How are Louisiana Data Scientist salaries calculated on this page?

Nominal wages come from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES) — annual employer surveys, May 2026 reference period. Real-wage figures use BEA Regional Price Parities (2023 vintage) to adjust for state-level cost of living. No self-report or jobs-board data is mixed in.

Where does Louisiana rank for Data Scientist pay?

On nominal BLS wages alone, Louisiana ranks among the 51 states and DC by median pay. After the BEA cost-of-living adjustment the ordering changes — high-cost states fall, low-cost states rise. Both rankings are shown in the data table on this page.

How wide is the wage spread in Louisiana?

P10 to P90 spans $49,920 to $93,260. That spread captures entry-level to top-quartile pay, including specialty differentials and metro-area variance within the state.

Is Louisiana a 'real-wage arbitrage' state for Data Scientists?

Yes — the BEA RPP of 88.7 is below the national 100 baseline, so nominal $70,530 stretches to a real-wage equivalent of $79,515. The take-home advantage versus a higher-RPP state is meaningful for Data Scientists comparing offers across regions.

What are the limits of these Data Scientist salary numbers?

BLS OES is an employer survey of W-2 wages — it excludes contractor pay, bonuses outside the base wage definition, equity compensation, and tip income. Self-employed practitioners and gig workers are not represented. For occupations with significant non-W-2 income, the BLS figure is a floor, not a complete picture.

Data scientist vs data analyst pay in Louisiana — what's the gap?

BLS reports them under different SOC codes (15-2051 for data scientists, 13-1161 for market/data analysts). In Louisiana, the data scientist median typically runs 30-60% above the data analyst median, reflecting heavier ML/statistics requirements, deeper SQL/Python depth expectations, and stronger industry placement in tech and finance.

Industry vs academia data scientist pay in Louisiana?

Academia and government research positions in {state} typically pay below the BLS data scientist median — often 20-40% lower at the assistant-professor or junior-research-scientist level. Industry roles (especially tech, finance, consumer internet) pull the BLS aggregate well above academic ranges.

Louisiana Data Scientist Salary: BLS $71K Median, Real $80K (2026)

TL;DR

Data Scientists in Louisiana earn a BLS median of $70,530, with real take-home of $79,515 after BEA RPP adjustment.
BLS percentile breakdown: P10 $49,920 · P25 $56,070 · P75 $80,940 · P90 $93,260.
After the cost-of-living adjustment, take-home rises by $8,985 versus the BLS median — purchasing-power arbitrage.
Nominal: #49/51 · Real: #49/51 — ranking shifts by 0 positions after RPP.

Wage breakdown — Louisiana

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$49,920	$56,280
P25 (lower quartile)	$56,070	$63,213
P50 (median)	$70,530	$79,515
P75 (upper quartile)	$80,940	$91,251
P90 (top tier)	$93,260	$105,141
Mean	$71,740	$80,879
Employment	1,120 Data Scientists in Louisiana

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	Louisiana index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	88.7
Goods	93.0
Services	76.7
Rents	65.1

Louisiana sits below the national baseline (RPP 88.7), so nominal pay translates to a higher real wage than the BLS median suggests — particularly visible in rents at 65.1.

After-tax take-home — Louisiana (2024 BLS · 2024 tax year, single filer)

Layer-by-layer take-home math at the BLS median

Layer	Amount	Note
Gross BLS P50 (Data Scientist)	$70,530	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$6,764	9.6% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$1,741	3.0% flat (2025+ HB 2)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$5,396	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$56,630	80.3% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$63,844	÷ (88.7 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

What the Louisiana state-tax burden means for Data Scientist take-home

Louisiana's state tax is light at this income tier (~2.5% effective). The bigger compensation lever is the below-baseline cost of living (RPP 88.7), which lifts real take-home above nominal after-tax — net real after-tax $63,844.

Computed from 2026 IRS federal brackets (Rev. Proc. 2025-32), 2026 state DOR brackets, and 2026 FICA rates. Single filer, standard deduction, no other adjustments. See methodology · tax for limitations (married filers, ITM/SALT itemizers, retirement deferrals, HSA, dependent credits, etc.).

National context

Across the United States, BLS reports a national median of $112,590 for Data Scientists with mean pay of $124,590 and total employment of 233,440. Louisiana sits at #49 on nominal pay and #49 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. Nominal and real ranking are the same — cost of living and pay scale together.

Frequently asked questions

How are Louisiana Data Scientist salaries calculated on this page?: Nominal wages come from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES) — annual employer surveys, May 2026 reference period. Real-wage figures use BEA Regional Price Parities (2023 vintage) to adjust for state-level cost of living. No self-report or jobs-board data is mixed in.
Where does Louisiana rank for Data Scientist pay?: On nominal BLS wages alone, Louisiana ranks among the 51 states and DC by median pay. After the BEA cost-of-living adjustment the ordering changes — high-cost states fall, low-cost states rise. Both rankings are shown in the data table on this page.
How wide is the wage spread in Louisiana?: P10 to P90 spans $49,920 to $93,260. That spread captures entry-level to top-quartile pay, including specialty differentials and metro-area variance within the state.
Is Louisiana a 'real-wage arbitrage' state for Data Scientists?: Yes — the BEA RPP of 88.7 is below the national 100 baseline, so nominal $70,530 stretches to a real-wage equivalent of $79,515. The take-home advantage versus a higher-RPP state is meaningful for Data Scientists comparing offers across regions.
What are the limits of these Data Scientist salary numbers?: BLS OES is an employer survey of W-2 wages — it excludes contractor pay, bonuses outside the base wage definition, equity compensation, and tip income. Self-employed practitioners and gig workers are not represented. For occupations with significant non-W-2 income, the BLS figure is a floor, not a complete picture.
Data scientist vs data analyst pay in Louisiana — what's the gap?: BLS reports them under different SOC codes (15-2051 for data scientists, 13-1161 for market/data analysts). In Louisiana, the data scientist median typically runs 30-60% above the data analyst median, reflecting heavier ML/statistics requirements, deeper SQL/Python depth expectations, and stronger industry placement in tech and finance.
Industry vs academia data scientist pay in Louisiana?: Academia and government research positions in {state} typically pay below the BLS data scientist median — often 20-40% lower at the assistant-professor or junior-research-scientist level. Industry roles (especially tech, finance, consumer internet) pull the BLS aggregate well above academic ranges.

Sources & methodology

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES), SOC 15-2051, 2024 reference period.
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis — Regional Price Parities, 2023 vintage (all-items, goods, services, rents).
Real-wage figures = nominal BLS wage ÷ (state RPP / 100).
See the methodology page for full computation details and limitations.

By Marcus Liang · Founder & Editor · Last synced 2026-05-05.

Cross-comparison: see how Louisiana Data Scientist pay ranks against the other 254 state × occupation pages on the Real Wage Atlas → — four-way ranking by real wage, after-tax take-home, state-tax savings, and cost-of-living arbitrage.