 66.52% | 5.65% | 16.96% | 3.04% |
| 2021 | 64.18% | 4.18% | 18.81% | 6.87% |
Data scientist wage gap by race
According to our data, asian data scientists have the highest average salary compared to other ethnicities. Black or african american data scientists have the lowest average salary at $104,662.
| Ethnicity | Salary |
|---|---|
| Unknown | $108,870 |
| White | $108,388 |
| Black or African American | $104,662 |
| Asian | $110,639 |
| Hispanic or Latino | $109,365 |
Data scientist age breakdown
The average age of data scientists is 40+ years years old, representing 49% of the data scientist population.
Data scientist age breakdown
| Data Scientist Years | Percentages |
|---|---|
| 40+ years | 49% |
| 30-40 years | 30% |
| 20-30 years | 22% |
Data scientist educational attainment
The most common degree for data scientists is bachelor's degree, with 51% of data scientists earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are master's degree degree at 34% and master's degree degree at 13%.
- Bachelor's, 51%
- Master's, 34%
- Doctorate, 13%
- Associate, 1%
- Other Degrees, 1%
Data scientists by degree level
| Data scientist degree | Percentages |
|---|---|
| Bachelor's | 51% |
| Master's | 34% |
| Doctorate | 13% |
| Associate | 1% |
| Other Degrees | 1% |
Data scientist jobs you might like
Data scientist wage gap by degree level
| Education | Salary |
|---|---|
| Master's Degree | $109,454 |
| Bachelor's Degree | $101,455 |
Data scientist employment statistics
Most data scientists work for a public in the technology industry.
Company size where data scientists work
Below, you can see the size of companies where data scientists work.
Data scientist jobs by employer size
| Company size | Percentages |
|---|---|
| < 50 employees | 3% |
| 50 - 100 employees | 4% |
| 100 - 500 employees | 14% |
| 500 - 1,000 employees | 7% |
| 1,000 - 10,000 employees | 30% |
| > 10,000 employees | 41% |
Data scientist jobs by company type
Employees with the data scientist job title have their preferences when it comes to working for a company. For instance, most data scientists prefer to work at public companies over private companies.
Data scientist jobs by sector
| Company type | Percentages |
|---|---|
| Education | 3% |
| Public | 53% |
| Private | 44% |
| Government | 0% |
Data scientist jobs by industry
The most common industries for data scientists are technology, finance and internet.
Data scientist industry statistics
| Industry | Percentages |
|---|---|
| Technology | 19% |
| Fortune 500 | 19% |
| Start-up | 10% |
| Finance | 9% |
| Internet | 7% |
| Professional | 6% |
| Media | 4% |
| Health Care | 4% |
| Retail | 4% |
| Insurance | 4% |
| Hospitality | 2% |
| Automotive | 2% |
| Manufacturing | 2% |
| Telecommunication | 2% |
| Education | 2% |
| Pharmaceutical | 1% |
| Transportation | 1% |
| Non Profits | 1% |
| Real Estate | 1% |
| Agriculture | 1% |
| Energy | 1% |
Data scientist turnover and employment statistics
Data scientist unemployment rate over time
The unemployment rate for data scientists between 2008 and the most recent data has varied, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Data scientist unemployment rate by year
| Year | Data scientist unemployment rate |
|---|---|
| 2010 | 4.32% |
| 2011 | 3.59% |
| 2012 | 9.09% |
| 2013 | 3.38% |
| 2014 | 3.23% |
| 2015 | 4.48% |
| 2016 | 2.80% |
| 2017 | 1.62% |
| 2018 | 1.60% |
| 2019 | 2.03% |
| 2020 | 3.70% |
| 2021 | 4.88% |
Average data scientist tenure
The average data scientist stays at their job for 1-2 years, based on the 3,198 data scientists resumes in Zippia's database.
Data scientist tenure statistics
| Number of years | Percentages |
|---|---|
| Less than 1 year | 25% |
| 1-2 years | 23% |
| 3-4 years | 13% |
| 5-7 years | 31% |
| 8-10 years | 5% |
| 11+ years | 3% |
Data scientist LGBT ratio compared to similar jobs
Review the percent of data scientists that are members of the LGBT community. You can see how this compares to similar jobs in the chart below.
| Job title | LGBT | Job openings |
|---|---|---|
| Senior Voice Engineer | 7.31% | 3,084 |
| Systems Engineer | 8.46% | 145,936 |
| Network Security Analyst | 8.59% | 82,954 |
| Junior Network Specialist | 9.03% | 52,084 |
| Data Scientist | 9.35% | - |
| Data Warehouse Architect | 10.54% | 183,223 |
| Support Agent | 10.88% | 106,016 |
Similar data scientist jobs LGBT demographics
| Profession | Percentages of LGBT | Job openings |
|---|---|---|
| Senior Voice Engineer | 7.31% | 3,084 |
| Systems Engineer | 8.46% | 145,936 |
| Network Security Analyst | 8.59% | 82,954 |
| Junior Network Specialist | 9.03% | 52,084 |
| Data Warehouse Architect | 10.54% | 183,223 |
| Support Agent | 10.88% | 106,016 |
Foreign languages spoken by data scientists
The most common foreign language among data scientists is Spanish at 21.3%. The second-most popular foreign language spoken is Chinese at 16.3% and French is the third-most popular at 15.0%.
- Spanish, 21.3%
- Chinese, 16.3%
- French, 15.0%
- Mandarin, 10.0%
- German, 7.5%
- Other, 29.9%
Data scientist languages spoken
| Foreign language | Percentages |
|---|---|
| Spanish | 21.3% |
| Chinese | 16.3% |
| French | 15.0% |
| Mandarin | 10.0% |
| German | 7.5% |
| Other | 29.9% |
