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Data specialist salary
Average data specialist salary
$68,326
Understanding Data Specialist Salaries
The average salary for a data specialist is approximately $68,326 annually, translating to about $33 per hour. Salaries can vary significantly based on experience, geographic location, and the industry in which one works. For instance, data specialists with several years of experience may command higher salaries, often exceeding the average. Additionally, specific industries such as technology and finance tend to offer more competitive pay.
Salary by Experience Level
Entry-level data specialists typically start at a lower salary, with the potential for significant increases as they advance in their careers. Understanding these salary dynamics can help prospective employees negotiate better compensation and select suitable career paths.
Highest Paying States
States such as California, New York, and Washington often report the highest data specialist salaries, reflecting the demand for data-driven insights in these regions. Exploring job opportunities in these states may provide better financial rewards.
Job Opportunities in the Field
As businesses increasingly rely on data, the need for skilled data specialists continues to grow. This opens up numerous job opportunities, making it a promising career choice for those interested in data analysis and management.
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Where can a Data Specialist earn more?
Data specialist salaries by experience level
Data specialist salary estimates from across the web
Average data specialist salary by state
The highest-paying states for data specialists are Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New York. The lowest average data specialist salary states are Idaho, Indiana, and South Dakota.
- State view
- County view
Highest paying states for data specialists
| Rank | State | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Connecticut | $90,019 | $43.28 |
| 2 | Massachusetts | $85,852 | $41.27 |
| 3 | New York | $83,641 | $40.21 |
| 4 | New Jersey | $83,206 | $40.00 |
| 5 | Pennsylvania | $79,139 | $38.05 |
| 6 | Texas | $77,059 | $37.05 |
| 7 | Alaska | $75,579 | $36.34 |
| 8 | Illinois | $76,593 | $36.82 |
| 9 | Michigan | $79,186 | $38.07 |
| 10 | Maryland | $75,928 | $36.50 |
| 11 | Georgia | $74,392 | $35.77 |
| 12 | Delaware | $78,738 | $37.85 |
| 13 | Rhode Island | $79,747 | $38.34 |
| 14 | Oklahoma | $75,052 | $36.08 |
| 15 | North Carolina | $67,878 | $32.63 |
| 16 | North Dakota | $65,907 | $31.69 |
| 17 | Vermont | $77,548 | $37.28 |
| 18 | Montana | $66,397 | $31.92 |
| 19 | California | $80,343 | $38.63 |
| 20 | Maine | $69,428 | $33.38 |
| 21 | Louisiana | $70,272 | $33.78 |
| 22 | District of Columbia | $72,412 | $34.81 |
| 23 | Arizona | $65,438 | $31.46 |
| 24 | Tennessee | $66,938 | $32.18 |
| 25 | Ohio | $66,455 | $31.95 |
| 26 | West Virginia | $64,767 | $31.14 |
| 27 | Florida | $66,122 | $31.79 |
| 28 | Washington | $71,961 | $34.60 |
| 29 | Hawaii | $65,097 | $31.30 |
| 30 | Utah | $61,309 | $29.48 |
| 31 | Iowa | $61,804 | $29.71 |
| 32 | Oregon | $69,909 | $33.61 |
| 33 | Virginia | $70,324 | $33.81 |
| 34 | Kentucky | $63,475 | $30.52 |
| 35 | New Hampshire | $62,791 | $30.19 |
| 36 | Mississippi | $63,927 | $30.73 |
| 37 | Minnesota | $62,983 | $30.28 |
| 38 | Arkansas | $61,570 | $29.60 |
| 39 | Nevada | $59,824 | $28.76 |
| 40 | Colorado | $60,465 | $29.07 |
| 41 | South Dakota | $56,049 | $26.95 |
| 42 | South Carolina | $62,027 | $29.82 |
| 43 | Idaho | $56,697 | $27.26 |
| 44 | Wyoming | $59,655 | $28.68 |
| 45 | Alabama | $58,718 | $28.23 |
| 46 | Kansas | $56,881 | $27.35 |
| 47 | Nebraska | $52,374 | $25.18 |
| 48 | Wisconsin | $57,667 | $27.72 |
| 49 | Indiana | $56,564 | $27.19 |
| 50 | Missouri | $54,323 | $26.12 |
| 51 | New Mexico | $53,022 | $25.49 |
Highest paying cities for data specialists
The highest-paying cities for data specialists are San Francisco, CA, Boston, MA, and New York, NY.
| Rank | City | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $87,041 | $41.85 |
| 2 | Boston, MA | $85,757 | $41.23 |
| 3 | New York, NY | $83,991 | $40.38 |
| 4 | Jersey City, NJ | $83,360 | $40.08 |
| 5 | Philadelphia, PA | $80,103 | $38.51 |
| 6 | Newark, DE | $78,748 | $37.86 |
| 7 | San Antonio, TX | $78,640 | $37.81 |
| 8 | Chicago, IL | $76,977 | $37.01 |
| 9 | Baltimore, MD | $76,271 | $36.67 |
| 10 | Columbus, GA | $75,002 | $36.06 |
| 11 | Seattle, WA | $72,692 | $34.95 |
| 12 | Washington, DC | $72,416 | $34.82 |
| 13 | Arlington, VA | $71,445 | $34.35 |
| 14 | Raleigh, NC | $69,405 | $33.37 |
| 15 | Tampa, FL | $67,028 | $32.23 |
| 16 | Memphis, TN | $66,370 | $31.91 |
| 17 | Columbus, OH | $65,812 | $31.64 |
| 18 | Phoenix, AZ | $65,472 | $31.48 |
| 19 | Saint Paul, MN | $63,058 | $30.32 |
| 20 | Des Moines, IA | $60,817 | $29.24 |
Data Specialists are the most in-demand in these five cities:
Data specialist salary details
A data specialist's salary ranges from $40,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $116,000 at the 90th percentile.
What is a data specialist's salary?
| Percentile | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90th Percentile | $116,000 | $9,667 | $56 |
| 75th Percentile | $90,000 | $7,500 | $43 |
| Average | $68,326 | $5,694 | $33 |
| 25th Percentile | $51,000 | $4,250 | $25 |
| 10th Percentile | $40,000 | $3,333 | $19 |
Highest paying data specialist jobs
The highest paying types of data specialists are staff specialist, data administrator, and data analyst.
| Job title | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Data Entry Clerk | $31,582 | $2,632 | $15.18 | 132,345 |
| Data Entry Processor | $32,567 | $2,714 | $15.66 | 83,470 |
| Data Entry Representative | $33,173 | $2,764 | $15.95 | 147,777 |
| Data Clerk | $31,550 | $2,629 | $15.17 | 147,935 |
| Data Processor | $33,076 | $2,756 | $15.90 | 92,954 |
| Data Entry Technician | $31,058 | $2,588 | $14.93 | 142,759 |
Top companies hiring data specialists now:
Which companies pay data specialists the most?
Data specialist salaries at McKinsey & Company Inc and Apple are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average data specialist salary at companies like Novartis and Slalom are highly competitive.
| Rank | Company | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McKinsey & Company Inc | $155,689 | $74.85 |
| 2 | Apple | $132,872 | $63.88 |
| 3 | Novartis | $128,821 | $61.93 |
| 4 | Slalom | $127,222 | $61.16 |
| 5 | Chevron | $126,467 | $60.80 |
| 6 | Meta | $125,253 | $60.22 |
| 7 | Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison | $122,766 | $59.02 |
| 8 | Varian Medical Systems | $121,234 | $58.29 |
| 9 | FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies | $120,787 | $58.07 |
| 10 | Barclays | $120,741 | $58.05 |
| 11 | $120,557 | $57.96 | |
| 12 | Microsoft | $120,500 | $57.93 |
| 13 | General Motors | $120,465 | $57.92 |
| 14 | Avid | $120,121 | $57.75 |
| 15 | Bloomberg | $119,301 | $57.36 |
| 16 | Southern California Edison | $117,541 | $56.51 |
| 17 | Mayo Clinic | $116,089 | $55.81 |
| 18 | Bayer | $115,996 | $55.77 |
| 19 | Mouser Electronics | $115,752 | $55.65 |
| 20 | Yahoo | $115,510 | $55.53 |
Wage gap by gender, race and education
Data Specialist salary by industry
The average data specialist salary varies across industries:
- The average data specialist salary in the manufacturing industry is $77,054, the highest of any industry.
- The average data specialist salary in the finance industry is $75,126.
- Data specialists in the insurance industry earn an average salary of $47,574, the lowest of any industry.
Highest paying industries for data specialists
| Rank | Industry | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manufacturing | $77,054 | $37.05 |
| 2 | Technology | $75,126 | $36.12 |
| 3 | Finance | $71,699 | $34.47 |
| 4 | Health Care | $65,987 | $31.72 |
| 5 | Professional | $62,027 | $29.82 |
| 6 | Transportation | $58,009 | $27.89 |
| 7 | Telecommunication | $52,519 | $25.25 |
| 8 | Insurance | $47,574 | $22.87 |
High paying data specialist jobs
Data specialist salary trends
The average data specialist salary has risen by $13,391 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average data specialist earned $54,935 annually, but today, they earn $68,326 a year. That works out to a 14% change in pay for data specialists over the last decade.
Compare data specialist salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.
Average data specialist salary over time
Compare data specialist salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.
Data specialist salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | $68,300 | $32.85 | +2.8% |
| 2025 | $66,400 | $31.94 | +3.9% |
| 2024 | $63,800 | $30.68 | +3.9% |
| 2023 | $61,400 | $29.50 | +2.7% |
| 2022 | $59,700 | $28.71 | +2.1% |
Recently added data specialist salaries
| Company | Job | Location | Date added | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeppesen | Senior Data Governance Specialist | Seattle, WA | 06/30/2025 | $129,200 |
| Brown Advisory | Fixed Income Data Specialist | Baltimore, MD | 06/30/2025 | $90,000 |
| Contact Government Services | Data Specialist | Fargo, ND | 06/30/2025 | $61,152 |
| Contact Government Services | Senior Data Specialist | Cheyenne, WY | 06/30/2025 | $78,624 |
| Contact Government Services | Data Specialist | Pierre, SD | 06/30/2025 | $61,152 |
| Contact Government Services | Data Specialist | Boise, ID | 06/30/2025 | $61,152 |
| Inovalon | Senior Healthcare Data Analytics Specialist for Multiple Positions | Bowie, MD | 06/29/2025 | $138,798 |
| Perspecta | Cyber Data Specialist | Chantilly, VA | 06/29/2025 | $86,000 |
| Mwh Global | Data Specialist | Boston, MA | 06/29/2025 | $81,631 |
| Williams College | Data Specialist | Williamstown, MA | 06/29/2025 | $48,001 |
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