How are Massachusetts 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.

What does the top of the Data Scientist pay scale look like in Massachusetts?

The 90th percentile lands at $200,770. That tier typically reflects senior roles, specialty certifications, high-cost-of-living metros within the state, or union-negotiated rate cards. Below that, the P75 quartile is $167,710.

Where does Massachusetts rank for Data Scientist pay?

On nominal BLS wages alone, Massachusetts 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.

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.

When does this data update?

BLS OES releases a new May reference set roughly each spring; we re-run the ETL pipeline within two weeks of release. BEA RPP refreshes annually. The last-synced timestamp at the top of this page reflects the most recent build.

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

BLS reports them under different SOC codes (15-2051 for data scientists, 13-1161 for market/data analysts). In Massachusetts, 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 Massachusetts?

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.

Massachusetts Data Scientist Salary: BLS $132K Median, Real $123K (2026)

TL;DR

BLS reports Massachusetts Data Scientist median pay at $132,250. Adjusted for state cost of living, real purchasing power equals $122,823.
State ranks #4 nationally on nominal wage, #5 on real (RPP-adjusted) wage.
Cost adjustment is small — neither an arbitrage state nor a high-cost penalty.
Wage envelope: $80,740 (P10) to $200,770 (P90), with quartiles at $103,130 and $167,710.

Wage breakdown — Massachusetts

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$80,740	$74,985
P25 (lower quartile)	$103,130	$95,779
P50 (median)	$132,250	$122,823
P75 (upper quartile)	$167,710	$155,756
P90 (top tier)	$200,770	$186,459
Mean	$139,670	$129,714
Employment	9,990 Data Scientists in Massachusetts

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	Massachusetts index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	107.7
Goods	100.0
Services	166.1
Rents	130.1

Massachusetts is a high-cost state — RPP 107.7 above the national 100 baseline. Most of the cost premium routes through rents (130.1) and services (166.1).

After-tax take-home — Massachusetts (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)	$132,250	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$20,558	15.5% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$6,613	5% flat 2026 (4% surtax above $1M)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$10,117	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$94,962	71.8% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$88,194	÷ (107.7 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

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

Mid-band state-tax burden at 5.0% effective. Combined with federal and FICA, take-home is $94,962 (71.8% of gross). After the 107.7 RPP, real take-home is $88,194.

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. Massachusetts sits at #4 on nominal pay and #5 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, Massachusetts falls 1 positions — the cost premium eats into the headline wage.

Frequently asked questions

How are Massachusetts 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.
What does the top of the Data Scientist pay scale look like in Massachusetts?: The 90th percentile lands at $200,770. That tier typically reflects senior roles, specialty certifications, high-cost-of-living metros within the state, or union-negotiated rate cards. Below that, the P75 quartile is $167,710.
Where does Massachusetts rank for Data Scientist pay?: On nominal BLS wages alone, Massachusetts 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.
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.
When does this data update?: BLS OES releases a new May reference set roughly each spring; we re-run the ETL pipeline within two weeks of release. BEA RPP refreshes annually. The last-synced timestamp at the top of this page reflects the most recent build.
Data scientist vs data analyst pay in Massachusetts — what's the gap?: BLS reports them under different SOC codes (15-2051 for data scientists, 13-1161 for market/data analysts). In Massachusetts, 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 Massachusetts?: 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 Massachusetts 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.