How Much Do Data Analysts Make?

The average salary for a Data Analyst in the U.S. is $75,456; this rises to $96,852 among Senior Data Analysts. Making the eventual transition from Data Analyst to Data Scientist can boost this number even further: across the data science field as a whole, annual compensation averages $100,000.

But in some fields, even Junior Data Analysts can achieve that same benchmark; according to a recent study by Springboard, Data Analysts in natural resources and mining can expect salaries north of $100,000, while those working in professional, scientific, and technical services earn an average $90,000. Those employed in the finance and insurance sector average around $90,000 as well—which tallies to roughly 400,000 jobs.

The average entry-level Data Analyst salary is roughly $62,000 annually in the United States. Salaries for entry-level Data Analyst jobs will vary depending on the company, industry, and educational background required by the position, with average base compensation for entry-level Data Analysts ranging from $55,000 to $70,000.

Most entry-level Data Analysts will have between 0-to-two years of experience and will possess at least an associate’s degree or bachelor’s degree.

The average Senior Data Analyst salary in the United States ranges from $88,000 to more than $110,000. Salaries for Senior Data Analysts usually include at least $85,000 in base compensation plus at least a $5,000 cash bonus each year, with other incentives possibly pushing salaries even higher.

Senior Data Analysts typically have at least five-to-seven years of professional experience in data analytics. Senior Data Analysts who work in tech hotbeds like New York City or California or who specialize in certain in-demand industries and domains can expect to earn more.

There’s evidence that, for people already working in the field, boosting your skill set in specific areas could give your salary another significant bump. According to IBM’s report, data analytics professionals with MapReduce expertise pull in an average annual income above $115,000, and professionals with experience using Apache Pig, Hive, and Hadoop are all in the market for jobs that average over $110,000 per year.

According to IBM, the right certification could open a lot of doors. Their report noted that if its forecast supply of 2.8 million “analytically savvy” workers turns out to be correct, nearly every one of those workers would have to change jobs annually to fill the required data analytics and data science positions—which makes achieving rapid upward mobility that much more possible.